- John Morrissey
Infobox Person
name = John Morrissey
image_size = 250px
caption = engraving circa 1860
birth_date = birth date|1831|2|12|mf=y
birth_place =Templemore ,County Tipperary , Ireland
death_date = death date and age|1878|5|1|1831|2|12|mf=y
death_place =Troy, New York
occupation = Boxer andPolitician
spouse =
parents =
children =John Morrissey (
February 12 ,1831 –May 1 ,1878 ), also known as Old Smoke, was a bare-knuckle boxer and agang member inNew York in the 1850s and later became a Democratic State Senator and U.S. Congressman fromNew York , backed byTammany Hall . Morrissey began his bare knuckle boxing career after a confrontation with a man known only as "Chroel" who was notorious for troubling his fellow townsmen. Although Morrissey was on the bitter end of his first bare knuckle bout, his display of bravery and fortitude earned himself the respect and historical acknowledgment of his peers.Early life
John was born in
Templemore ,County Tipperary , Ireland in 1831. In 1833 his parents emigrated to theUnited States and settled inTroy, New York .John's father Tim worked on the docks along the
Hudson River earning a dollar per day. Early in his life, young John Morrissey developed a reputation with the local authorities as a ne'er-do-well. Desperate to escape poverty, he worked as a cargo thief and also as a collection agent for Irishcrime boss es in the area, and before he was 18, he had been indicted twice forburglary , once forassault and battery , and once forassault with intent to kill. Along with his criminal and ferocious fighting abilities, Morrissey also displayed driving ambition, teaching himself to read and write while working as a bouncer at a South Troybrothel . After spending two months in jail, Morrissey left Troy forNew York City .During a fight with a gang member named Tom McCann, Morrissey was pinned on his back atop burning coals from a stove that had been overturned. Morrissey endured the pain as his flesh burned, fought off McCann, and got back on his feet. Enraged, Morrissey beat McCann senseless as smoke from his burning flesh rose up from his back. The event earned him the nickname "Old Smoke," which stuck with him through the rest of his life.
After two years in New York, Morrissey sailed to San Francisco, seeking fortune during the
California Gold Rush . While he didn't have any luck in that endeavor, Morrissey became a renowned gambler and made a fortune winning gold fromprospectors . It was also during this time that Morrissey appeared for the first time in a professional prizefighting ring. He knocked out George Thompson in the 11th round, earning $5,000. This success encouraged him to return to New York to fight the American Champion,Yankee Sullivan .The Champion
Morrissey returned to New York and challenged Sullivan repeatedly until the latter finally agreed. Due to the violent nature of the sport, boxing was illegal in most places during the 1850s. The first boxing rules, called the London Prize Ring rules, were introduced by heavyweight champion
Jack Broughton in 1743 to protect fighters in the ring where deaths sometimes occurred. Under these rules, if a man went down and could not continue after a count of 30 seconds, the fight was over. Hitting a downed fighter and grasping below the waist were prohibited. Fights usually lasted for 20-30 rounds. Rounds continued until one fighter touched the ground with his knee, or simply fell down. The fight was scheduled forOctober 12 ,1853 , in the village ofBoston Corners, New York . The area's mountainous terrain made it difficult for police to find the village, providing a good location for the illegal match. The fight took place in a field, and was supposedly viewed by over 3,000 spectators. Sullivan dominated the match for most of the fight, but Morrissey held his own, and the tough Irishman would not quit, though his face became distorted and unrecognizable. In the 37th round, more than an hour after the start of the fight, a riot broke out when Yankee Sullivan struck Morrissey while he was on his knees. Crowds started jumping into the ring, and after the chaos had been quelled, the referee awarded the fight and American Championship to Old Smoke. The victory made him a national celebrity, and hero to the Irish.Dead Rabbits
Morrissey became involved in Democratic politics in
