aka Aloysius Kelly aka Sailor Kelly. Was this man a professional prizefighter? :huh Many years ago, my best mate told a story he'd heard about a hard-luck naval-vet tomato-can (who had originally campaigned in the ring as "Sailor" until untold ass-kickings catalyzed the inevitable switch to "Shipwreck") who made good by not only inventing but becoming the undisputed champion of the roaring 20's fad of "pole-sitting". The story involved Kelly putting thumbholes in the flagstaff so when he dozed off the painful tugging on his fattest digits would jar him to alertness. He set some Guinness records and made himself a pretty penny by merely staying still, as years of labor in the service and pugilism had failed to yield. Cool story, and I always took it for granted...until now, when he popped in my head and it struck me to check out his record... There is nobody with the name "Alvin" or "Aloysius" (birth name) Kelly during what would be the applicable time period (nineteen-teens and early 20's...Kelly was born in 1893 and his flagpole-sitting days were '24-1930) listed on boxrec. There are a couple of guys named Al but none have multiple knockout losses. BR have some obscure figures, with 0-1 records dating back nearly to the Civil War. I can't imagine a "Reggie Strickland" type of yesteryear, as legend purports Kelly to have been, would slip through the cracks of all the meticulous research that's gone into that database. I've found several articles on Kelly but only a couple make mention - and vague mention, at that - of his "pro boxing career". Anybody know of any confirmed or reported fights that aren't on the encyclopedia for whatever reason? Did he have yet another alias in the ring? What division(s) did he take his drubbings in?
