Born as James Sharman in Narellan, New South Wales, the fifth of thirteen children to James Sharman and Caroline Brailsfield, as Jimmy Sharman he established a boxing tent in 1911 at Ardlethan near Temora. The tent visited 45 to 50 shows each year. His son, Jimmy Sharman Jr, took over the Business in 1955. The tent formed part of the Australian Show landscape until 1971, when regulations barred boxers fighting more than once a week. A member of the "Showmans Guild of Australasia", he then turned to dodgem cars in partnership with Reg Grundy.