John L. Sullivan
John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918) is widely recognized as boxing's first modern world heavyweight champion and was a hugely popular figure in the late-ninteenth century. Sullivan's boxing skills remain well known even today, more than a century after his last fight. He was born to Irish immigrant parents in Roxbury, Massachusetts near Boston. As a teenager, he would get in barroom fights, after issuing a challenge that he “could lick any man in the house.”
In 1889, Sullivan fought Jake Kilrain in a match considered a turning point in boxing history. It was the final world-title bout fought under the London Prize Ring rules, and therefore the last bare-knuckle heavyweight title bout. Sullivan won the fight after the seventy-fifth round of the 80-round match.
For three years after the Kilrain match, Sullivan did not fight. Instead he toured as the hero of a self-promoting play called Honest Hearts and Willing Hands. However, he continued to carouse and box in exhibitions, memorably one against "Gentleman" Jim Corbett, with both fighters sparring in formal evening attire. In 1892, Sullivan faced Corbett in New Orleans as part of the Carnival of Champions, fought under the Queensberry Rules, with the fighters wearing five-ounce gloves. Sullivan's rugged boxing style was no match for Corbett's refined skills; he was knocked out in the twenty-first round.
Sullivan’s loss disillusioned his numerous fans, who thought that the "Boston Strong Boy" was unbeatable. It was Sullivan's last fight, after which he did some acting, swore off alcohol, and surprisingly, became a temperance lecturer. Having spent most of his $1 million in ring earnings, Sullivan retired to a Massachusetts farm. At age 59, he died from years of alcohol abuse. Sullivan’s vast renown and charismatic style did much to advance the sport of boxing in America.
Early life
Sullivan was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts (now a part of Boston) to Irish emigrant parents, Michael Sullivan from Abbeydorney, County Kerry and the former Catherine Kelly from Athlone, County Westmeath. Nicknamed "The Boston Strongboy," Sullivan apparently inherited his solid physique—he was five feet, 10 inches tall and weighed 190 pounds—from his mother, who equalled her grown son’s stature. Sullivan’s father, although an aggressive scrapper himself, was barely five feet, three inches tall.
In his youth, Sulivan was arrested several times for boxing where the sport was forbidden. As a teenager, he would fight in Boston barrooms, issuing a challenge that he “could lick any man in the house.” In 1879, he challenged anyone in America to fight him for $500. Sullivan also engaged in weightlifting exhibitions, hefting, and sometimes throwing kegs of beer. He became more serious about fighting when at the age of 18, he engaged in three- and four-round amateur bouts.
Sullivan briefly attended Boston College since his mother wanted him to become a priest. He then worked at various odd jobs, until his try at plumbing reportedly ended when he broke his employer’s jaw in a dispute about the proper pipe to use. A capable athlete, Sullivan played semi-pro baseball in the Boston area, and the Cincinnati Red Stockings offered him a contract, which he declined.
Sullivan’s big break came when he went to the Dudley Street Opera House in Boston in 1877. One of the acts featured heavyweight boxer Tom Scannel, who skipped rope, shadowboxed, and sparred with partners chosen from the audience. Often, the sparring partner was in on the act and would box two furious rounds before succumbing in the third. This night, Sullivan, urged on by the crowd, climbed the stage to face Scannel, who reportedly offered to shake hands, but suddenly slugged Sullivan instead. In return, Sullivan blasted Scannel with a half-dozen rapid blows and knocked him into the orchestra pit.
Professional career
The scene at the opera house launched young Sullivan on his professional career. In 1878, he knocked out Cockey Woods in Boston. In 1880, he boxed exhibitions with noted scientific boxer Professor Mike Donovan and former champion Joe Goss. Sullivan outclassed them both. The next year he scored an eight-round knockout over John Flood, known as the Bull’s Head Terror. Fighting on a barge in the Hudson River to evade the authorities, Sullivan made short work of Flood, knocking him down eight times. Both fighters wore tight, unpadded gloves.
Ryan bare-knuckle contest
On February 7, 1982, Sullivan met Paddy Ryan, the heavyweight champion—at least in American eyes—in Mississippi City, Mississippi. It was a bare-knuckle contest, and basically one-sided. Sullivan dominated the fight and knocked Ryan out in the eighth round with a right to the jaw. Sullivan was now considered the world champion, although there was some disagreement among British and Australian followers of the sport, since in Sullivan's era no formal boxing titles existed. Modern authorities have retroactively labelled Ryan the "Heavyweight Champion of America," but he could certainly be considered as much a "world champion" as Sullivan.
National challenge tour
In 1883-1884, Sullivan went on a coast-to-coast tour by train with five other boxers, challenging anyone to stay in the ring with him for four rounds for a $1,000 prize. It was scheduled to comprise 195 performances in 136 different cities and towns over 238 days. To help promote the tour, Sullivan announced that he would box anyone at any time during the tour under the Queensberry Rules for $250. He took on all comers. Only Tug Wilson, an English fighter, went the distance. It has been claimed he knocked out about 30 men during the tour, but there is no proof to back this claim.
Charlie Mitchell bout
In 1883, Sullivan faced British Empire champion, Charlie Mitchell, in a gloved bout. Although Sullivan was winning the fight when the police stepped in to prevent the battered Mitchell from absorbing more punishment, Mitchell had shocked Sullivan and his fans by knocking him down in the first round.
