I made this video on his downfall what happened to him as the events were a bit mysterious to me prior to the research. Notes his disaster trip out west to fight Joe Mcaullife his only loss a match he appeared to perhaps been drunk for whatever reason, the controversy foul which they tried to fight that they claimed Joe Mcaullife committed. It's rather interesting story... Little known fact Joe Sheehy threw him down and proceeded to bite him in several places drawing blood getting Killen very sick from the infection he developed from the bites of a rabid man. Sheehy then got banned across the upper midwest after his display & couldn't get booked anywhere after that.. A pretty strange ass way to signal his downfall, but this is what originally got him sick a year before he died. He never really recovered properly. In fact newspapers in wisconsin (as killen was a minnesota guy) called Sheehy "mad dog" which became popular for wrestler's to adopt the name and pretend to bite a guy... Confirming Minnesota's belief that Wisconsin people are crazy. Don't go into a match with a rabid dog. This content is protected
94.44 KO rate and that 5.56 cost him his life. Him Cardiff, McAuliffe and Peter Jackson have a case to be considered lineal HW champs. They were the best HWs while Sullivan was galivanting around.
I'd like to hear people's option who they thought had the more promising career in Pat Killlen or Joe McAullife? Not looking to make an excuse for Killen who never won a minute vs McAullife. But certainly if they had fought on a different day a far different result might of happened. Killen really paid the price for decisions. He was just devastated by his performance. The bout was in Sep 1889. In Jan 1890 he did some kind of exhibition that involved some light wrestling. He reinjures the separated shoulder which wasn't fully healed. It got hurt from a fall in round 2 and was useless. The fight should of been stopped after he fell & was injured (drunk speculated) newspaper makes no mention of being drunk.. But all of 1890 he is forced to rehab when he really wants the rematch badly as he was unable to fight if given the rematch. Then Finally feels better late in 1890 just gives a complete beatdown to Sheeny who bites him. Pandemonium happen's both Killen brother's attack Joe Sheeny knocking him the F out Cold, really reminding me of the Paul brother's kinda as both killen's are a bit of loose cannon's. Killen get's real sick near death and then has to rehab another full year just to be able to walk again from the blood poisoning. the last fight ends with him dying the next week as he once again is dealing with ring complication's as his immune system was still weak from the previous bout. Despite all of this I do think Killen was a better prospect than Joe Mcaufflife. What are people's thought's?? I just always think if he had just meet him on another day results might have been different as Killen seemed totally jinxed in the bout he had. Everything went wrong for him. Even Mcaullife's win had controversy as he hit him half on the canvas. It's was just one of those days everyone had in life where whatever could go wrong did for Pat Killen. Certainly if he had performed better he probably wouldn't have been in the worse depression of his life drinking his life away... It's a rather tragic tale. People's thought's on Pat Killen or Joe Mcaufflife who do you think was better? Had the rematch happened. Who would have won? As Killen wanted revenge like no other...he would have been very motivated in the return bout. He spent all of the next few month's trying to bait McAufflife into a return bout, to regain his esteem. Also curious how reliable this source of billy Madden really is....as they fought on Grass during the bout and it states the grass was slick which may have been the root cause of him falling... Only Madden Claims he was drunk. I'll post the newspaper clip. It's the reference that Boxrec use's for it's comments on the bout.
McAuliffe was good but wasn't very good. Jackson, Choynski, Maher, Slavin, Goddard handled him pretty easily. his chief claim to fame is the Killen win, followed by the Cardiff one. Pat, for his part had a Mac Foster, Cleveland Williams, early Earnie Shavers type of ko run over mediocre opposition but then drew and beat Cardiff. The win over Dalton had merit too but turning up drunk for the most important fight of his career suggests other deep problems. Killen, for me, had a higher ceiling but didn't get near it,
Would go with McAuliffe. Not only was he the biggest HW in the division he knocked down Jackson and Goddard. While McAuliffe lost to Jackson, Goddard, Slavin these are the three best opponents either man faced. McAuliffe was younger too and his feats were less dated. Killen was more the guy whose time was Sullivans reign while McAuliffes the guy who could have been around in 10 years. While Killen has the 4th highest KO rate of any HW champ McAuliffe and Goddard are right behind him. McAuliffes record is 12-8 but 9 of his 11 knockouts are of someone of note while with Killen hes really just got the two great Cardiff and Lannon wins. By 1890 Cardiff, Lannon, Bradburn and Mervine Thompson are dated opponents. Not as dated as Sullivans mind you but compared to McAuliffe. Sheehy fought Armstrong and Billy Wilson and boxrec has no notes under their fights at least not about behavior. Sheehy actually won a fight by DQ against Frank Kellar. 14 rounds went on awhile. Theres probably a story there.
