I've been reading a bunch of articles on him from days gone by. He was particularly proud of holding Sullivan to a 6 round draw, tho he didn't know during the bout that John L had broken his right arm. He also considered his return to fight Peter Jackson ill-advised and knew so going into the beating he sustained. He later owned a tavern and had a moving company... and was arrested for threatening to murder his wife. One detail I stumbled across today suggested that he raised 3 of Nonpariel Dempsey's kids as his own. It makes total sense since Cardiff relocated to Portland, Oregon after his career and Dempsey died there in 1895. Interesting none the less.
A few facts about his fight with Sullivan, that Adam has uncovered: Cardiff seems to have been well regarded as a contender, and he was granted a 25/75 split. The police insisted on 6oz gloves being used, which were unusually large for the day. The under card started at 8AM, with the main event taking place at 10AM. Sullivan's manager was sufficiently confident of him winning, that he was booked to fight an exhibition the following night. When Sullivan was asked about Cardiff, he said: "Don't know anything about him. I never saw him spar, but I suppose hes a pretty good man from what they say. I'l do with him, what I do with the rest of them!" Cardiff said: "All I have to say, is that I am going to do the best I can. I am not going to sprint either, but I hope to keep out of the way of Sullivan's sockers. I hope to make a good showing, and I expect to stay." In the end the preliminary bout started at 8.30. It seems that some of the boxers on the under card refused to leave their dressing rooms, unless they were granted a greater share of the receipts. After the first bout, the crowd pushed through a fence , separating the $2 seats from the $1 seats. The master of ceremonies refused to start the second bout, until the spectators returned to their allotted areas. Sullivan appeared at 10.30, but Cardiff got the bigger ovation, as the home town fighter. The fight itself was lackluster, with Sullivan forcing the action, and Cardiff on the defensive. A draw was ultimately rendered. The ST Paul Daily Globe, called the fight "a great fizzle". Sullivan later claimed that in the first round he threw a left, which struck the top of Cardiff's head, causing his arm to fracture. He said "I have spoiled many a bloke, but I never hurt myself like this before". Two local physicians later examined Sullivan's arm, and said that the radius was broken mid way between the wrist and the elbow. Cardiff later expressed frustration at not having known that Sullivan's arm was broken, and it seems that Sullivan endured considerable pain to conceal the fact.
Digging up this topic because I ran across an article from 1913 stating that Patsy Cardiff was committed to an insane asylum in Salem, Oregon after living for 18 years in Portland, Oregon and working as a furniture mover. The cause of his insanity was listed as alcoholism.
I'm going on a Patsy Cardiff deep dive. Who wants to follow? According to an article in The Oregonian he was infirmed and twice given last rites for typhoid fever in 1892.
Some say that Patsy might still be alive, posting on the boxing forum today. He could be any one of us...
It seems like Patsy Cardiff was fighting well after this official record (or at least boxrec) claims. I found an article for him preparing for a bout on June 15, 1895 against a Jimmy Ryan, 6 rounds in Astoria, ORE. Still trying to find out the name of the saloon he owned in Portland.
Digging through some old newspaper archives in my free time. If Patsy didn't have a drinking problem prior to 1907, in June of that year his 16 year old son James drowned while swimming in the Willamette River (which flows through Portland, OR). I'm sure this was devastating. He would be committed to an insane asylum 6 years later, and die 4 years after that at the age of 53.
It does appear there was some joy in his life after his son passed. His daughter starred in a musical comedy named Toodles in Holland at the Heilig Theatre in Portland in May of 1909. I imagine she was a teenager since she was said to be born in Portland. "Miss Cardiff is a comedienne in every sense of the word, and gets her laugh as easily as a trained actress." I don't know why this stuff fascinates me but it does. Patsy is buried in a the Mount Calvary Cemetery in Portland. I may visit his grave in a next month when I should be in that city.