New York City and a rivalry withWilliam Poole , also known as "Bill the Butcher". Poole was an enforcer for theKnow-Nothing Party , leader of theBowery Boys , and a boxer. In 1854, Morrissey was hired to prevent Poole and his gang from seizing ballot boxes and rigging an election. After Morrissey and his gang, theDead Rabbits , did,Tammany Hall allowed him to open a gambling house without police interference. One of Morrissey's friends, Lew Baker, shot and fatally wounded Bill the Butcher at a saloon on Broadway in 1855, following Morrisey's loss to Poole in a boxing match a few weeks earlier. Morrissey and Baker were indicted for the murder, but the charges were dropped after three trials resulting in hung juries. Morrissey then retired from boxing at the insistence of his wife, and returned toTroy, New York . Morrissey's business ventures were unsuccessful, and he returned to boxing in 1858 to defend his championship inLong Point, Ontario , against fellowTroy, New York nativeJohn C. Heenan . The fight lasted 11 rounds, with Morrissey knocking out Heenan, for several minutes, to defend his title. Heenan claimed the title on Morrissey's retirement from boxing in 1859.aratoga
After establishing a successful gaming house in
Saratoga Springs, New York , Morrissey created theSaratoga Race Course with the help ofWilliam R. Travers ,John R. Hunter , andLeonard Jerome . He also established "The Club House," a casino in Saratoga that attracted such notable guests asChester A. Arthur ,Rutherford B. Hayes , andUlysses S. Grant , as well as CommodoreCornelius Vanderbilt ,John Rockefeller , andMark Twain .Politician
After his retirement from boxing, Morrissey focused his attention on gambling establishments, owning stake in 16 casinos at one point. In 1866 he ran for Congress with the backing of Tammany Hall and served two terms in the House (1867-1871). As a Congressman, he always looked out for the interests of the Irish, and was known to use strong-arm tactics to accomplish his legislative goals, at one point declaring that he could "lick any man in the House." He eventually grew tired of the rampant corruption within Tammany Hall and left the House after his second term. He eventually testified against
William Tweed , which helped put the notorious boss in prison. Following his service in Congress, Morrissey was elected to the New York State Senate in 1875 and was re-elected in 1877, serving in that capacity until his death in 1878.Morrissey contracted pneumonia and died on
May 1 ,1878 at the age of 47. The state closed all offices and flags were flown at half-mast. The entire State Senate attended his funeral in Troy, and 20,000 mourners lined the streets to pay their last respects. He was buried in St. Peter's Cemetery, just outside of Troy. At the time of his death, Morrissey's estate was valued at more than $2 million.Legacy
*In 1996 he was elected to the
International Boxing Hall of Fame .
*Morrissey was featured on a portion of theHistory Channel documentary, "Paddy Whacked, The History of the Irish Mob."Timeline
*1831 Birth in Ireland
*1833 Emigrated to USA with parents
*1833 Moved to Troy, New York
*1848 Moved to Manhattan
*1851 Moved to California
*1858 Boxing champion
*1863 Saratoga race course
*1867 First Congressional term
*1871 End of Congress terms
*1875 State Senate first term
*1877 State Senate second term
*1878 Deathee also
*
List of bare-knuckle boxers Periodicals
*
Washington Post ;May 2 ,1910 . "John Morrissey's Fight With 'Yankee' Sullivan. Prize Fighter, Adventurer, Politician -- Began in a Paper Mill, and Made Millions -- Elected to Congress in 1866 -- Never Beaten in a Fair Fight During Career. From theNew York Herald . As the first period in the history of the prize ring ends with 'Tom' Johnson and the second with 'Tom' Spring, so the third closes with the brief championship of 'Tom' King. From the sixties on the ring became less and less an exclusively British institution, the influence of America, and later Australasia, changing conditions and traditions."References
* Charlton T. Lewis, "Harper's Book of Facts", New York, 1906
* Herbert Asbury, "The Gangs of New York", New York, 1928
* John C. Kofoed, "Biography of Honorable John Morrisey, Champion Heavyweight of America and State Senator", New York, 1938
* Brien Bouyea, "The Legend of Old Smoke," newspaper article appearing in the Troy Record.External links
* [http://esf.uvm.edu/vtbox/Historical.html History of Boxing: Poole vs Morrissey]
* [http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_113.html American Mafia: John Morrissey]
* [http://leetonium.com/nys/nys_230.jpgHistorical marker for bout with incorrect date]
* [http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Month=July&Date=10 “The ‘Short-Hair’ and ‘Swallow-Tail’ Fight”] ,Thomas Nast cartoon, "Harper's Weekly ", with discussion by Robert C. Kennedy, 2001.
* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M001001 Congressional Biography]
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