Johnny Kilbane
Johnny Kilbane | |
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Statistics | |
Real name | John Patrick Kilbane |
Nickname(s) | Johnny |
Weight(s) | Featherweight |
Nationality | United States of America |
Born | Cleveland, Ohio | April 9, 1889
Died | May 31, 1957 Cleveland, Ohio | (aged 68)
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 143 |
Wins | 110 |
Wins by KO | 24 |
Losses | 17 |
Draws | 15 |
No contests | 1 |
John Patrick "Johnny" Kilbane (April 9, 1889 – May 31, 1957) was a featherweight boxer in the early part of the 20th century. He held the World Featherweight title from 1912 to 1923, the longest period in the division's history, having defended the title against four contenders during the reign.[1][2][3] Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Kilbane as the #2 ranked featherweight of all-time, while The Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at #5.[4][5] The International Boxing Research Organization rates Kilbane as the 8th best featherweight ever.[6] He was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1960 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.[4]
Early life[]
Kilbane was born to John and Mary (Gallagher) Kilbane in Cleveland, Ohio on April 9, 1889. His mother died when he was 3 years old and his father went blind when he was 6. He attended school until the sixth grade when he dropped out to help support his family.
Career[]
Kilbane's first professional fight was in 1907, for which he earned around $25.
World featherweight champion[]
On February 22, 1912 Kilbane took the featherweight title from Abe Atell in a twenty-round match in Vernon, California. When he returned to Cleveland, on St. Patrick's Day, he was given the greatest welcome ever given to a native Clevelander, with more than 100,000 people turning out. He held the featherweight championship for 11 years through numerous fights. He finally lost it to Eugene Criqui. The high number of "no decision"s in his career reflected early boxing rules in many states in the U.S. that dictated "no decision"—ND—unless a fight ended by knockout.
Kilbane fought 1904 World Bantamweight champion Jimmy Walsh in a World Featherweight Title match on May 21, 1912 at the Pilgrim Athletic Club in Boston, Massachusetts to a twelve-round draw decision.[7] They had previously fought in a non-title match on May 30, 1911, in a 12-round draw bout in Canton, Ohio, that was characterized as "full of clinches", with neither man "doing much hard work."[8]
In October 1917 - while still World Featherweight Champion - Kilbane became a lieutenant in the U.S. Army — assigned to Camp Sherman located near Chillicothe, Ohio — training U.S. soldiers in self-defense during World War I.[9]
After losing the featherweight title in 1923, Kilbane won at least two exhibition bouts, and then retired from boxing.
Life after boxing[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Johnny_Kilbane_LOC.tif/lossy-page1-130px-Johnny_Kilbane_LOC.tif.jpg)
Kilbane would referee boxing matches after retiring from boxing, as well as operating a gym, serving in the Ohio Senate and acting as Clerk of the Cleveland Municipal Court.
Kilbane was such a popular prizefighter in his day that his name appeared in print as a verb. An unsigned commentary in the sports pages of the New York Times on May 16, 1912, reported on an episode involving Detroit baseball player Ty Cobb, who the day before, in a game between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees, had gone into the stands after a heckler. The commentary said, "The famous baseball player from Detroit, Ty Cobb chased after a heckler during a game with the New York Yankees and 'Johnny Kilbaned' him right where he stood...and in so doing stopped the profane and intolerable language dead in its tracks, along with the heckler himself". Kilbane was a distant relative of the Irish boxer John Joe Nevin, the footballer Darren Fletcher, the wrestler Giant Haystacks and the Irish footballer Kevin Kilbane. His family was originally from Achill, County Mayo, Ireland.
He died on May 31, 1957 in Cleveland, Ohio.[3]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Kilbane_statue.jpg/220px-Kilbane_statue.jpg)
Awards and honors[]
- 12-year reign as World Featherweight Champion
- 1995: International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee
- 2012: Street where Kilbane grew up in Cleveland (Herman Avenue) was renamed Kilbane Town[10] and
- 2012: Statue on Achill Island, Mayo, Ireland from where his parents emigrated.[11]
- 2014: Statue in Cleveland's Battery Park neighborhood.[12]
Professional boxing record[]
All information in this section is derived from BoxRec,[13] unless otherwise stated.
Official record[]
143 fights | 49 wins | 6 losses |
By knockout | 24 | 3 |
By decision | 25 | 3 |
Draws | 7 | |
No contests | 1 | |
Newspaper decisions/draws | 80 |
All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted as a win, loss or draw.
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | showNotes |
---|
Unofficial record[]
143 fights | 110 wins | 17 losses |
By knockout | 24 | 3 |
By decision | 86 | 14 |
Draws | 15 | |
No contests | 1 |
Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions to the win/loss/draw column.
