Harry Hill (sportsman)
Encyclopedia
Harry Hill was an English-born American businessman, sportsman and saloonkeeper whose establishments were regular meeting places for sportsmen, gamblers and politicians as well as members of the criminal underworld of New York City during the late 19th century. The most famous of these was his Bowery
gambling resort located on West Houston Street east of Broadway
and was long considered "one of the sights of the metropolis" from the 1850s until its close in 1886.
, his uncle was a prominent gambler and served as the betting commissioner of Lord George Bentinck
for a number of years. In 1850, he became acquainted with George M. Woolsley, part owner of the sugar manufacturing firm Howland, Aspinwall & Woolsey, and later hired him to run his horse stable in Astoria
. In addition to free room and board, Hill would receive a yearly salary of $150. Two years later, Hill moved to New York where he became a successful horse dealer in the neighborhood of Third Avenue and Twenty-Fifth Street.
.
From time to time, Hill was known to fight with customers, most often known criminals, who disregarded Hill's rules. In 1868, Hill was stabbed with a penknife
by a female customer he had angered. James "Wild Jimmy" Haggerty
, a well-known Philadelphia criminal, was involved in a brawl with Hill when, in 1871, he threatened to "do him up" during an argument. Hill fought with Haggerty and another man, Billy Tracy, throwing the two out with the help of British lightweight boxer Billy Edwards
. During the fight, Hill lost a large diamond
stud
that he regularly wore in his shirt.
Another incident took place with Felix Larkin, the financial backer of the "Irish Giant" Ned Baldwin, when he accused Hill and William E. Harding of causing him to lose a horse race. He and several thugs entered at Hill's resort with the intention of killing Harding. The two men did draw their pistols, however no gunfight took place. Both Harding and Larkin were arrested but later discharged. Soon after leaving the precinct, Larkin and his party attacked another saloonkeeper who stabbed him to death with a cheese knife
.
Throughout the 1860s and 70s, Hill was involved in virtually every major bare knuckle boxing event of the era. In Mike McCoole
's bout against Joe Coburn
, Hill arraigned for Australian Kelly and Dan Kerrigan
to train McCoole. He was also one of the backers of Billy Edwards in his 1868 match against Sam Collyer
for the American lightheavyweight championship and a $2,000 purse at Cone River, Virginia
.
Hill was known to be exceedingly honest, especially in financial matters, and was often given the responsibility of holding large cash purses from prize fights. In 1870, he was the stakeholder for the $5,000 prizefight between Coburn and Jem Mace
. In the 1882 prize fight between John L. Sullivan
and Paddy Ryan
in Mississippi City, Hill held the $25,000 purse. This also applied to his resort when he would often deposit money and valuables from intoxicated patrons and return their property when the eventually sobered. One of the best known examples was an incident in 1884 when a drunken customer left $84,000 to Hill for safekeeping. The following morning when the man sobered up, he returned Hill's place with no recollection of leaving the money with Hill. Hill gave the surprised man his money and kindly "advised him to leave New York before taking another drink".
By the mid-1880s, Hill was reportedly worth between $500,000 and $1,000,000 although he himself never admitted to an income higher than $250,000. Hill eventually owned a number of businesses including two high class hotels in Flushing, Long Island and several steamboats which carried both freight and passengers between Flushing and New York City. He also possessed large numbers of fine Durham and Alderney cattle
, pedigree dogs and horses. He was also forced to make heavy payments to police officials, at least $300 a week, until publicly accusing two officials from the Prince Street Police Station of blackmail
and extortion
; he appeared before the Lexow Committee
years later providing details for "protection payments". The two officers were transferred to the West 100th Street Station while Hill's place was ordered to close after 1:00 am. This caused his resort to suffer as the majority of his business occurred from midnight until sunrise.
where he opened a small business at the southeast corner of Harlem Bridge but police interference forced him to close after a short time. Hill left New York after being refused a license from the city and opened a hotel in Corona, Long Island in 1890.
Hill ran the hotel for three years until it was destroyed in a fire in 1893. He continued to keep a local barroom and horse stable in the area until coming down with a sudden illness in mid-August 1896. Suffering chills and fever for a week, he died in Flushing on August 27, 1896.
He appeared as a minor character in the 2004 historical novel
A Passionate Girl by Thomas J. Fleming.
Bowery
Bowery may refer to:Streets:* The Bowery, a thoroughfare in Manhattan, New York City* Bowery Street is a street on Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.In popular culture:* Bowery Amphitheatre, a building on the Bowery in New York City...
gambling resort located on West Houston Street east of Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
and was long considered "one of the sights of the metropolis" from the 1850s until its close in 1886.
