Nonpareil Dempsey

John Edward Kelly (December 15, 1862 – November 1, 1895) was an Irish-American boxer, better known as Nonpareil Jack Dempsey who was the first holder of the World Middleweight Championship (1884–1891). He was nicknamed "Nonpareil" because of his reputation of being unbeatable.

This article is about the 19th-century boxing champion. For the 20th-century boxing champion, see Jack Dempsey. For other uses, see Jack Dempsey (disambiguation).
Nonpareil Jack Dempsey
Statistics
Real nameJohn Edward Kelly
Nickname(s)Nonpareil
Weight(s)Middleweight
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Nationality Irish
Born(1862-12-15)December 15, 1862
Curran, County Kildare, Ireland
DiedNovember 1, 1895(1895-11-01) (aged 32)
Portland, Oregon
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights67
Wins51
Wins by KO23
Losses4
Draws11
No contests1

Biography

Dempsey was born on December 15, 1862 in Curran, County Kildare, Ireland.[1] He won the middleweight title on July 30, 1884, by defeating George Fulljames in Great Kills, Staten Island, New York. He held the title for over 6 years, defending the title against 2 fighters during the reign.[2]

Fitzsimmons knocks down Dempsey in New Orleans, 1891

In Dempsey's first 65 contests, he lost only 3 times (to George LaBlanche (a loss he avenged) and to Billy Baker twice (both bouts were fixed to have Baker win).[3] This ended when Bob Fitzsimmons pummeled him around the ring and begged him to concede before he was hurt any more. Dempsey, the reigning champion, would not give up; the fight continued and Fitzsimmons knocked him out in round 13. In his final bout, Dempsey, suffering from tuberculosis, lost to Tommy Ryan.

Though Dempsey beat his first battle with tuberculosis, he died at age 32 at the Portland, Oregon home of his wife's parents on November 1, 1895, due to a recurrence of the disease.[4] He was buried in an initially unmarked grave at Mount Calvary Cemetery. M. James Brady, Dempsey's father-in-law, refused to permit former World Champion John L. Sullivan and John S. Barnes to raise funds to erect a monument over Dempsey's grave. The family believed that a four-foot marble shaft was a sufficient memorial. The matter was thus dropped.[5]

Dempsey was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954, and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.[6]

