Willie Kane

Name: Willie Kane
Hometown: Trenton, New Jersey, USA
Birthplace: Paterson, New Jersey, USA
Pro Boxer: Record

William Kane ("Willie Kane") was born in Paterson, New Jersey, USA.

At some point, he moved to Passaic, NJ, living on Madison Street and, as the Passaic Daily News put it, he "used to battle with the boys in this vicinity." In the 1910 United States Census, there was one boy named William Kane (born in 1896) living in Passaic. (In that same Census there were four boys named William Kane living in Paterson, with birth years of 1893, 1895, 1899, and 1901. It is uncertain if any of these were the Willie Kane here.)

Kane started his pro career in late 1911 in New Jersey. Sometime in the 1910s he relocated from Passaic to Audenreid, PA--in the vicinity of Hazleton and McAdoo.

Willie Kane served in the United States Army in World War I and saw action in France. (A Hazleton, PA, newspaper reported on July, 11, 1918, that, at some point in the past, New Jersey guys Willie Kane and Passic-born Johnny Mahoney had been training in Hazleton.) The August 5, 1919, edition of the Trenton Evening Times reported that Kane, formerly of Passaic and with "quite a pugilistic reputation in North Jersey before this country entered the war," was recently discharged from the Army and living in Trenton. It also noted that he had been the bantamweight champion of the Army post at Camp Sevier, SC, prior to his discharge and was being trained by George Wellman and Jack Devinney in Trenton.

Around this time, Kane began living as a boarder in the home of a Ms. Capewell, at 43 North Stockton Street in Trenton, where he would stay for at least 15 months. The Passaic Daily News reported that ex-Passaic resident Kane defeated Joe Stanley in a bout in Philadelphia on October 25, 1919. (There were at least two men named "William Kane" living in Trenton by 1920, according to the 1920 Census: a farm worker, who occasionally got into trouble; and a boxer.)

Soon after the "war to end all wars," Willie Kane began to appear once again on New Jersey boxing cards, quickly gaining a following with his crowd pleasing style. He had the odd propensity of sticking out his tongue while boxing, attracting press attention. It was later concluded that the tongue extension was a nervous tic rather than a disrespectful mocking gesture. The Trenton Evening Times opined that it was potentially dangerous and that Kane should be barred from the ring for his own safety. However, competing at about 120lbs., Kane soon became a main-event drawing card in Trenton. And he was matched with some local rivals.

The pivotal bout in Kane's career was an eight round main event in 1921 vs. Dave Schuster, a Trentonian. The Trenton Evening Times described the bout as "a ding dong affair that tossed the large audience into hysterics," giving the nod to the heavier Schuster 4-3-1. Kane collapsed after the bout from what the newspaper termed a nervous breakdown. The newspaper began its account of the card by saying: "Willie Kane should never again be permitted to take part in a ring contest. His collapse at the Arena last night...fulfilled a prediction made by the Times two years ago. Kane is not physically sound. He has suffered from a serious nervous ailment ever since his service in France...." Kane was hospitalized in Trenton, but doctors couldn't find a physiological problem. Kane stayed in the hospital of his own volition for a couple of days after being cleared for discharge, then he went to Passaic to recuperate. Kane's subsequent explanation of his collapse, supported by his landlady, was that he had overeaten a steak dinner the afternoon of his bout with Schuster.

Kane resumed his career, and he was matched to box former bantamweight world champion Kid Williams in a main event to be held in Trenton in October, 1921. The bout never took place, as Kane suffered another nervous collapse while training on September 29. The Trenton Evening Times reported that Kane fell into a "coma" but that doctors had found nothing physically wrong. The newspaper concluded: "This is the second time that the boy has collapsed within eight months and there is no likelihood of his ever again being signed to box in this city."

The newspaper was prophetic: Kane never had another bout in Trenton, although he did continue his ring career with some bouts elsewhere. The situation was considered so serious that a collection was taken up for Kane at a Trenton card on October 10, 1921, and $220.50 was raised for him. Kane also continued to live and train in Trenton, and he participated in some exhibition bouts for various charities in Trenton and vicinity over the years, as late as 1924. From time to time, fans would write letters to the Trenton Evening Times requesting that the popular Kane be booked in regular bouts in Trenton, but that never happened.