Yeah no doubt about that. If ever a fighter had a gypsy curse on him it was Pat Killen. He was causing trouble all through his west coast trip. I think he was in San Fran for a day & was arrested. But Killen almost literally never lost he was very consistent. McAufflife lost to Buffalo Costello like 3 fights into his career. Two very different career paths.
I don't recall Mcaullife knocking down Jackson. I'll give that fight a review. upon reading Mcaullife really absorbed some punishment in this match. He was mighty game. In the 10th from the newspaper. Joe aimed a terrible swing at Jackson's jaw, but the latter ducked toward him and was knocked down by contact from Joe's elbow. Joe thought Jackson was dazed but soon found out otherwise.
I don't think Buffalo ever fought Joe McAuliffe, see this report from the "Daily Alta California, 12 June 1886"; "The professionals of the evening were Martin Costello, better known as the Buffalo, and Jack McCauley, and the pair gave one of the most instructive exhibitions that the club has ever had. They were in the ring for a full hour, and in their display save a splendid illustration of a fair stand-up fight. The work was rather warm at times, and was mostly in favor of Costello, who was awarded the largest share of the purse the club put up as remuneration for their services."
"Jack MoCauley and Martin Costello, alias “The Buffalo had a private fight with bard gloves near Sacramento Sunday night. Sixteen rounds ware fought, “The Buffalo” winning. The fight was the most hotly contested one ever seen in that section. McCauley was badly punished about the body." from the "Napa Register (Weekly), 2 April 1886" which would make the fight on March 28. Costello's record than he presented when he went To Australia in 1887 mentioned four fights with JakeMacauley but nothing of a Joe McAuliffe contest. Boxrec listing of the weights for the June 11th fight also seem wrong for McAuliffe.
The articles you have are just GROSS mis spelling's. It's the exact time and place..it's on the newspaper men... The newspapers had a hard time spelling thing's correctly sometime particularly very early in careers which this fight was. But It was Joe Mcaullife. I seen it often it's not out of the norm. They have his name slightly wrong here (yet again) but are closer proving. McCauley is really closer to Mcaullife But I know it's correct because they reference it three times in the future once in Costello's ring record when he returns to america & Costello even mention's his fight with Joe McAullife in an article. And also prior to leave with Young Mitchell for Australia they bring it up again in his ring record. P.S. They constantly misspell Billy Mccarthy throughout his career even in Australia as M'Carty and can't Spell Fogerty correct quite often. Mixing up the first names even happens such as in this case. This content is protected I have a whole video on Buffalo Costello's career on my channel. Going through the Australian's currently. Buffalo & Young Mitchell both undefeated heading into Australia to represent America. Young Mitchell the champ. Mcaufflife was described as being "slow" in the Costello fight. But he wasn't quite filled out yet at a career low 163 lbs I also wanted to say that obviously matt Donnellon's guy Jack Burke had to play a huge role in developing Pat Killen as he was repeatedly praised for his counter punching and was trained by Burke for a period. Who must have taught him well the art of countering.
Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW ) Sat 9 Apr 1887 "MARTIN COSTELLO. Costello began his pugilistic career in Harry Maynard's sporting house on Dupont Street, 'Frisco, about a year and a half ago. He defeated thirteen "unknowns** in rapid succession, attaining considerable notoriety by his knocking-out propensities. From that time on, he won the following hotly contested fights: Defeated Pat O'Sullivan, three times, George Hammel, "Maynard's unknown", Owen McNulty, Jack Macauley, four times: Del Murphy, J. W. Patterson, of Sacramento, Dan King, of Sacramento, James Murphy, "The Sacramento Blacksmith," Tom Johnson, Charles Goldsmith, James Goin, "The Tipton Slasher;" Tom Cleary and closed with a draw with Con O' Riordan on account of interference. " I'm far from convinced that Costello fought Joe McAuliffe, far more likely to be the Jack McAuley that fought Tom Sharkey in Honolulu in 1894, who had fights in California, 1884-88, weighing in at 160 pounds. Hard to accept that McAuliffe would weigh over 50 pounds more, just one and a half years after the supposed Costello fight. During September 1886, the newspapers were citing him at 220 pounds.
