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Born: February 12, 1831
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Died: May 1, 1878
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Complete HarpWeek Biography:
John Morrissey was a prizefighter, gambling house proprietor, congressman, and a
leading figure in the Democratic machine politics of New York City and state. He
was born in Templemore, Ireland, to Julia (or Mary; maiden name unknown)
Morrissey and Timothy Morrissey, a factory worker. In 1834, the Morrissey family
immigrated to Canada, then moved to Troy, New York. As a youth in Troy,
Morrissey was employed briefly by an iron works and a wallpaper factory. As a
member of street gangs, and leader of a gang called the Downtowns, he was
involved in numerous brawls. When at age 17, he single-handedly defeated six
boys from the rival gang, the Uptowns, he started to think about becoming a
prizefighter. In the meantime, he worked as a deck hand aboard a Hudson River
steamboat. He married the captain's daughter, Sarah Smith, in 1849; their only
offspring died in childhood.
In 1849, Morrissey ventured to New York City to challenge prizefighter Charley
Duane. When Duane ignored him, and no other prizefighters were present at Isaiah
Rynder's Empire Club saloon, Morrissey took on the house in fisticuffs. Rynders,
a Tammany Hall politician, was so impressed that he hired Morrissey as a
"shoulder hitter" (a fighter who enforced the will of a
political-machine boss by intimidation or violence). Morrissey was nicknamed
"Old Smoke" after a saloon brawl in which he and his opponent knocked
over a stove and Morrissey was pinned over the coals, with smoke from his
smoldering clothes permeating the room. Morrissey persevered to win the fight.
In 1851, Morrissey journeyed to California, where he won a lot of money at
gambling and first appeared as a professional prizefighter, earning a $4,000
purse and $1,000 from a side bet. He was unsuccessful, though, in his attempt to
conquer the gold-rich Queen Charlotte Islands, off the coast of British
Columbia, with an armed schooner and a crew of hoodlums. Back in New York in
1853, Morrissey became the boxing "Champion of America" by defeating
Yankee Sullivan in 37 rounds. (At the time, prizefights were bare-knuckle
events, with rounds lasting until one man fell down, and the match ending only
when one boxer could did not return on his feet to the center of the ring.)
Working again for Tammany Hall, Morrissey organized a gang of shoulder-hitters,
which primarily battled Bill Poole's American party (Know-Nothing) gang. In July
1854, Poole defeated Morrissey in a boxing match. Street fights between the two
gangs continued, resulting in the deaths of several members, including Poole in
March 1855. Morrissey was charged with the murder, but released. In a
well-publicized prizefight in October 1858, Morrissey defeated John
"Benicia Boy" Heenan at Long Point, Canada, before a crowd of 2,000,
and pocketed $5,000 from a side bet. After the Heenan bout, Morrissey retired
from the boxing ring as the champion.
Morrissey became the owner of several successful saloons and gambling houses,
paying the police to ignore his illegal gambling operations, and reportedly
earning a million-dollar profit within five years. He invested his money in real
estate and, in 1863, the Saratoga Springs racing track, revitalizing the sport
in the Civil War North. He also turned his attention to politics in a more
serious way. In 1866, he was elected as a Democrat to the first of two terms in
Congress (1867-1871). He broke with Tammany Hall's boss, William Tweed, and did
not seek reelection in 1870. In the mid-1870s, he battled Tweed's successor,
John Kelly, for control of the Democratic party in New York City, helping to
found a rival political machine, Irving Hall (or Swallowtails). Morrissey was
elected to the state senate in 1875 and 1877, serving until his death in May
1878.
Sources consulted: American National Biography; Biographical Dictionary of
the United States Congress; Oliver Allen, The Tiger: The Rise and Fall of
Tammany Hall; Foster Rhea Dulles, America Learns to Play; Steven A. Reiss,
Sport
in Industrial America: 1850-1920. |
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