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | hideNotes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
143 | Loss | 110–17–15 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 6 (15) | Jun 2, 1923 | ![]() |
Lost NYSAC featherweight title |
142 | Win | 110–16–15 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 7 (12) | Sep 17, 1920 | ![]() |
Retained NYSAC featherweight title |
141 | Win | 109–16–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | May 25, 1920 | ![]() |
|
140 | Win | 108–16–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Jul 28, 1920 | ![]() |
|
139 | Loss | 107–16–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 8 | Jun 2, 1920 | ![]() |
|
138 | Loss | 107–15–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | May 24, 1920 | ![]() |
|
137 | Win | 107–14–15 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 7 (10) | Apr 21, 1920 | ![]() |
|
136 | Loss | 106–14–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 8 | Feb 25, 1920 | ![]() |
|
135 | Win | 106–13–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Jan 24, 1920 | ![]() |
|
134 | Win | 105–13–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Jan 1, 1920 | ![]() |
|
133 | Loss | 104–13–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 8 | Dec 29, 1919 | ![]() |
|
132 | Win | 104–12–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Sep 20, 1919 | ![]() |
|
131 | Win | 103–12–15 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 5 (8) | Sep 16, 1919 | ![]() |
|
130 | Win | 102–12–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Jul 28, 1919 | ![]() |
|
129 | Win | 101–12–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | May 14, 1919 | ![]() |
|
128 | Win | 100–12–15 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 6 (6) | Apr 19, 1919 | ![]() |
|
127 | Win | 99–12–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Apr 12, 1919 | ![]() |
|
126 | Win | 98–12–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Apr 5, 1919 | ![]() |
|
125 | Win | 97–12–15 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 2 (6) | Mar 31, 1919 | ![]() |
|
124 | Loss | 96–12–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Mar 10, 1919 | ![]() |
|
123 | Loss | 96–11–15 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 3 (6) | Jul 25, 1917 | ![]() |
|
122 | Win | 96–10–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | May 24, 1917 | ![]() |
|
121 | Win | 95–10–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | May 1, 1917 | ![]() |
|
120 | Win | 94–10–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Apr 19, 1917 | ![]() |
|
119 | Draw | 93–10–15 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Mar 26, 1917 | ![]() |
|
118 | Win | 93–10–14 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Mar 19, 1917 | ![]() |
|
117 | Win | 92–10–14 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Mar 12, 1917 | ![]() |
|
116 | Loss | 91–10–14 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Feb 26, 1917 | ![]() |
|
115 | Win | 91–9–14 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Feb 3, 1917 | ![]() |
|
114 | Win | 90–9–14 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 10 (12) | Jan 18, 1917 | ![]() |
|
113 | Win | 89–9–14 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Dec 11, 1916 | ![]() |
|
112 | Win | 88–9–14 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 3 (15) | Sep 4, 1916 | ![]() |
Retained world featherweight title |
111 | Win | 87–9–14 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Jun 13, 1916 | ![]() |
|
110 | Draw | 86–9–14 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | May 24, 1916 | ![]() |
|
109 | Win | 86–9–13 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 5 (6) | May 8, 1916 | ![]() |
|
108 | Win | 85–9–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Mar 24, 1916 | ![]() |
|
107 | Win | 84–9–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Mar 4, 1916 | ![]() |
|
106 | Win | 83–9–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Feb 16, 1916 | ![]() |
|
105 | Win | 82–9–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Jan 31, 1916 | ![]() |
|
104 | Win | 81–9–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Jan 15, 1916 | ![]() |
|
103 | Win | 80–9–13 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 2 (6) | Jan 8, 1916 | ![]() |
|
102 | Loss | 79–9–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Jan 1, 1916 | ![]() |
|
101 | Win | 79–8–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Dec 2, 1915 | ![]() |
|
100 | Win | 78–8–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Nov 22, 1915 | ![]() |
|
99 | Win | 77–8–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Nov 15, 1915 | ![]() |
|
98 | Win | 76–8–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Oct 11, 1915 | ![]() |
|
97 | Loss | 75–8–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Sep 21, 1915 | ![]() |
|
96 | Win | 75–7–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Sep 6, 1915 | ![]() |
|
95 | Win | 74–7–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | May 11, 1915 | ![]() |
|
