Jake Kilrain
Encyclopedia
Jake Kilrain was the popular name of John Joseph Killion, a famous bare knuckle fighter and glove boxer
of the 1880s.
. As a country boy from Long Island
, he had to learn how to stand up to the workers in the rolling mills. By the age of 20, he had been recognized as the toughest fighter in the mill. Kilrain was also a champion rower having won the National Amateur Junior Sculling Championship in 1883. He was later stripped of that honor when it was discovered that he was a prizefighter and thus could not be considered an amateur.
In 1883, Kilrain took up prizefighting as a profession and quickly established a reputation as a very tough fighter.
in 1889 in the last world heavyweight championship prizefight decided with bare knuckles under London Prize Ring rules
in history. In a hard-fought contest, Kilrain lost at the start of the 76th round when Mike Donovan, his second, threw in the sponge. Kilrain had not wanted to give up thinking that he outlast Sullivan, but Donovan defended his actions insisting that Kilrain would have died had the fight gone on. In any case, the Kilrain-Sullivan fight can rightly be listed among the greatest fights of the pre-modern era.
Kilrain was recognized by Richard K. Fox of the National Police Gazette as Heavyweight Champion of the World in 1887. The awarding of the belt to Kilrain was part of a strategy by Fox to draw Sullivan into a fight. Any remote claim he had to the title of world champion was lost in 1889 after his loss to John L. Sullivan.
Kilrain continued on for 10 more years after the Sullivan fight with gloves under Marquis of Queensberry rules with some success. His most significant win was a 44-round knockout
of Boston's George Godfrey
in 1891. He lived in his later years as a devoted family man with his wife and children as proprietor of a saloon in Baltimore, Maryland. After his saloon burned down, he moved back to Somerville and was given a job with the parks department. After government cutbacks during the Great Depression
he became a night watchman at a Quincy, Mass. shipyard.
In his later life, Kilrain became good friends with John L. Sullivan. When Sullivan died in 1918, Kilrain served as a pallbearer at the funeral.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
of the 1880s.
Early life
Kilrain found employment as a teenager in Somerville, MassachusettsSomerville, Massachusetts
Somerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in...
. As a country boy from Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, he had to learn how to stand up to the workers in the rolling mills. By the age of 20, he had been recognized as the toughest fighter in the mill. Kilrain was also a champion rower having won the National Amateur Junior Sculling Championship in 1883. He was later stripped of that honor when it was discovered that he was a prizefighter and thus could not be considered an amateur.
In 1883, Kilrain took up prizefighting as a profession and quickly established a reputation as a very tough fighter.
Accolades
He is best known for challenging champion John L. SullivanJohn 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...
in 1889 in the last world heavyweight championship prizefight decided with bare knuckles under London Prize Ring rules
London Prize Ring rules
The London Prize Ring Rules was a list of boxing rules promulgated in 1838 and revised in 1853. These rules were based on those drafted by Britain's Jack Broughton in 1743 and governed the conduct of prizefighting/bare-knuckle boxing for over 100 years...
in history. In a hard-fought contest, Kilrain lost at the start of the 76th round when Mike Donovan, his second, threw in the sponge. Kilrain had not wanted to give up thinking that he outlast Sullivan, but Donovan defended his actions insisting that Kilrain would have died had the fight gone on. In any case, the Kilrain-Sullivan fight can rightly be listed among the greatest fights of the pre-modern era.
Kilrain was recognized by Richard K. Fox of the National Police Gazette as Heavyweight Champion of the World in 1887. The awarding of the belt to Kilrain was part of a strategy by Fox to draw Sullivan into a fight. Any remote claim he had to the title of world champion was lost in 1889 after his loss to John L. Sullivan.
Kilrain continued on for 10 more years after the Sullivan fight with gloves under Marquis of Queensberry rules with some success. His most significant win was a 44-round knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
of Boston's George Godfrey
George Godfrey (boxer born 1853)
George Godfrey was the black Canadian heavyweight boxer that John L. Sullivan refused to fight as a champion. He is not to be confused with the American heavyweight George Godfrey who named himself after our subject....
in 1891. He lived in his later years as a devoted family man with his wife and children as proprietor of a saloon in Baltimore, Maryland. After his saloon burned down, he moved back to Somerville and was given a job with the parks department. After government cutbacks during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
he became a night watchman at a Quincy, Mass. shipyard.
In his later life, Kilrain became good friends with John L. Sullivan. When Sullivan died in 1918, Kilrain served as a pallbearer at the funeral.