Background
Harry Hill was born in Epsom, England around 1827. Spending his childhood at the local Epsom Downs RacecourseEpsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, England. The "downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course is best known for hosting the Epsom Derby, the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and fillies, over a mile and a half...
, his uncle was a prominent gambler and served as the betting commissioner of Lord George Bentinck
Lord George Bentinck
Lord George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck , better known as simply Lord George Bentinck, was an English Conservative politician and racehorse owner, best known for his role in unseating Sir Robert Peel over the Corn Laws.Bentinck was a younger son of the 4th Duke of Portland, and elected a...
for a number of years. In 1850, he became acquainted with George M. Woolsley, part owner of the sugar manufacturing firm Howland, Aspinwall & Woolsey, and later hired him to run his horse stable in Astoria
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...
. In addition to free room and board, Hill would receive a yearly salary of $150. Two years later, Hill moved to New York where he became a successful horse dealer in the neighborhood of Third Avenue and Twenty-Fifth Street.
Sporting
He was also an avid sportsman, involved in wrestling and pugilism, and opened a sporting house at Houston and Crosby Streets. This establishment soon proved a successful and popular resort among sportsmen, gamblers and members of the criminal underworld for almost thirty years. Hill himself declared the place "open to all classes", although he allowed no fighting, robberies or other unruly behavior. He had placards put on the walls specifying the rules of the establishment. Legitimate fights did take place however, most notably, when Harry Hill himself defeated champion middleweight wrestler Lieutenant Alnsworth of New Britain, ConnecticutNew Britain, Connecticut
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 71,254....
.
From time to time, Hill was known to fight with customers, most often known criminals, who disregarded Hill's rules. In 1868, Hill was stabbed with a penknife
Penknife
A penknife, or pen knife, is a small folding pocket knife, originally used for cutting or sharpening a quill to make a pen nib. Originally, penknives did not necessarily have folding blades, but resembled a scalpel or wood knife by having a short, fixed blade at the end of a long handle...
by a female customer he had angered. James "Wild Jimmy" Haggerty
Jimmy Haggerty
James "Wild Jimmy" Haggerty was an American criminal and well-known underworld figure in Philadelphia and later in New York during the mid-to late 19th century...
, a well-known Philadelphia criminal, was involved in a brawl with Hill when, in 1871, he threatened to "do him up" during an argument. Hill fought with Haggerty and another man, Billy Tracy, throwing the two out with the help of British lightweight boxer Billy Edwards
Billy Edwards
Billy Edwards was a was a standout lightweight of the late 1860s and 1870s in England.-Professional career:...
. During the fight, Hill lost a large diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
stud
Button
In modern clothing and fashion design, a button is a small fastener, most commonly made of plastic, but also frequently of seashell, which secures two pieces of fabric together. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact. In the applied arts and in craft, a button can be an example of...
that he regularly wore in his shirt.
Another incident took place with Felix Larkin, the financial backer of the "Irish Giant" Ned Baldwin, when he accused Hill and William E. Harding of causing him to lose a horse race. He and several thugs entered at Hill's resort with the intention of killing Harding. The two men did draw their pistols, however no gunfight took place. Both Harding and Larkin were arrested but later discharged. Soon after leaving the precinct, Larkin and his party attacked another saloonkeeper who stabbed him to death with a cheese knife
Cheese knife
A cheese knife is a type of kitchen knife specialized for the cutting of cheese. Different cheeses require different knives, according primarily to hardness; most often "cheese knife" refers to a knife designed for soft cheese. Soft cheeses require a sharp knife...
.
Throughout the 1860s and 70s, Hill was involved in virtually every major bare knuckle boxing event of the era. In Mike McCoole
Mike McCoole
Mike McCoole was a boxing champion.He claimed the Heavyweight Championship in 1866 after Joe Coburn retired. He lost the title to Tom Allen in 1873.-External links:*...
's bout against Joe Coburn
Joe Coburn
Joe Coburn was an Irish-American boxer. In 1862 he claimed the Heavyweight Championship from John Carmel Heenan based on Heenan refusing to fight him. Mike McCoole claimed Coburn's title in 1866 after Coburn retired. Coburn came out of retirement in 1871 against Jem Mace...
, Hill arraigned for Australian Kelly and Dan Kerrigan
Dan Kerrigan
Daniel Kerrigan was an American pugilist, sportsman and politician. He was part owner of the Star and Garter, a popular Sixth Avenue saloon, and was a longtime political organizer and "fixer" for Tammany Hall...
to train McCoole. He was also one of the backers of Billy Edwards in his 1868 match against Sam Collyer
Sam Collyer
Sam Collyer was a lightweight bare-knuckle boxer. He was of Scottish-French descent, weighed between 115 and 125 pounds, and stood 5 feet 5 ½ inches.-Early life:...
for the American lightheavyweight championship and a $2,000 purse at Cone River, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Hill was known to be exceedingly honest, especially in financial matters, and was often given the responsibility of holding large cash purses from prize fights. In 1870, he was the stakeholder for the $5,000 prizefight between Coburn and Jem Mace
Jem Mace
Jem Mace was an English boxing champion. He was born at Beeston, Norfolk. Although nicknamed "The Gypsy", he denied Romani ethnicity in his autobiography...
