The Man Who Broke Dempsey's Ribs

Very interesting article. Thanks much.

Seems to have done all right for himself by the standards of his day, until that premature stroke and paralysis. Noted with interest that his mother was still alive and pushing 85 when he himself was 67 and stuck in that Santa Monica veteran's hospital. But at least he seems to have been taken proper care of.

Pretty tough guy, who'd lost to a peak Wills over 20 rounds, and was coming off a ten rounder with Harry when Jack took him on. Dempsey did well to hold his own at that stage in 1916.

For him to be tough enough to complete eight more rounds with three cracked ribs beyond the infliction of that injury in round two raises more questions about the validity of the Fireman Flynn knockout loss the following February. It's too weird an anomaly, especially in light of the complete reversal one day past an exact year later.

 

D, I agree with you about the validity of Dempsey's ko in 1 rd by Fireman Jim Flynn in 1918.. Many years ago I had read an article,about Dempsey throwing that fight for grub money, and using "omerta" ever after when that bout would constantly come up. Sometimes silence IS golden. At any rate ,one year later, well trained by his new great manager Jack Kearns ,Dempsey flattened Flynn in the very first round...
And when John Lester Johnson who cracked Dempsey's 3 ribs in 1916, when Dempsey first came to NY at the age of 21,was in a nursing home, his old foe Jack Dempsey visited JL Johnson and helped him out.
Today Dempsey detractors always bring up Dempsey's 4 rd losses to Fat Willie Meehan. The greatest fighters of alltime in many of their bouts were behind after 4 rounds...So what ? In a 10-15 round bout, the mature Dempsey certainly would have caught up to Meehan and flattened him. Cheers U...

 

Nobody punched out Meehan prior to Tommy Gibbons in 1921, a span of 146 bouts covering over a dozen years. A near peak Wills also failed to take him out in 1914 over the four round distance. He drew with Miske over four in June 1918, and went the four round limit in back to backs with Fulton immediately before decisioning Langford and Jeff Smith over the same distance. Jack did put him on the deck in round two of their final match, but Willie would have survived that tornado in Joplin the way he was then. He got the best of Dillon over six in 1917. Miske had ten rounds in which to try eliminating him in June 1919, came close, but failed.

 

For the record the one black pap in nyc in 1916 called this fight a draw.