94 | Win | 73–7–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Apr 29, 1915 | ![]() |
|
93 | Win | 72–7–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Mar 30, 1915 | ![]() |
|
92 | Win | 71–7–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Mar 17, 1915 | ![]() |
|
91 | Win | 70–7–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Feb 13, 1915 | ![]() |
|
90 | Win | 69–7–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Feb 1, 1915 | ![]() |
|
89 | Win | 68–7–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Jan 23, 1915 | ![]() |
|
88 | Win | 67–7–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Jan 8, 1915 | ![]() |
|
87 | Loss | 66–7–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Jan 1, 1915 | ![]() |
|
86 | Win | 66–6–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Dec 14, 1914 | ![]() |
|
85 | Loss | 65–6–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Dec 7, 1914 | ![]() |
|
84 | Win | 65–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Jul 2, 1914 | ![]() |
|
83 | Win | 64–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 2 (15) | May 29, 1914 | ![]() |
|
82 | Win | 63–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 8 | Apr 22, 1914 | ![]() |
|
81 | Win | 62–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Apr 16, 1914 | ![]() |
|
80 | Win | 61–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Apr 13, 1914 | ![]() |
|
79 | Win | 60–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 8 | Apr 6, 1914 | ![]() |
|
78 | Win | 59–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Feb 11, 1914 | ![]() |
|
77 | Win | 58–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Feb 7, 1914 | ![]() |
|
76 | Win | 57–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Feb 2, 1914 | ![]() |
|
75 | Win | 56–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 5 (6) | Jan 5, 1914 | ![]() |
|
74 | Win | 55–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 1 (6) | Nov 10, 1913 | ![]() |
|
73 | Win | 54–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 7 (10) | Oct 30, 1913 | ![]() |
|
72 | Win | 53–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Oct 8, 1913 | ![]() |
|
71 | Win | 52–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Sep 25, 1913 | ![]() |
|
70 | Win | 51–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 12 | Sep 16, 1913 | ![]() |
|
69 | Win | 50–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 6 (10) | Jun 10, 1913 | ![]() |
|
68 | Draw | 49–5–13 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 20 | Apr 29, 1913 | ![]() |
Retained world featherweight title |
67 | Win | 49–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 6 (10) | Feb 19, 1913 | ![]() |
|
66 | Win | 48–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Feb 4, 1913 | ![]() |
|
65 | Win | 47–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 2 (8) | Jan 1, 1913 | ![]() |
|
64 | Win | 46–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 8 | Dec 19, 1912 | ![]() |
|
63 | Win | 45–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
TKO | 9 (12) | Dec 3, 1912 | ![]() |
|
62 | Win | 44–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 4 (6) | Oct 29, 1912 | ![]() |
|
61 | Win | 43–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Oct 24, 1912 | ![]() |
|
60 | Win | 42–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 12 | Oct 14, 1912 | ![]() |
|
59 | Win | 41–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Sep 19, 1912 | ![]() |
|
58 | Win | 40–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Sep 11, 1912 | ![]() |
|
57 | Win | 39–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Sep 4, 1912 | ![]() |
|
56 | Win | 38–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 12 | Jul 4, 1912 | ![]() |
|
55 | Win | 37–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Jun 5, 1912 | ![]() |
|
54 | Draw | 36–5–12 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 12 | May 21, 1912 | ![]() |
Retained world featherweight title |
53 | Win | 36–5–11 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | May 14, 1912 | ![]() |
|
52 | Win | 35–5–11 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 20 | Feb 22, 1912 | ![]() |
Won world featherweight title |
51 | Win | 34–5–11 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Dec 23, 1911 | ![]() |
|
50 | Win | 33–5–11 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Nov 29, 1911 | ![]() |
|
49 | Win | 32–5–11 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 20 | Sep 30, 1911 | ![]() |
|
48 | Win | 31–5–11 (1) | ![]() |
KO | 16 (20) | Sep 4, 1911 | ![]() |
|
47 | Win | 30–5–11 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 20 | Jul 15, 1911 | ![]() |
|
46 | Draw | 29–5–11 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | May 30, 1911 | ![]() |
|
45 | Loss | 29–5–10 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 20 | May 6, 1911 | ![]() |
|
44 | Draw | 29–4–10 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Mar 24, 1911 | ![]() |
|
43 | Win | 29–4–9 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Mar 16, 1911 | ![]() |
|
