Nonpareil Jack Dempsey

This article is about the 19th-century boxing champion. For the 20th-century boxing champion, see Jack Dempsey. For other uses, see Jack Dempsey (disambiguation).

Nonpareil Jack Dempsey
Born	John Edward Kelly (1862-12-15)December 15, 1862 Curran, County Kildare, Ireland
Died	November 2, 1895(1895-11-02) (aged 32) Portland, Oregon, United States
Nationality	Irish
Other names	Nonpareil
Statistics
Weight(s)	Middleweight
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	67
Wins	51
Wins by KO	23
Losses	4
Draws	11
No contests	1

John Edward Kelly (December 15, 1862 – November 1, 1895) was an Irish-born American boxer, better known as Jack "Nonpareil" Dempsey who was the first holder of the World Middleweight Championship. He was nicknamed "Nonpareil" because of his reputation of being unbeatable.

Biography

Dempsey was born on December 15, 1862 in Curran, County Kildare, Ireland.

Fitzsimmons knocks down Dempsey in New Orleans, 1891

In Dempsey's first 65 contests, he lost only 3 times (to George LaBlanche (a loss he avenged) and to Billy Baker twice (both bouts were fixed to have Baker win)). This ended when Bob Fitzsimmons pummelled him around the ring and begged him to concede before he was hurt any more. Dempsey, the reigning champion, would not give up; the fight continued and Fitzsimmons knocked him out in round 13. In his final bout, Dempsey, suffering from tuberculosis, lost to Tommy Ryan.

Though Dempsey beat his first battle with tuberculosis, he died at the Portland, Oregon home of his wife's parents on November 1, 1895 at 32 due to a recurrence of the disease. He was buried in an unmarked grave at Mount Calvary Cemetery. M. James Brady, Dempsey's father-in-law, refused to permit former World Champion John L. Sullivan and John S. Barnes to raise funds to erect a monument over Dempsey's grave. The family believed that the four-foot marble shaft was a sufficient memorial. The matter was thus dropped.

Dempsey was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954, and into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.

Notable bouts

Result	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	Tommy Ryan	TKO	3 (15)	1895-01-18	Sea Side A.C., Coney Island, New York
Loss	Bob Fitzsimmons	RTD	13	1891-01-14	Olympia Club, New Orleans, Louisiana	Lost World Middleweight Title.
Draw	Professor Mike Donovan	PTS	6	1888-11-15	Palace Rink, Williamsburg, New York
Draw	Jack Burke	PTS	10	1886-11-22	Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California
Win	Professor Mike Donovan	PTS	4	1886-01-15	Germania Assembly Rooms, New York, New York

External links

• Boxing record for Jack Nonpareil Dempsey from BoxRec (registration required)
• Nonpareil Jack Dempsey at Find a Grave