Tommy Gibbons

BORN   March 22, 1891 St. Paul, Minnesota
DIED November 19, 1960 St. Paul, Minnesota
HEIGHT 5-9 1/2
WEIGHT 155-185 lbs
RACE   White; Irish-American
MANAGER Eddy Reddy, Eddie Kane

Gibbons was an outstanding fighter who contended in the late teens and early 1920s from Middleweight to Heavyweight; Gibbons, like his older brother, Mike, was a very clever fighter that knew every trick in the book and was very difficult to hit cleanly

Gibbons' most famous moment came in defeat, when in 1923 he challenged Jack Dempsey for the Heavyweight crown; Gibbons who was desperate for a title shot agreed to take the fight while only being paid expenses, while Dempsey was paid $200,000; During the fight, Gibbons made Dempsey look bad, but ultimately lost the 15 round decision; Gibbons fought on until 1925 when he was stopped by Gene Tunney

In retirement, Gibbons was elected to the post of Sheriff four times, and remained a pillar of his community till his death

Charley Rose ranked Gibbons as the #5 All-Time Light Heavyweight; Nat Fleischer ranked him as the #8 All-Time Light Heavyweight; Gibbons was elected to the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1963 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993




Gibbons-Dempsey 1923 Fight Video Clip

Tommy-Mike Sparring Fight Video Clip

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1911
Sep  5 Oscar Kelly                Minneapolis, Mn                  KO  5
Oct  2 Colored Brown              Minneapolis, Mn                  KO  5

1912
Dec  7 Tommy Nelson               Bronx, NY                        KO  1

1913
Apr 22 Tommy Bergin               New York, NY                     ND 10
Apr 29 Joe Borrell                New York, NY                     ND 10
May 16 "Young" Mike Donovan       New York, NY                     ND 10
May 27 Johnny Shaw                Far Rockaway, NY                 TK  3
Jun  9 Frank "Soldier" Logan      Philadelphia, Pa                 ND  6
Jun 13 Jack Denning               New York, NY                     ND 10
Sep 29 Willie "K.O." Brennan      Buffalo, NY                      ND 10

1914
Jan 15 Al Worgin                  Hudson, Wi                       KO  4
Feb  9 George "K.O." Brown        Hudson, Wi                       ND 10
Mar 24 Billy Miske                Hudson, Wi                       ND  8
          -Some sources report "ND 10"
Apr 20 George "K.O." Brown        Superior, Wi                     ND 10
          -Some sources report 4/21/14
May 22 Albert "Buck" Crouse       Hudson, Wi                       TK  4
Jun  6 Young Mahoney              Superior, Wi                     ND 10
Sep  2 Bert Fagan                 Hudson, Wi                       KO  2
Nov 26 Billy Glover               New York, NY                     TK  6

1915
Feb  2 "Fighting" Billy Murray    Hudson, Wi                       ND 10
Jul 12 Billy Miske                St. Paul, Mn                     ND 10
Nov 16 Harry Greb                 St. Paul, Mn                     ND 10

1916
Feb 15 Gus Christie               Winnipeg, Man, Can               ND 12
Mar  9 Vic Hansen                 St. Joseph, Mo                    W 10
          -Some sources report 3/08/16
Oct 27 Joe Herrick                Winnipeg, Man, Can               ND 12
Nov 16 Joe Herrick                Winnipeg, Man, Can               ND 12

1917
Feb  6 Bob Moha                   Milwaukee, Wi                    ND 10
Mar  3 "Wild" Bert Kenny          New York, NY                     ND 10
Mar 15 Jackie Clark               Scranton, Pa                     ND 10
Mar 23 Battling Levinksy          St. Paul, Mn                     ND 10
Aug 22 George Chip                St. Paul, Mn                     ND 10
Sep  3 Gus Christie               Dayton, Oh                        W 15

1918
Feb  4 George Chip                Pittsburgh, Pa                   ND 10
Feb 11 Clay Turner                Pittsburgh, Pa                   ND 10
Mar  7 George Chip                Scranton, Pa                     ND 10
Mar 13 Thomas "Silent" Martin     Baltimore, Md                    KO 10
Mar 22 Gus Christie               Des Moines, Ia                   ND 10
Apr 18 Clay Turner                Scranton, Pa                     ND 10
Apr 20 Thomas "Silent" Martin     Akron, Oh                         W 15
Apr 26 Gus Christie               Terre Haute, In                   W 10
          -Some sources report "W 15"
May  3 George Chip                Des Moines, Ia                    W 12

1919
Jan 25 Bartley Madden             Philadelphia, Pa                 NC  4
Jan 30 Len Rowlands               Scranton, Pa                     ND 10
Feb 10 Larry Williams             Buffalo, NY                      ND 10
Apr 11 George Chip                Denver, Co                        W 10
          -Some sources report 4/10/19
Apr 28 "Captain" Bob Roper        Waterloo, Ia                     ND 10
Jun 19 Billy Miske                Minneapolis, Mn                  ND 10
Jul  4 George "K.O." Brown        Denver, Co                       ND 12
Nov 28 Mick King                  Calgary, Alta, Can                W 15
Dec  3 Frank Farmer               Seattle, Wa                       W  6
Dec 20 Jimmy Darcy                Portland, Or                      W 10
          -Some sources report 12/16/19 in "Milwaukie, Or"