Their second meeting took place in 1888 on at the estate of Baron Rothschild at Chantilly, France in driving rain. It went on for more than two hours, at the end of which both men were unrecognizable and had suffered much loss of blood; neither could lift his arms to punch and the contest was considered a draw at 39 rounds.
Depending on the modern authority, Sullivan was first considered world-heavyweight champion either in 1888 when he fought Charley Mitchell in France, or the following year when he knocked out Jake Kilrain in round 75 of a scheduled 80-round bout. But in truth, neither match was considered at the time to be about determining a world heavyweight champion.
When the modern authorities talk of the heavyweight championship of the world, they are probably referring to the championship belt presented to Sullivan in Boston on August 8, 1887. The belt was inscribed Presented to the Champion of Champions, John L. Sullivan, by the Citizens of the United States. Its centerpiece featured the flags of the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
The local gendarmerie arrived at this point and managed to arrest Mitchell, who spent the next few days in a cell and was later fined by the local magistrate, boxing being illegal in France at that time. Sullivan managed to evade the law, swathed in bandages, and was taken back across the English Channel to spend the next few weeks convalescing in Liverpool. Mitchell acted as Sullivan's corner man for many years after.
The Kilrain fight
The Kilrain fight is considered to be a turning point in boxing history because it was the last world title bout fought under the London Prize Ring rules and therefore the last bare-knuckle heavyweight title bout.
For the first time, newspapers carried extensive pre-fight coverage, reporting on the fighters' training and speculating on where the bout would take place. The center of activity was New Orleans, but the governor of Louisiana had forbidden the fight in that state. Sullivan had trained for months in Belfast, New York under trainer William Muldoon, whose biggest problem had been keeping Sullivan from liquor.
Rochester reporter Arch Merrill commented that occasionally Sullivan would "escape" from his guard, and the cry was heard in the village, "John L. is loose again. Send for Muldoon!" Muldoon would snatch the champ away from the bar and take him back to their training camp. Sullivan’s weight had ballooned to 240 flabby pounds, and he went into extensive training with champion wrestler William Muldoon to trim down to 205.
On July 7, 1889, an estimated 3000 spectators boarded special trains for the secret location, which turned out to be Richburg, a town just south of Hattiesburg. The fight began at 10:30 the following morning, and it looked as if Sullivan was going to lose, especially after he vomited during the forty-fourth round. But the champion got his second wind after that, and Kilrain's manager finally threw in the towel after the seventy-fifth round of the 80-round match.
Loss to Corbett
Undefeated at that point, Sullivan did not defend his title for the next four years, becoming physically unfit. He finally agreed to defend his title in 1892 against "Gentleman Jim" Corbett. The heavyweight contest occurred under the Marquess of Queensberry rules, but it was neither the first title fight under those rules, nor was it the first title fight using boxing gloves.
The contrast of styles was obvious, matching Sullivan's power and ruggedness against Corbett's refined boxing skill. Out of condition due to his overly indulgent lifestyle, Sullivan was no match for Corbett who stayed clear of the champion for 12 rounds. By the seventeenth, Corbett's tactics were wearing Sullivan down, resulting in his being knocked out in the twenty-first round.
Sullivan is considered the last bare-knuckle champion because no champion after him fought bare-knuckled. However, Sullivan had fought with gloves under the Marquess of Queensberry rules as early as 1880 and he only fought bare knuckle three times in his entire career (Ryan 1882, Mitchell 1888, and Kilrain 1889). His bare-knuckle image was created because his infrequent fights from 1888 up to the Corbett fight in 1892 had been bare-knuckle.
Retirement
Sullivan retired, but appeared in several exhibitions over the next 12 years, including a three-rounder against Tom Sharkey and a final two-rounder against Jim McCormick in 1905. He continued his various careers outside boxing such as stage actor, speaker, celebrity, baseball umpire, sports reporter, and bar owner.
He did some acting and, surprisingly, swore off alcohol. Previously known for his prodigious drinking, Sullivan became a temperance lecturer. He retired to a Massachusetts farm, having depleted most of the $1 million he had earned in his public career.
In his later years Sullivan became a teetotaler and often supported the temperance movement. He died of health problems caused by his earlier alcoholism, aged 59, and is buried in the Old Calvary Cemetery in Mattapan, now a neighborhood of Boston.
Legacy
Sullivan’s vast renown and charismatic style did much to advance the sport of boxing in America. He is considered the last bare-knuckle champion because no champion after him fought that way. His bare-knuckle image was created because his infrequent fights from 1888 up to the Corbett fight in 1892 had been bare-knuckle.
- Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990, as a member of the hall's original class.
- Sullivan had a record of 35 wins, one loss, and two draws, with 30 wins by knockout, though many sources disagree on his exact record.
- He is known to have been an autograph signer, and there are many items including documents and photos known to bear his signature, which are valued in the hundreds of dollars. A photo with a facsimile autograph surfaced decades ago on books, magazines, and in novelty stores, and has been widely circulated.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Pollack, Adam J. John L. Sullivan: The Career of the First Gloved Heavyweight Champion, McGarland & Company, 2006. ISBN 978-0786425587
- Isenberg, Michael T. John L. Sullivan and His America, University of Illinois Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0252064340
- Fleischer, Nat. John L. Sullivan: Champion of Champions, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1951. ASIN B000JOFOZM
- Dibble, R.F. John L. Sullivan: An Intimate Narrative, Kessinger Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1432562380
External links
- John L. Sullivan Boxing Record
- The Boston Strongboy
- Yesterday's News An 1883 newspaper account of a Sullivan exhibition in St. Paul, Minn.
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