| Mike McTigue | |
|---|---|
) | |
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Michael Francis McTigue |
| Nickname(s) | Bold Mike |
| Weight(s) | Light Heavyweight |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Born | November 26, 1892 County Clare, Ireland |
| Died | August 12, 1966 (aged 73) Queens, New York |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 172 |
| Wins | 108 |
| Wins by KO | 52 |
| Losses | 46 |
| Draws | 13 |
| No contests | 15 |
"Bold" Mike McTigue (November 26, 1892 – August 12, 1966) was the light heavyweight boxing champion of the world from 1923 to 1925.
Early years
Michael Francis McTigue (Mike McTigue) was born in Lickaun, Kilnamona, in County Clare, Ireland, on 26 November 1892. He was recorded in the 1901 Census of County Clare.[1] McTigue emigrated to America in 1912 when he was 21.[2] He traveled as a steerage passenger of the British steamer Baltic, which arrived at the Port of New York on 21 September 1912. He was the brother of fellow boxer Jim McTigue.
Boxing career
World light heavyweight champion
McTigue began boxing and fought in America for 13 years. McTigue got a shot at the World Light Heavyweight Championship in 1923. Despite the Irish Civil War still ongoing, the fight was held in La Scala Opera House in Prince's Street, Dublin against the Senagalese Fighter Battling Siki. McTigue won on points after 20 rounds to become the World Light Heavyweight Champion.[3] He would defend his title against future Hall of Famers Tommy Loughran, Young Stribling and Mickey Walker before losing the title by unanimous decision to the gold medalist wrestler-turned-boxer Paul Berlenbach in 1925.
Noteworthy opposition
McTigue fought multiple bouts in his career against the likes of Paul Berlenbach, Jeff Smith, Harry Greb, Mickey Walker and Tommy Loughran. He lost most of those bouts, but he actually got the best of the great Loughran during one of their no-decision contests. He also earned a close decision over Tiger Flowers. In 1927, he produced his greatest performance on American soil when he knocked out the great Berlenbach in the fourth round.[4]
Retirement years and death
He was 38 years old when his boxing licence was revoked and had been fighting for 21 years. After his enforced retirement, McTigue ran a successful bar on Long Island until the late 1940s. He succumbed to poverty and ill health and was confined to various hospitals around New York for the last ten years of his life.[5] He finally died at New York's Queen's General Hospital on August 12, 1966. He was survived by his widow and two daughters.[6]
In later years McTigue regaled listeners with tales of the highlight of his career, particularly the Dublin bout. McTigue's favourite story involved an armed sentry stationed in his corner to keep the peace. As the rounds progressed, he stuck his bayonet between the ropes and jabbed McTigue in the leg. "I got three pounds' bet on you," the guard said. "God help you if you lose!"[7] McTigue died in 1966.[8] McTigue was honoured in his native parish when the porch of the church was named after him. Kilnamona's Community Centre was opened in 2001 and named in his honour.[9]
Professional boxing record (incomplete)
| 116 fights | 77 wins | 26 losses |
| By knockout | 52 | 9 |
| By decision | 23 | 11 |
| By disqualification | 2 | 6 |
| Draws | 9 | |
| No contests | 4 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | Win | 18–4 (20) |  Billy Brown | NWS | 10 | Oct 02, 1916 | Bolton Hall, Troy, U.S. | |
| 41 | Win | 18–4 (19) | Battling Gans | NWS | 10 | Sep 14, 1916 | Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |
| 40 | Win | 18–4 (18) | Battling Munroe | KO | 8 (10) | Sep 01, 1916 | New Polo A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 39 | Win | 17–4 (18) | Willie Langford | NWS | 10 | Aug 21, 1916 | Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |
| 38 | Win | 17–4 (17) | Willie Langford | DQ | 4 (10) | Aug 03, 1916 | Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |
| 37 | Win | 16–4 (17) | Willie Appleby | KO | 7 (10) | Jul 24, 1916 | Tottenville S.C., Staten Island, New York, U.S. | |
| 36 | Win | 15–4 (17) | Jack Kelsey | NWS | 10 | Jun 24, 1916 | Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |
| 35 | Loss | 15–4 (16) | Happy Howard | NWS | 10 | May 27, 1916 | Queensboro A.C., Long Island City, Queens, New York, U.S. | |
| 34 | Win | 15–4 (15) | .svg.png){kind=small} Hippolyte Tyncke | NWS | 10 | May 13, 1916 | St. Nicholas Arena, New York, U.S. | |
| 33 | Win | 15–4 (14) | Young Carpentier | NWS | 10 | Mar 29, 1916 | Pioneer Sporting Club, New York, U.S. | |
| 32 | Loss | 15–4 (13) | Augie Ratner | NWS | 10 | Mar 18, 1916 | Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S. | |
