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John
Joseph Killion was born on February 9, 1859, in Green Point,
Long Island, New York. For reasons that have been obliterated by
the passing of time, his boyhood pals dubbed him, Jake Kilrain
-- a pseudonym that later became his professional name.
As a
teenager, Kilrain worked in the rolling mills of Somerville,
Massachusetts. He described himself as "a gawky country boy" who
had to learn to stand his ground among the rough mill workers.
He learned the basics of fighting, and by the age of twenty, he
stood 5 feet, 10 inches, weighed 190 pounds, and had been
proclaimed boxing champion of the mill.
Kilrain also became proficient in the sport of rowing, and in
1883, under his birth name (John Killion), he won the National
Amateur Junior Sculling Championship in Newark, New Jersey.
However, officials learned that he had fought for money (as Jake
Kilrain), and stripped him of the title.
In
the winter of 1883, he left the mill to pursue a career as a
professional fighter. Always in good condition, he became known
for his remarkable stamina, and remained undefeated through at
least twenty fights. His most prestigious fights were a 106
round draw with Jem Smith, and his famous 75 round loss to John
L. Sullivan. After the Smith fight, Richard K. Fox, publisher of
the National Police Gazette, declared Kilrain heavyweight
champion, and presented him with a diamond-studded, silver
championship belt, a move designed to goad Sullivan into a match
with Kilrain. Sullivan's response was, "I would not put Fox's
belt around the neck of a bulldog."
Kilrain continued to fight after his bout with Sullivan, but his
only other significant bout was on March 13, 1891, with George
Godfrey, whom he knocked out in forty-four rounds.
Kilrain lived in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife, Elizabeth,
and their two children. A prudent man, devoted to his family, he
had bank accounts for each of his children, and a life insurance
policy, with his wife as beneficiary. He also supported his
aging parents and a younger sister.
He
owned and operated a saloon in Baltimore, where John L. Sullivan
stopped off when he was in town (the two fighters became good
friends after their famous match. In fact, Kilrain served as an
usher at Sullivan's funeral in 1918).
After the saloon burned to the ground, Kilrain secured
employment with the Parks Department in Somerville,
Massachusetts, but at the height of the Great Depression, he was
cut from the city's payroll, due to his age (he was in his
seventies). He then accepted work as a nightwatchman at a
Quincy, Massachusetts shipyard, where he remained until his
death, of diabetes, on December 22, 1937, at the age of
seventy-eight.
Kilrain became a well-loved figure, and a great storyteller. He
enjoyed telling his grandsons about his fight with John L.
Sullivan, because win or lose, just going into the ring with the
Great John L. made one a hero. |
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