42 | Win | 28–4–9 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Mar 8, 1911 | ![]() |
|
41 | Draw | 27–4–9 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Feb 27, 1911 | ![]() |
|
40 | Win | 27–4–8 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 12 | Feb 14, 1911 | ![]() |
|
39 | Win | 26–4–8 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Jan 11, 1911 | ![]() |
|
38 | Draw | 25–4–8 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Jan 7, 1911 | ![]() |
|
37 | Win | 25–4–7 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Jan 2, 1911 | ![]() |
|
36 | Win | 24–4–7 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Nov 24, 1910 | ![]() |
|
35 | Loss | 23–4–7 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Oct 24, 1910 | ![]() |
|
34 | Loss | 23–3–7 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Sep 29, 1910 | ![]() |
|
33 | Draw | 23–2–7 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Jul 4, 1910 | ![]() |
|
32 | Win | 23–2–6 (1) | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Apr 19, 1910 | ![]() |
|
31 | Win | 22–2–6 (1) | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Mar 29, 1910 | ![]() |
|
30 | NC | 21–2–6 (1) | ![]() |
NC | 6 | Mar 23, 1910 | ![]() |
The men began fouling each other and a riot developed in the crowd, so the fight had to be halted |
29 | Win | 21–2–6 | ![]() |
KO | 3 (10) | Mar 3, 1910 | ![]() |
|
28 | Draw | 20–2–6 | ![]() |
NWS | 8 | Feb 2, 1910 | ![]() |
|
27 | Win | 20–2–5 | ![]() |
PTS | 15 | Jan 1, 1910 | ![]() |
|
26 | Win | 19–2–5 | ![]() |
PTS | 8 | Oct 2, 1909 | ![]() |
|
25 | Win | 18–2–5 | ![]() |
NWS | 6 | Aug 9, 1909 | ![]() |
|
24 | Win | 17–2–5 | ![]() |
KO | 4 (6) | Jun 30, 1909 | ![]() |
|
23 | Draw | 16–2–5 | ![]() |
PTS | 12 | Jun 14, 1909 | ![]() |
|
22 | Win | 16–2–4 | ![]() |
NWS | 10 | Jun 1, 1909 | ![]() |
|
21 | Win | 15–2��4 | ![]() |
KO | 5 (6) | May 7, 1909 | ![]() |
|
20 | Loss | 14–2–4 | ![]() |
TKO | 5 (12) | Mar 29, 1909 | ![]() |
|
19 | Win | 14–1–4 | ![]() |
PTS | 8 | Mar 11, 1909 | ![]() |
|
18 | Win | 13–1–4 | ![]() |
PTS | 8 | Feb 18, 1909 | ![]() |
|
17 | Win | 12–1–4 | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Feb 4, 1909 | ![]() |
|
16 | Draw | 11–1–4 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Jan 15, 1909 | ![]() |
|
15 | Draw | 11–1–3 | ![]() |
NWS | 12 | Dec 14, 1908 | ![]() |
|
14 | Win | 11–1–2 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Dec 3, 1908 | ![]() |
|
13 | Win | 10–1–2 | ![]() |
PTS | 25 | Nov 25, 1908 | ![]() |
|
12 | Win | 9–1–2 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Jun 5, 1908 | ![]() |
|
11 | Win | 8–1–2 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | May 30, 1908 | ![]() |
|
10 | Win | 7–1–2 | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | May 22, 1908 | ![]() |
|
9 | Draw | 6–1–2 | ![]() |
PTS | 10 | Apr 13, 1908 | ![]() |
|
8 | Win | 6–1–1 | ![]() |
KO | 9 (10) | Mar 16, 1908 | ![]() |
|
7 | Loss | 5–1–1 | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Mar 3, 1908 | ![]() |
|
6 | Win | 5–0–1 | ![]() |
PTS | 6 | Mar 1, 1908 | ![]() |
|
5 | Draw | 4–0–1 | ![]() |
PTS | 4 | Feb 10, 1908 | ![]() |
|
4 | Win | 4–0 | ![]() |
PTS | 3 | Jan 1, 1908 | ![]() |
|
3 | Win | 3–0 | ![]() |
KO | 6 (6) | Dec 25, 1907 | ![]() |
|
2 | Win | 2–0 | ![]() |
PTS | 3 | Dec 18, 1907 | ![]() |
|
1 | Win | 1–0 | ![]() |
PTS | 3 | Dec 2, 1907 | ![]() |
References[]
- ^ "Professional boxing record: Johnny Kilbane". Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Johnny Kilbane, p. 172" (PDF). The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book. International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Johnny Kilbane, Boxer, 68, Dead. Featherweight Champion of World, 1912-23, Went Into Politics in Cleveland Gave Fans a Show". Associated Press. June 1, 1957. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Cyber Boxing Encyclopedia - Johnny Kilbane CyberBoxingZone.com Retrieved on 2014-04-30
- ^ All-Time Featherweight Rankings. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-04-11.
- ^ All-Time Light Heavyweight Rankings IBROresearch.com Retrieved on 2014-04-29
- ^ "Jimmy Walsh". BoxRec. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "Picked Up in Fight Land", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, pg. 11, 31 May 1911
- ^ "Johnny Kilbane Biography". johnnykilbane.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
- ^ Kilbane Town - Cleveland historical.org
- ^ McNulty, Anton. "Statue of former boxing champion unveiled". The Mayo News. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
- ^ "Boxing Champion Johnny Kilbane statue in Cleveland Ohio - People Page". www.clevelandpeople.com. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
- ^ https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/011865
External links[]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Johnny Kilbane. |
- Boxing record for Johnny Kilbane from BoxRec
- Johnny Kilbane at Flickr Commons
- Johnny Kilbane
- 1889 births
- 1957 deaths
- Sportspeople from Cleveland
- Featherweight boxers
- World boxing champions
- Boxers from Ohio
- American male boxers