Rat Bastards: Jack Kearns

[thenonpareil]

It could only be considered fitting that Jack “Doc” Kearns pulled his last scam from beyond the grave. In 1963, Kearns, the amoral flimflam man in floral shirts and ties, was already dead when an excerpt from his forthcoming autobiography, The Million Dollar Gate, ran in Sports Illustrated. In it, Kearns gleefully recounted how he had prepared a plaster of Paris mix for Jack Dempsey to use against Jess Willard. The myth of loaded gloves had shadowed Dempsey ever since he had left Willard resembling the by-product of a meat grinder in Toledo, and here was Kearns, more than forty years later, confessing to that sinister feat in one of the most popular magazines in America. It was one of the few shams that failed Kearns in toto: Dempsey successfully sued Sports Illustrated for defamation and the plaster of Paris bit never made it into the book. But his last gambit—an attempt to sell copies of The Million Dollar Gate via slander—underscored just how low Kearns was willing to go for a paying lark.

https://hannibalboxing.com/rat-bastards-jack-kearns/

[Ambling Alp II]

Kearns was one of those people that it seems only boxing produced. To be fair, he did turn around the career of Jack Dempsey.

[Cap]

I always wondered about that fight with Willard. Dempsey never administered such a beating to any other fighter, and Willard always felt Dempsey had something in his glove. Dempsey did seem in a hurry to leave the ring when he thought the fight was over. Did anyone ever examine the gloves themselves? No doubt Kearns probably removed most of the horsehair padding.

[harrygreb]

Willard was correct - there certainly was something in Dempsey's glove. its called a fist

[Onamastus]

I always wondered about that fight with Willard. Dempsey never administered such a beating to any other fighter, and Willard always felt Dempsey had something in his glove. Dempsey did seem in a hurry to leave the ring when he thought the fight was over. Did anyone ever examine the gloves themselves? No doubt Kearns probably removed most of the horsehair padding.

Willard's men Walter Monaghan and Ike O'Neil supervised the taping of Dempsey's hands, and the ref put on the gloves. The loaded gloves are a total myth.

Don't blame Dempsey for wanting to leave the ring and find some shade. It was like a million degrees under that July sun!

[Cap]

Ollie Pecord was the referee. He was an odd choice for a world title fight.

[margaret thatcher]

Ollie Pecord was the referee. He was an odd choice for a world title fight.

You seem a bit odd too?

[Duran1970]

I always wondered about that fight with Willard. Dempsey never administered such a beating to any other fighter, and Willard always felt Dempsey had something in his glove. Dempsey did seem in a hurry to leave the ring when he thought the fight was over. Did anyone ever examine the gloves themselves? No doubt Kearns probably removed most of the horsehair padding.

Willard's men Walter Monaghan and Ike O'Neil supervised the taping of Dempsey's hands, and the ref put on the gloves. The loaded gloves are a total myth.

Don't blame Dempsey for wanting to leave the ring and find some shade. It was like a million degrees under that July sun!

Was in a hurry to leave the ring cuz his manager bet a princely sum on a first round ko so they tried to get out of Dodge asap

[Cap]

....or he had something in his glove and wanted to ditch it. Dempsey was a railroad tramp in his early days and fought guys bigger than himself who would've killed him if they could. He took no chances. Willard had what he wanted and he wasn't going to let him stand in his way. Didn't matter if it was a can of beans or a hundred thousand in gold. It was Dempsey's animal ferocity and determination that Mike Tyson admired.

Picture Dempsey, a hundred and eighty-five pounds soaking wet , looking across the ring at this monster six and a half feet tall almost 250 pounds of bone and muscle, the guy who had beaten the great Jack Johnson and killed a man with his fists. Take no chances.

[adislav123]

willard must've been quite a chubby "monster", at 6 and a half feet tall & 250!! some fat on those "bones & muscle". anyway, somehow i remember old jess somehow different.

why would kearns make that shit up?

fat jess was beaten to a bloody pulp! there obviously was something real shitty going on.

nobody else got his face rearranged by dempsey like willard did & nobody else did disfigure willard the way dempsey did.

and again, why would kearns make that shit up? there is other ways to promote your fuckin book.

[Onamastus]

willard must've been quite a chubby "monster", at 6 and a half feet tall & 250!! some fat on those "bones & muscle". anyway, somehow i remember old jess somehow different.

why would kearns make that poo up?

fat jess was beaten to a bloody pulp! there obviously was something real shitty going on.

nobody else got his face rearranged by dempsey like willard did & nobody else did disfigure willard the way dempsey did.

and again, why would kearns make that poo up? there is other ways to promote your fuckin book.

Holyfield had loads of head clashes but only Hasim Rahman grew a second head as a result. Did he have a loaded head? Did Alex Stewart have Doc Kearns brand plaster of paris when he blew up Foreman's head? Lewis never sliced anyone up other than Vitali, did he have special gloves that night? Freak occurances are to be expected when punchers are swinging. The first KD of Dempsey/Willard looks utterly humongous even thru the ancient film, a proper jaw disintegrator.

[Ambling Alp II]

Freak things do happen in boxing. It is a fight. It is unpredictable.

If the referee has stopped the fight in the first round, it would have saved Willard a lot of punishment. The plaster of paris thing was debunked a long time ago. It simply doesn't work.

[goose 5]

I knew Jack Kearns Jr. and I regret never asking him about Dempsey-Willard.

[Woller]

Honestly why??

[goose 5]

For one thing, I was no longer very interested in Dempsey by the time Jack Jr. and I got friendly; I'd read so much about Dempsey that I didn't think to ask about him. Also, I don't doubt that Dempsey's gloves were loaded.

Jack did tell me some interesting bits of info about Dempsey that you might find interesting, For instance, he said the Dempsey -Cowboy Luttrell bout was a work. He also insisted that Dempsey stood 6'3"; he said Dempsey had a growth spurt after becoming champ.

Kearns Jr. couldn't speak highly enough about Kenny Lane-both as a fighter and as a man. He also told me his father was very impressed by L.C. Morgan.

Jack was one of the most interesting and intelligent men I've ever met.

[Onamastus]

For one thing, I was no longer very interested in Dempsey by the time Jack Jr. and I got friendly; I'd read so much about Dempsey that I didn't think to ask about him. Also, I don't doubt that Dempsey's gloves were loaded.

Jack did tell me some interesting bits of info about Dempsey that you might find interesting, For instance, he said the Dempsey -Cowboy Luttrell bout was a work. He also insisted that Dempsey stood 6'3"; he said Dempsey had a growth spurt after becoming champ.

Kearns Jr. couldn't speak highly enough about Kenny Lane-both as a fighter and as a man. He also told me his father was very impressed by L.C. Morgan.

Jack was one of the most interesting and intelligent men I've ever met.

A "growth spurt" at age 24?

[goose 5]

According to the N.Y. Times, Dempsey was measured at 6'0" by a N.Y.S.A.C. physician at he weigh-in for the Firpo bout. Photos show Dempsey without shoes on.