1920
Feb  3 George "K.O." Brown        Peoria, Il                       ND 10
          -Some sources report 2/02/20
Feb 11 Noel "Boy" McCormick       Portland, Or                      D 10
          -Some sources report "Milwaukie, Or"
Feb 19 Jack Reeves                Edmonton, Alta, Can              KO  2
Apr  9 "Captain" Bob Roper        Minneapolis, Mn                  ND 10
May 15 Harry Greb                 Pittsburgh, Pa                   ND 10
Jul 22 Clay Turner                Minneapolis, Mn                  ND 10
Jul 31 Harry Greb                 Pittsburgh, Pa                   ND 10
Nov 11 Hugh Walker                Peoria, Il                       ND 12
          -Some sources report "ND 10"
Dec  6 Chuck Wiggins              Toledo, Oh                       ND 12

1921
Jan 11 Chuck Wiggins              Cincinnati, Oh                   ND 10
Feb 10 Tony Melchior              Toledo, Oh                       KO  1
Feb 14 Hugh Walker                Cincinnati, Oh                    W 10
Mar 18 Al Reich                   Cleveland, Oh                    KO  1
Mar 22 Paul Samson-Koerner        New York, NY                     TK  2
Mar 31 "Sergeant" George Norcross Springfield, Il                  KO  1
Apr 12 Lee Williams               New York, NY                     TK  4
Apr 19 Dan "Porky" Flynn          Newark, NJ                       KO 11
Apr 21 Chuck Wiggins              Minneapolis, Mn                  ND 10
Apr 29 Hugh Walker                Terre Haute, In                  KO  1
May 23 Jack Heinan                Canton, Oh                       KO  1
May 27 "Sergeant" Ray Smith       Youngstown, Oh                   KO  2
May 30 Jack Clifford              Brooklyn, NY                     KO  3
Jun  8 Willie "Sugar" Keeler      Omaha, Ne                        KO  2
          -Some sources report 6/07/21
Jun 22 Willie Meehan              Cleveland, Oh                    TK  1
Sep  2 Dan O'Dowd                 South Bend, In                   KO  3
          -Some sources report 9/05/21
Sep 12 "Wild" Bill Reed           Cincinnati, Oh                   KO  2
Sep 20 Joe Burke                  Kalamazoo, Mi                    KO  2
Oct  7 Clay Turner                Buffalo, NY                      KO  1
Oct 14 Fred Ellen                 St. Louis, Mo                    KO  1
Nov 16 Horace "Soldier" Jones     Windsor, Ont, Can                KO  1
Nov 25 Dan O'Dowd                 New Orleans, La                  KO  6
Dec  2 Hope Mullen                Shreveport, La                   KO  1
Dec 19 Bartley Madden             Grand Rapids, Mi                 ND 10

1922
Feb  2 Pat McCarthy               Boston, Ma                       TK  4
Mar 13 Harry Greb                 New York, NY                      L 15
May  1 Harry Foley                New Orleans, La                  KO  6
May 30 Sailor Martin              Louisville, Ky                   KO  2
          -Some sources report 5/29/22
Oct 13 Billy Miske                New York, NY                     LF 10
Nov 13 George Ashe                Detroit, Mi                      KO  1
Dec 11 Joe Burke                  Buffalo, NY                      KO  7
          -Some sources report "KO 1"
Dec 15 Billy Miske                St. Paul, Mn                     ND 10
          -Some sources report "W 10"

1923
Mar  5 Jim Tracy                  East Chicago, In                 KO  2
Mar 26 "Sailor" Andy Schmader     Peoria, Il                       KO  1
Apr 30 Chuck Wiggins              New Orleans, La                  KO 10
Jul  4 Jack Dempsey               Shelby, Mt                        L 15
          -Heavyweight Championship of the World

1924
Mar 14 Jack Moore                 Winnipeg, Man, Can               KO  2
Mar 19 Andre Anderson             Urbana, Il                       EX  6
Mar 21 Soldier Lee                Memphis, Tn                      KO  3
Mar 24 Joe Downey                 Dayton, Oh                       KO  1
Apr  3 Jack McFarland             Nashville, Tn                    KO  2
May 31 Georges Carpentier         Michigan City, In                ND 10
Aug  9 Jack Bloomfield            London, Eng                      KO  3
Oct 10 "Wild" Bill Reed           Bellaire, Oh                     KO  1
Oct 24 Ted Jamieson               New Orleans, La                  KO  1
Dec  9 Kid Norfolk                New York, NY                     TK  6

1925
Jan  7 Jack Burke                 Grand Rapids, Mi                 KO  6
          -Some sources report "TK 5"
Jan 30 "Tiny" Jim Herman          Detroit, Mi                      KO  3
Jun  5 Gene Tunney                New York, NY                     LK 12

*** The Following Bouts Are Reported But Not Confirmed ***

1917
Apr 12 "Wild" Bert Kenny          New York, NY                     ND 10
May  1 Chet McIntyre              Seattle, Wa                      EX   

Record courtesy of Matt Tegen, Historian, International Boxing Research Organization
 
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