Everett "Wildcat" Craig
Name: Everett Craig
Alias: The Tuttle Wildcat
Hometown: Norman, Oklahoma, USA
Birthplace: Missouri, USA
Died: 1961-02-10 (Age:74)
Height: 168cm
Pro Boxer: Record
Who was he? When Everett "Wildcat" Craig fought Mutt McKee in 1922 the papers always referred to him as a veteran and a skilled fighter. McKee was a decent fighter himself and Craig was 36 years old when he fought him so it just could not have been his first fight. In fact later papers refer to the McKee win as "evening the score" so Craig must have beat McKee sometime before. That being said I cannot find any mention of him in any of the Norman or Oklahoma City papers before the 1922 fight. He either fought somewhere else or under an alias is all I can figure but I am positive he did not make his debut at 36 against Mutt McKee.
Although born in Missouri, he was living in Noble, Oklahoma (just south of Norman) by the 1900 census, when he was only 14, so he spent his life in that area. He moved to Tuttle, OK at some point where his son Dude was raised. He is living in Tuttle in 1918 when he filled out his draft card. On the draft card he is listed as short, with a medium build, blue eyes and brown hair. In the 1910 and 1920 census he is a farmer living in Tuttle, OK.
Missing fights;
July 29th 1922 he fought his brother Burl Craig in Noble, OK.
He was the father of Dude Craig.
According to The Norman Transcript 9/27/1921 he was managed by R.A. Wharton. Wharton said that Craig was 4-0 in the last 12 months winning all by knockout. Wharton said Craig's hardest fight was a "was with Jay Mayse of Oklahoma City a few years ago". In that fight Craig broke two ribs in the 2nd round and finished with an 8 round draw. Craig was 35 and weighed 126 pounds. 11/23/1921 he was scheduled to fight Eddie Evans in The Exhibition Building in Norman. According to The Norman Transcript 11/20/1921 Craig was undefeated for his life although he had many draws.