Professional boxing record
Professional record summary
66 fights 50 wins 3 losses
By knockout 23 3
By decision 27 0
Draws 11
No contests 2
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
67 Loss 50–3–11 (3) Tommy Ryan TKO 3 (15) Jan 18, 1895 Sea Side A.C., Coney Island
66 Draw 50–2–11 (3) Billy McCarthy PTS 20 Sep 05, 1895 Auditorium Club, New Orleans
65 Win 50–2–10 (3) Billy Keough PTS 4 Feb 28, 1893 Pastime A.C., Portland
64 Loss 49–2–10 (3) Bob Fitzsimmons RTD 13 (?) Jan 14, 1891 California A.C., San Francisco Lost lineal middleweight title
63 Win 49–1–10 (3) Billy McCarthy TKO 28 (?) Feb 18, 1890 California A.C., San Francisco Retained lineal middleweight title
62 Loss 48–1–10 (3) George LaBlanche KO 32 (?) Aug 27, 1889 California A.C., San Francisco
61 Win 48–0–10 (3) Mike Dempsey KO 7 (?) Aug 22, 1889 San Francisco
60 Draw 47–0–10 (3) Mike Donovan PTS 6 Nov 15, 1888 Palace Rink, Williamsburg
59 Win 47–0–9 (3) James Stevens PTS 4 Apr 23, 1888 Grand Theater, Williamsburg
58 Win 46–0–9 (3) Billy Baker PTS 10 Feb 18, 1888 Adelphia Theatre, Buffalo
57 Win 45–0–9 (3) Dominick McCaffrey PTS 10 Jan 31, 1888 Pavonia Rink, Jersey City
56 Win 44–0–9 (3) John Reagan TKO 45 (?) Dec 13, 1887 Long Island
55 Win 43–0–9 (3) Bill Gabig PTS 4 Nov 05, 1887 Grand Central Theater, Wilmington
54 Win 42–0–9 (3) Denny Kelliher PTS 4 Nov 03, 1887 Grand Central Theater, Wilmington
53 Win 41–0–9 (3) Frank Bosworth PTS 4 Nov 01, 1887 Grand Central Theater, Wilmington
52 Win 40–0–9 (3) Ned McCann PTS 4 Oct 31, 1887 Grand Central Theater, Wilmington
51 Win 39–0–9 (3) Billy Dacey PTS 4 Oct 15, 1887 Hoboken Casino, Hoboken
50 Win 38–0–9 (3) Jim McHugh PTS 4 Oct 13, 1887 Hoboken Casino, Hoboken
49 Win 37–0–9 (3) Eddie Reede PTS 6 Oct 10, 1887 Hoboken Casino, Hoboken
48 Draw 36–0–9 (3) Reddy Gallagher PTS 6 May 02, 1887 Frankfort St. Gym, Cleveland
47 NC 36–0–8 (3) Billy Baker ND 4 Apr 09, 1887 Adelphia Theatre, Buffalo
46 Win 36–0–8 (2) Denny Killen PTS 4 Feb 05, 1887 Theatre Comique, Philadelphia
45 Win 35–0–8 (2) Jack Langdon PTS 4 Feb 02, 1887 Theatre Comique, Philadelphia
44 Win 34–0–8 (2) Mike Boded PTS 10 Jan 31, 1887 Theatre Comique, Philadelphia
43 Draw 33–0–8 (2) Jack Burke PTS 10 Nov 22, 1886 Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco
42 Win 33–0–7 (2) Ed Moehler PTS 4 May 25, 1886 Leland Rink, Minneapolis
41 Win 32–0–7 (2) Paddy Norton TKO 4 (5) May 20, 1886 Exposition Rink, Saint Paul
40 Win 31–0–7 (2) Jimmy Ryan PTS 4 Apr 30, 1886 Philadelphia
39 Win 30–0–7 (2) Charle McCarthy PTS 4 Apr 28, 1886 Theatre Comique, Philadelphia
38 Win 29–0–7 (2) Ned McCann KO 4 (4) Apr 26, 1886 Comique Theatre, Philadelphia
37 Win 28–0–7 (2) George LaBlanche TKO 13 (?) Mar 14, 1886 Larchmont Won inaugural lineal middleweight title
36 Win 27–0–7 (2) Pete McCoy PTS 6 Feb 24, 1886 Oakland Avenue Rink, Jersey City
35 Win 26–0–7 (2) Jack Fogarty TKO 27 (?) Feb 02, 1886 Clarendon Hall, New York
34 Win 25–0–7 (2) Jim Murray PTS 4 Jan 15, 1886 Germania Assembly Rooms, New York
33 Win 24–0–7 (2) Tom Henry PTS 4 Jan 15, 1886 Germania Assembly Rooms, New York
32 NC 23–0–7 (2) Mike Donovan NC 4 Jan 15, 1886 Germania Assembly Rooms, New York
31 Win 23–0–7 (1) Tom Berry TKO 6 (10) Dec 14, 1885 Portland
