How is it he was able to fight so sucessfully during the last 3 years of his career, even though he was dying of brights disease? From 1919 to 1923 he drew with Tommy Gibbons, lost to Kid Norfolk but apparently gave him a good fight, beat Charley Wienert, Jack Renault, Willie Meehan, Fred Fulton, Bob Roper and Bill Brennan. Often these wins came by knockout. He only lost two fights from 1920 to 1923, once to Tommy Gibbons, who apparently always had his number and once to Jack Dempsey. How sick was he, really? How much did it effect his in ring skills? Should Dempsey be given full credit for knocking him out for the first and only time in his career in their third fight?
There is a lot of hyperbole about Miske he was undoubtedly unwell in his last years in the ring ,but he beat a lot of good men after being kod by Dempsey ,Jack probably deserves more credit for that win than he gets ,Miske was a very good tough fighter.
What Miske did in the last years of his career is perhaps one of the most compelling human interest stories in the history of boxing. How did he do it? He sucesfully converted himself from a technical boxer to a knockout artist and was great at it. Something almost unknown in boxing history. Incredible fighter.
...Miske was unbelievable. He was dying, but chose to accelerate his own demise by boxing to leave a nest egg for his family. He didn't want to become useless and die gradually after becoming an expense for his family. So he took the Brennan fight in November to have a worthy Christmas one more time for his wife and children. And I don't believe he trained a day for it. He couldn't. He was sick in bed and had to conserve his strength to get himself into the ring. He stopped Brennan in 4, had a merry Christmas with his family, and promptly died on New Year's Day. This content is protected
Brennan more than likely took a dive in that fight. His purse was withheld for not trying and was eventually given over to charity. Brennan was a banned in the state for his non effort.
The real-life Billy Miske story reminds me of the movie "Bang the Drum Slowly", about a baseball player dying of cancer. In the movie, the baseball player's father states, "How can he be so sick and play so well"?. Miske wanted the best for his family and was determined to provide for them. Thats a strong motivation. Grebfan9 www.firstroundboxing.com
It is a movie, though. Miske was real life. Can you think of another real life athlete who was terminal and yet performed at the highest level? Dempsey said in his autobiography that he knew Miske was terminal when he fought him. How many others did? Good fighters losing often was common back then and perhaps the boxers, with the connivance of the promoters to not hold a defeat to Miske against anyone, "did the right thing" so a man without insurance-(I assume)-could pay his medical bills and do something for his family. In those days there was no social security for widows, probably no health or life insurance for the breadwinner, etc. All this is guesswork, but it might explain what seems inexplicable.
Possibly. He was connected to Capone and other shady characters. In fact he himself was dead 6 months after Miske himself. Word is he was a bootlegger with enemies.
Anyone see that special 2 hour documentary on billy miske? it was a renactment of his fight/career/ilness his grandson spoke alot. his grandson essentially said what old fogey and stonehands has been saying. He was virtually on his death bed when he fought miske, its amazing what he was able to accomplish. he took the brennan fight according to grandson so he could by one last christmas present for there family
The Omaha newspapers covered it extensively but for quick reference you can look it up on newspaper.com or ancestry.com in the Lincoln Star dates: November 7 - 10. Actually for the record Miske was initially banned and his purse was withheld as well but within a very short time he was cleared of any wrong doing and only Brennan was held accountable.
He could have also just been a shot fighter at that point. It was the last fight in his career and I think he was getting old for a boxer. Plus he'd taken some beatings from Dempsey and Firpo.
Apparently before the Brennan fight he could barely stand yet he somehow managed to win is a truely amazing feat.