| 31 | Win | 15–4 (12) | Eddie McGlynn | NWS | 10 | Mar 06, 1916 | Olympic A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 30 | Win | 15–4 (11) | Al Thiel | NWS | 10 | Feb 28, 1916 | Pioneer Sporting Club, New York, U.S. | |
| 29 | Win | 15–4 (10) | Michael Hickey | NWS | 10 | Feb 21, 1916 | Harlem S.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 28 | Win | 15–4 (9) | Billy Carter | KO | 1 (10) | Jan 29, 1916 | Sharkey A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 27 | Loss | 14–4 (9) | John Kraynack | DQ | 5 (12) | Jan 12, 1916 | Rhode Island A.C., Thornton, U.S. | |
| 26 | Win | 14–3 (9) | John Kraynack | PTS | 12 | Dec 22, 1915 | Rhode Island A.C., Thornton, U.S. | |
| 25 | Win | 13–3 (9) | Reuben Jaffe | KO | 7 (10) | Dec 10, 1915 | New Polo A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 24 | Win | 12–3 (9) | Charley McGreevey | KO | 1 (10) | Nov 27, 1915 | Sharkey A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 23 | Loss | 11–3 (9) | Eddie Maher | DQ | 2 (10) | Nov 08, 1915 | Olympic A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 22 | Win | 11–2 (9) | Al Thiel | KO | 7 (10) | Oct 11, 1915 | Olympia Boxing Club, New York, U.S. | |
| 21 | Win | 10–2 (9) | Reuben Jaffe | KO | 6 (10) | Sep 13, 1915 | Olympic A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 20 | Win | 9–2 (9) | Walter McGirr | NWS | 10 | Aug 23, 1915 | Olympic A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 19 | Win | 9–2 (8) | Johnny Baker | NWS | 10 | Aug 09, 1915 | Olympic A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 18 | Win | 9–2 (7) | Dan Tucker | KO | 3 (10) | Jul 16, 1915 | New Polo A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 17 | Draw | 8–2 (7) | Freddie Kiebler | NWS | 10 | Jun 12, 1915 | Broadway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 8–2 (6) | Happy Howard | NWS | 10 | May 21, 1915 | St. Nicholas Arena, New York, U.S. | |
| 15 | Win | 8–2 (5) | Paddy Sullivan | TKO | 3 (10) | May 17, 1915 | Olympic A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 14 | Win | 7–2 (5) | George Novick | TKO | 3 (10) | Apr 12, 1915 | Olympic A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 13 | Loss | 6–2 (5) | Tex Kelly | NWS | 10 | Apr 10, 1915 | Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S. | |
| 12 | Loss | 6–2 (4) | Tommy Teague | DQ | 6 (10) | Mar 20, 1915 | Brown's Gym, New York, U.S. | |
| 11 | Loss | 6–1 (4) | Joe Stein | NWS | 10 | Jan 30, 1915 | Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S. | |
| 10 | Win | 6–1 (3) | George Leahy | KO | 3 (10) | Jan 16, 1915 | Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S. | |
| 9 | Loss | 5–1 (3) | Mike Farrell | NWS | 10 | Jan 05, 1915 | Brown's Gym, New York, U.S. | |
| 8 | Win | 5–1 (2) | Jack Emmanon | KO | 2 (10) | Dec 12, 1914 | Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S. | |
| 7 | Win | 4–1 (2) | Rube Howard | KO | 5 (10) | Nov 01, 1914 | New York, U.S. | |
| 6 | Loss | 3–1 (2) | Walter McGirr | DQ | 5 (10) | Oct 17, 1914 | Fairmont A.C., Bronx, New York, U.S. | |
| 5 | Win | 3–0 (2) | Paddy Conway | NWS | 10 | Aug 24, 1914 | Olympic A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 4 | Win | 3–0 (1) | Rube Howard | NWS | 10 | Jul 13, 1914 | Olympic A.C., New York, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Mike Greel | KO | 3 (6) | May 16, 1914 | New York, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Joe Marino | KO | 1 (6) | Mar 28, 1914 | New York, U.S. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Happy Davis | KO | 3 (6) | Mar 07, 1914 | Fairmont A.C., Bronx, U.S. |
See also
References
- ^ Clare County Library. "1901 Census of Clare – Kilnamona DED, Leckaun 37/12". Clarelibrary.ie. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ "Ellis Island Foundation, Inc". Ellisisland.org. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
- ^ "Clare Museum: Riches of Clare: Kilnamona's World Champ". Clarelibrary.ie. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ "Paul Berlenbach : Boxing Profiles". Boxingbiographies.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
- ^ "News". mikemctigue.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ "Obituary", Daily News, New York, New York, pg. 382, 13 August 1966
- ^ "McTigue a part of St. Patrick's Day folklore – boxing – ESPN". ESPN. 17 March 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ "Mike McTigue". Cyber Boxing Zone. 12 August 1966. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ Ó Murchadha, Ciarán. (2008) The Diocese of Killaloe: An Illustrated History. Ireland:Booklink
External links
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Battling Siki | World Light Heavyweight Champion 17 Mar 1923–30 May 1925 | Succeeded by Paul Berlenbach |