Joe 'Petie' Coffey

Name: Joe 'Petie' Coffey
Birth Name: Peter J. Kerr
Hometown: San Francisco, California, USA
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, USA
Died: 1925-06-29 (Age:24)
Pro Boxer: Record

• Manager: Dolph Thomas

According to a news item found in the July 1, 1925 edition of the Oakland Tribune, on the newspaper database of Ancestry.com, Joe 'Petie' Coffey was killed instantly in a mining explosion in Sierra City, California, June 30, 1925. Coffey's brother was Johnny Kerr, a professional baseball player who played for the Salt Lake City Bees in the Pacific Coast League at the time. But according to a list of deaths found on the Rootsweb genealogical website, one Joseph Kerr was killed due to a discharge of a missed hole in the Colombo Mine in Sierra City, California on June 29, 1925.

According to the U.S. Passport Applications database on Ancestry.com, one Peter J. Kerr stated on his application that he was born in San Francisco, California on December 17, 1920. He also stated that he was a professional boxer whose professional name was Joe Coffey. Charles H. MacDonald, a "manager," stated that he knew Kerr for five years. John F. Kerr, a "ballplayer," filed an affidavit in support of his brother's application. Peter J. Kerr stated that he intended to sail on the S.S. Ventura from San Francisco on March 14, 1922, and travel to Australia and New Zealand. His passport was issued on March 7, 1922.

According to his record on the BoxRec website, Joe "Petie" Coffey continued to have bouts on a regular basis in California from the latter part of March until late 1924, which means that it is probable that he didn't sail on the S.S. Ventura from San Francisco to Australia and New Zealand on March 14, 1922. (John F. Kerr had a lengthy professional baseball career as a second baseman in the minor leagues with short stints in Major League Baseball.)

Much of this record was compiled through the research of Charles E. Johnston.