Introduction

Some say that the golden age of boxing was during the early years of the twentieth century. This was the era of Bob Fitzsimmons, Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney. The bare-knuckle period, when John L Sullivan and Jim Corbett, lighted up the ring, came to an end well before the end of the nineteenth century. Though the famous Twelve Rules of the Marquess of Queensberry were adopted in England in 1867, they did not come into general use in the USA until many years later. These rules tried to eliminate ad-hoc decisions by inexperienced referees and give a set of regulations that would eventually be adopted all over the world. Even in the early years of the twentieth century, police approval was necessary before staging boxing events and what would later become the World Boxing Association (WBA) was not established until 1921. There is no denying the fact that men of Irish birth or extraction were attracted to boxing. The very names, Sullivan, Dempsey, Fitzsimons etc. prove this (Fitzsimons–the common Irish spelling of the surname–was born in Cornwall of an Irish father). Indeed, the boxing career and inspiring life story of one Irish American boxer, James Braddock, was made into the 2005 film, The Cinderella Man, starring Russell Crowe. Few in Askeaton, however, will have heard of one of the great lightweight boxers of those days. He was Harry Sheehy, whose parents came from Askeaton.

Askeaton Roots

Harry Sheehy’s mother, Kate Moran, of the Aghalacka branch, was born in Askeaton, while his father, Patrick Sheehy, was also born in Askeaton, but in an as-yet-unknown townland. Harry was born on 6 September 1879, in ‘Cowtown’, Washington DC. The name ‘Cowtown’ was derogatory, suggesting that animals were kept in the area. His father, Patrick, was a storekeeper, and, true enough, his shop stocked feeding stuffs for cattle. As a young man, however, Harry went to work for his uncle, PT Moran (about whom I have written elsewhere in this issue). PT was also a storekeeper, specialising in animal feedstuffs, but, more importantly, he was a prominent local politician, of the back-room variety. He preferred to be a kingmaker than a king. Harry’s mother, PT’s sister, had emigrated from Askeaton as a young girl, with her parents, and siblings, about 1874.

It is said that Harry’s first entry to the ring occurred he went to see a fight and one of the boxers failed to make an appearance. Since Harry had been sparring in a gym, he was persuaded to step in, dressed only in his vest and long johns, and fill the vacancy. To everyone’s surprise, he won the bout and received a purse of $8. It was difficult to keep his success a secret and his grandmother got to hear of it. Since she had ambitions for Harry, and, in the Askeaton of her day, fighting was not a respectable profession for Morans or Sheehys, she made Harry promise that he would never again take part in a professional fight. Harry reluctantly made the promise and had to wait until his grandmother died before taking up boxing again. He was then twenty-one years old. To make sure that his other respectable relations would not be embarrassed by his ring career, he adopted a ring name, ‘Kid Sullivan’, at the suggestion of his manager. From then on Harry boxed under the name Kid Sullivan. His first professional fight, against George Kinnicher, took place on 15 February 1900, and ended in a draw (incidentally, in the same year, the Limerick-born Billy Finucane also began his professional boxing career in the US).

Very Small Man

Harry was a very small man by today’s standards, only five feet and four inches, about the same height as Thai boxer, Poonsawat, who defeated the Irish champion, Bernard Dunne. Harry’s reach was 67 inches. Altogether, he fought in 63 professional bouts, with a total of 653 rounds. He won 30 bouts, 19 by knock-out blows. He drew 11 bouts and lost 20, these being mainly in his later years, when he had passed his best. He fought all over the USA. Before me, as I write, I have a list of his fights in venues all over the USA. These included, Washington DC; Baltimore, Maryland; Syracuse, New York; Albany, New York; Savannah, Georgia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Francisco, California; Portland, Maine; New York City. Starting out as a bantam weight, Harry quickly ran out of opponents and was tempted into the lightweight division. Again, within a couple of years, he established himself as the champion lightweight boxer of the southern states and then turned to face the tough men of New York and New Jersey.

Great Puncher

One newspaper reporter was asked, could Harry Sheehy really punch? His reply was, ‘Can a mule kick? He carried dynamite in either hand.’ Another well-known historian of boxing, Leonard Collins, writing in The Washington Post, in 1929, said that Harry was ‘undoubtedly the greatest piece of fighting machinery that the National Capital (i.e. Washington DC) ever produced. Probably no other ranking lightweight, in the history of the game, was any more active than the Kid, when he was at the zenith of his career’. It must be remembered that, by today’s standard, these boxers of the early twentieth century were severely exploited. Whenever the crowd wanted to see them in action, they were expected to step into the ring. Thus, in 1900, Harry entered the ring on eight successive Friday nights and, oneach of these occasions, knocked out his opponent. This took place at the Eureka Athletics Club in Baltimore. Today, professional boxers, on average, fight about 30 rounds each year. In 1905, Harry fought 296 rounds, each one against an aspiring champion. Moreover, these were not exhibition matches, but fiercely fought contests. Some of the fights, like one with the Australian, Jerry Marshall, were billed to go 25 rounds. Other bouts were of 30-round duration, though most were scheduled for 20 rounds.

Famous Opponents

Only those who have an interest in the history of boxing will appreciate the significance of the opponents Harry Sheehy faced and defeated. Thus, he faced Battling Nelson in Baltimore, Maryland, on 2 June 1905. Though Nelson had built up a great name for himself as a tough and skilful opponent, Harry put him flying through the ropes in the fourth round. The referee, however, insisted on allowing Nelson back into the ring, where he held on for a draw. Another famous opponent of Harry was Jimmy Britt, who, in 1905, was the champion of the US West coast. They met amid a blaze of publicity in Woodward’s Pavilion, San Francisco, on 21 July 1905. At stake was the lightweight championship of the USA. In those days, the only way to be sure of a win was by means of a knockout. Referees were far from objective and impartial. Though here, again, Harry battered Britt around the ring, in the absence of a knockout, Harry lost on points, even though many critics said that he deserved a draw, at least. Other famous opponents of Harry were Young Corbett II, Joe Tipman, Young Erne, Kid Ned Broad and Tommy Lowe. But boxers in those days rarely lasted very long: the frequency and length of their bouts quickly drained the energy and enthusiasm of the athletes. Harry pushed on, hoping to win the lightweight championship of the US, but time caught up with him and, when the big fight came, he was well past his best.

Conclusion

Because of the opposition of his grandmother, to whom he made a solemn promise not to enter the ring until after her death, Harry Sheehy was unable to take up professional boxing until he was over 21 years of age. By 1905, he was unbeatable in the bantamweight and lightweight divisions in the south and eastern USA. He fought his last fight against Tommy Lowe on 27 November 1913, at Ardmore, Maryland, and won on points. He is regarded as one of the best lightweight boxers in the history of the sport in the USA. After more than 200 bouts, he emerged without a scratch on his face. Part of his power as a hard puncher came from the fact that he always used his shoulders behind his punches. He was deadly with either hand. Harry’s chest was 40 inches, his waist 30 inches and his biceps 11 inches. He did his parents and their hometown, Askeaton, proud, and his achievements are recorded in a newspaper of international prestige, The Washington Post.

I am indebted to James Castellan, a researcher in the USA, for data on Harry Sheehy’s boxing career.

References

Collins, Leonard W, 1929, ‘Home-Grown Masters of the Mitts’. Washington Post, 5 May 1929.

Washington Post, 22 July 1905, p.9.

Photos and press excerpt by kind permission of Mr Tracy G. Callis, Director of Research at the Cyber Boxing Zone (online), where he has published a complete calendar of all Harry Sheehy’s bouts.