. In the 1882 prize fight between John L. Sullivan
John L. Sullivan
John Lawrence Sullivan , also known as the Boston Strong Boy, was recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing from February 7, 1881 to 1892, and is generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring rules...
and Paddy Ryan
Paddy Ryan
Paddy Ryan was an Irish American boxer, and became his sport's world's heavyweight champion from May 30, 1880 when he won the title from Joe Goss until losing his title to John L. Sullivan on February 7, 1882....
in Mississippi City, Hill held the $25,000 purse. This also applied to his resort when he would often deposit money and valuables from intoxicated patrons and return their property when the eventually sobered. One of the best known examples was an incident in 1884 when a drunken customer left $84,000 to Hill for safekeeping. The following morning when the man sobered up, he returned Hill's place with no recollection of leaving the money with Hill. Hill gave the surprised man his money and kindly "advised him to leave New York before taking another drink".
By the mid-1880s, Hill was reportedly worth between $500,000 and $1,000,000 although he himself never admitted to an income higher than $250,000. Hill eventually owned a number of businesses including two high class hotels in Flushing, Long Island and several steamboats which carried both freight and passengers between Flushing and New York City. He also possessed large numbers of fine Durham and Alderney cattle
Alderney cattle
The Alderney was a breed of dairy cattle originating from the British Channel Island of Alderney, though no longer found on the island. The pure breed is now extinct, though hybrids still exist.-Description:...
, pedigree dogs and horses. He was also forced to make heavy payments to police officials, at least $300 a week, until publicly accusing two officials from the Prince Street Police Station of blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
and extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
; he appeared before the Lexow Committee
Lexow Committee
Lexow Committee . The name given to a major New York State Senate probe into police corruption in New York City. The Lexow Committee inquiry, which took its name from the Committee's chairman, State Senator Clarence Lexow, was the widest-ranging of several such commissions empaneled during the...
years later providing details for "protection payments". The two officers were transferred to the West 100th Street Station while Hill's place was ordered to close after 1:00 am. This caused his resort to suffer as the majority of his business occurred from midnight until sunrise.
Financial troubles
His troubles worsened when collectors began demanding payments for notes he had endorsed for many of his friends. He had mortgaged his property in Flushing and was also forced to close his steamship line, losing both his hotel and shipping businesses largely due to mismanagement. Hill lost heavily in these ventures and, unable to keep up with the mortgage payments, he was nearly bankrupt. Closing his resort, he moved to HarlemHarlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
where he opened a small business at the southeast corner of Harlem Bridge but police interference forced him to close after a short time. Hill left New York after being refused a license from the city and opened a hotel in Corona, Long Island in 1890.
Hill ran the hotel for three years until it was destroyed in a fire in 1893. He continued to keep a local barroom and horse stable in the area until coming down with a sudden illness in mid-August 1896. Suffering chills and fever for a week, he died in Flushing on August 27, 1896.
He appeared as a minor character in the 2004 historical novel
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
A Passionate Girl by Thomas J. Fleming.
Further reading
- Chesham, Sally. Born to Battle: The Salvation Army in America. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1965.
- Doutney, Thomas N. Thomas N. Doutney: His Life-struggle and Triumphs, Also a Vivid Pen-picture of New York, Together with a History of the Work He Has Accomplished as a Temperance Reformer. Battle Creek, Michigan: W. C. Gage & Sons, 1893.
- Isenberg, Michael T. John L. Sullivan and His America. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994. ISBN 0-252-06434-8
- Kathcher, Leo. The Big Bankroll: The Life and Times of Arnold Rothstein. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994. ISBN 0-306-80565-0
- Smith, Matthew Hale. Sunshine and Shadow in New York. Hartford: J.B. Burr & Company, 1869.
- Steinmeyer, Jim. The Glorious Deception: The Double Life of William Robinson, aka Chung Ling Soo, the Marvelous Chinese Conjurer. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2005. ISBN 0-7867-1512-X
- Martin, Edward Winslow. The Secrets of the Great City: A Work Descriptive of the Virtues and the Vices, the Mysteries, Miseries and Crimes of New York City. Philadelphia: Jones Brothers & Co., 1868.