30 Win 22–0–7 (1) Dave Campbell KO 3 (8) Nov 02, 1885 Portland
29 Win 21–0–7 (1) Tom Norton TKO 4 (6) Sep 12, 1885 Armory Hall, Sacramento
28 Win 20–0–7 (1) Young Billy Manning TKO 8 (?) Aug 29, 1885 Turnverein Hall, Los Angeles
27 Win 19–0–7 (1) Jim Carr KO 9 (?) Jun 05, 1885 Wigwam Theatre, San Francisco
26 Win 18–0–7 (1) Tommy Cleary KO 5 (?) May 11, 1885 Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco
25 Win 17–0–7 (1) Tom Barry KO 5 (?) May 04, 1885 Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco
24 Win 16–0–7 (1) Charles Bixamos KO 5 (?) Mar 19, 1885 Sportsmen's Park, New Orleans
23 Win 15–0–7 (1) Jim Fell PTS 4 Jan 22, 1885 Athletic Hall, New York
22 Draw 14–0–7 (1) Bill Frazier PTS 4 Jan 12, 1885 New York
21 Win 14–0–6 (1) Jimmy Ryan TKO 4 (4) Jan 12, 1885 New York
20 Win 13–0–6 (1) George Wilson NWS 4 Dec 15, 1884 Clarks Club, Philadelphia
19 Win 12–0–6 (1) Mike Malone TKO 2 (?) Nov 30, 1884 Philadelphia
18 Win 11–0–6 (1) Bill Frazier TKO 5 (?) Nov 20, 1884 New York
17 Win 10–0–6 (1) Tom Ferguson PTS 4 Nov 06, 1884 Harry Hill's, New York
16 Win 9–0–6 (1) Tom Henry PTS 6 Oct 24, 1884 Eighth-Street Theatre, New York
15 Win 8–0–6 (1) Bob Turnbull PTS 8 Oct 08, 1884 Billy Madden's Athletic Hall, New York
14 Draw 7–0–6 (1) Jimmy Ryan PTS 7 Sep 15, 1884 Clark's Theatre, Philadelphia
13 Win 7–0–5 (1) Mike Dempsey KO 7 (?) Sep 04, 1884 Rockaway
12 Draw 6–0–5 (1) Tom Henry PTS 4 Jul 08, 1884 Rockaway Beach, Queens
11 Draw 6–0–4 (1) Jack Hayes PTS 6 Apr 25, 1884 New York
10 Win 6–0–3 (1) Bill Dacey TKO 9 (?) Mar 06, 1884 Campbell's Hotel, Coney Island
9 Win 5–0–3 (1) Tommy Sullivan PTS 2 Mar 04, 1884 New York
8 Win 4–0–3 (1) Joe Hennesey PTS 4 Mar 02, 1884 New York
7 Win 3–0–3 (1) Jim Barry TKO 3 (4) Feb 28, 1884 Billy Madden's Athletic Hall, New York
6 Win 2–0–3 (1) Jim Fell PTS 2 Feb 14, 1884 New York
5 Draw 1–0–3 (1) Joe Heiser PTS 8 Feb 10, 1884 Williamsburg, Brooklyn
4 Win 1–0–2 (1) William Mahoney KO 3 (?) Jan 15, 1884 New York
3 Draw 0–0–2 (1) Bob Turnbull PTS 7 (4) Oct 25, 1883 Clarendon Hall, New York
2 Draw 0–0–1 (1) Tom McAlpine PTS 4 Sep 17, 1883 Harry Hill's, New York
1 NC 0–0 (1) Harry Force NC 11 (?) Sep 03, 1883 Coney Island, Brooklyn Police intervened at Blissville (now part of Long Island City) and fight moved to Coney Island. It was never completed
gollark: The sky is just nebula dragons.
gollark: The omnidragon. It exists in all points of time and space.
gollark: Teradragon, 10Gm long. Beat that.
gollark: And the Gigadragon, 10000km.
gollark: I will also add the Megadragon, a dragon 10km long.

References
  1. Callis, Tracy (January 1999). ""Nonpareil" Jack Dempsey…slick and quick". Cyber Boxing Zone Journal.
  2. "George Fulljames". Cyber Boxing Zone.
  3. Ring Sports Magazine. (Reno, Nevada) April 1994.
  4. Lenzen, Connie. "Mt. Calvary Cemetery", June 1994.
  5. Tacoma Daily Times, Tacoma, Washington, March 13, 1909.
  6. Callis, Tracy. ""Nonpareil" Jack Dempsey (John Edward Kelly)". Cyber Boxing Zone Journal.
Achievements
Inaugural Champion World Middleweight Champion
July 30, 1884 – January 14, 1891		 Succeeded by
Bob Fitzsimmons
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