When the Irish Ruled the World

[HomicideHenry]

It can be said that boxing & pro wrestling would not have been the powerhouses it was without the Irishman--- especially in North America, where the two sports exploded beyond measure despite the British having been the center of the pugilistic universe for centuries.

On the wrestling end of things were men like William Muldoon and J.H. McLaughlin who fundamentally changed the landscape of prizefighting--- the style wars of "Collar and Elbow", "Greaco Roman", "Sumo", etc made for exciting matches. Up until 1889, also, boxing and wrestling were inseparable as athlete's cross trained. Muldoon, for his part, raised the standard of excellence in terms of conditioning in both sports.

On the boxing end of things were men like the original Jack Dempsey (Nonpareil) and John L. Sullivan who also fundamentally changed the landscape of prizefighting--- Sullivan was the man who truly challenged the world, unlike the majority of champions prior to himself who fought local fighters, and it was Sullivan who emphasized the importance of breaking ties with "the old ways" by adhering to a new set of rules that focused ONLY on punching rather than mixed combat. Dempsey, alongside Sullivan, was America's first genuine superstar, although he was just the middleweight champion--- and even in death he's immortalized in famous poems, songs, and of course by "The Manassa Mauler" Jack Dempsey (William Harrison Dempsey) who stole the moniker.

For decades after these men's death's it was considered "lucky" for a boxer or wrestler to adopt Irish names--- nobody was interested in Lithuanian fighters, for example, which is why Juozas Povilas Žukauskas changed his name to Jack Sharkey, in tribute to the Irish Tom Sharkey of the early 1900s.

In the wrestling world it was Robert Herman Julius Friedrich who changed his name to Ed "Strangler" Lewis, in tribute to the earlier Evan "Strangler" Lewis who was of Irish descent.

Even in more recent times it has been the joke, "We'll call you Irish just because you're white," which has been said in such boxing films as 1972's FAT CITY and of course THE GREAT WHITE HYPE.

In the 70s ethnicity was a big deal I wrestling. Italians suddenly were donning head feathers and calling themselves Indians for example. Is it any wonder, then, that the biggest star in wrestling history "The Immortal Hulk Hogan" originally was an Irish gimmick? Terry Bollea is an Italian-Panamanian.

I'm reminded of the phrase Morgan Freeman in MILLION DOLLAR BABY uttered, "Everyone wants to be Irish or claim Irish ancestry," and that influence can be found in all genres of entertainment no matter how ironic the circumstances, much like Leadbelly singing "Goodnight Irene" and other Celtic tunes despite being a black man from the deep South.

[Ilya Muromets]

Interesting! "Fat City", that you mentioned, is my favorite boxing movie, about boxing's underbelly, boxing's losers. The ethnic gimmick worked otherwise too. Max Baer, whose name has been active on another thread here, played the Jewish gimmick tho he wasn't even jewish except one grandparent i think. Other fighters did that too. In wrestling everybody's something exotic, wild men of samoa, indian chiefs, mad russians - in the cold war, evil germans and japanese - in the post WW2 years.

I don't know what's going with wrestling now. I haven't looked at the dopey thing in years. Boxing is morphing with it anyway, "story lines" and contrived "pressers" and encounters outside the ring where cameramen just happen to be all ready and filming. Have they started bringing folding chairs and into the boxing ring and hiding "foreign objects" in their boxing trunks yet?

[BitPlayer]

I'm yet to read through them, but
Ned James LIVES AND BATTLES of the IRISH CHAMPIONS


Prospective and retrospective, Peter Corcoran
New York Clipper, 8 December 1883
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Duggan Fearns
New York Clipper, 15 December 1883
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Captain O'Kelley
New York Clipper, 22 December 1883
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Jack Doyle
New York Clipper, 29 December 1883
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Mike Ryan
New York Clipper, 5 January 1884
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Jack O'Donnell
New York Clipper, 12 January 1884
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Dan Dogherty
New York Clipper, 19 January 1884
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Jack Randall
New York Clipper, 26 January 1884
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Tom Duggan
New York Clipper, 2 February 1884
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Dan Donnelly
New York Clipper, 9 February 1884
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Dan Donnelly
New York Clipper, 16 February 1884
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Dan Donnelly
New York Clipper, 23 February 1884
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Dan Donnelly Vs Tom Oliver
New York Clipper, 1 March 1884
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Dan Donnelly
New York Clipper, 8 March 1884
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Dan Donnelly
New York Clipper, 15 March 1884
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Tom Reynolds
New York Clipper, 22 March 1884
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Langan Vs Owen McGowran
New York Clipper, 29 March 1884
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Langan Vs Spring
New York Clipper, 5 April 1884
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Langan Vs Spring II
New York Clipper, 12 April 1884
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Paddy O'Neill
New York Clipper, 19 April 1884
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Patsy McGee
New York Clipper, 26 April 1884
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Byrne Vs Phill Sampson
New York Clipper, 3 May 1884
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Byrne Vs Sandy McKay
New York Clipper, 10 May 1884
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Byrne arrested for mansluaghter
New York Clipper, 17 May 1884
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Dudley Downs
New York Clipper, 24 May 1884
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The murder of O'Rourke
New York Clipper, 31 May 1884
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Yankee Sullivan
New York Clipper, 7 June 1884
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Yankee Sullivan
New York Clipper, 14 June 1884
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Tom Hyer Vs Yankee Sullivan
New York Clipper, 21 June 1884
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Sullivan Vs Morrissey
New York Clipper, 28 June 1884
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Charley Langan
New York Clipper, 5 July 1884
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Langan Vs Brassey
New York Clipper, 12 July 1884
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[BitPlayer]

Langan Vs Hampion
New York Clipper, 19 July 1884
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Sailey Vs McDonald and Parker
New York Clipper, 26 July 1884
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Barney Dougherty
New York Clipper, 2 August 1884
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Paddy Murphy
New York Clipper, 9 August 1884
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William Hastings
New York Clipper, 16 August 1884
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Harry Gribbin
New York Clipper, 23 August 1884
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Joesph Coburn
New York Clipper, 30 August 1884
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Phil Clare
New York Clipper, 6 September 1884
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Phil Clare
New York Clipper, 13 September 1884
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Neddy Hogan, Johnny M'Grain, Jimmy Trainor
New York Clipper, 20 September 1884
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George Ring
New York Clipper, 27 September 1884
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Jack Rooke
New York Clipper, 4 October 1884
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Doesn't appear to be one
New York Clipper, 11 October 1884

Jacke Rooke
New York Clipper, 18 October 1884
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Rooke Vs Ryall
New York Clipper, 25 October 1884
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Patsy Reardon
New York Clipper, 1 November 1884
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Reardon Vs Ring
New York Clipper, 8 November 1884
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James Dillon
New York Clipper, 15 November 1884
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Tom Kelly
New York Clipper, 22 November 1884
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Kelly Vs Rooke
New York Clipper, 29 November 1884
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Tim Collins
New York Clipper, 6 December 1884
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Ned O'Baldwin
New York Clipper, 13 December 1884
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O'Baldwin Vs Maraden
New York Clipper, 20 December 1884
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O'Baldwin Vs Wormald
New York Clipper, 27 December 1884
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[HomicideHenry]

DAAAAAMN excellent work

[Caractacus]

Dang, but couldn't you have waited a couple days for St. Patricks Day to post this thread ?
It would have had more impact.i

[HomicideHenry]

Dang, but couldn't you have waited a couple days for St. Patricks Day to post this thread ?
It would have had more impact.i

When you're Irish or part Irish you celebrate early and late.