Biography of jack dEMPSEY
Statue of Jack Dempsey in front of his home in Manassa, Colorado
William Harrison Dempsey was born on June 24, 1895 in Mormon village of Manassa, Colorado. William’s parents, Hyrum and Celia, in 1880, lived in West Virginia in which a group of Mormons converted them to Mormonism. Soon after they moved to Mormon village of Manassa, Colorado in which William was born. William, his father, and his two older brothers had to work as miners and traveled area to area in Colorado and Utah in hope to find mining jobs. William had various jobs including working as a cowboy, farmer, and miner so that he could support his family. Over the years that he worked, his older brother Bernie taught him how to box and ways to make his skin and bones stronger. For example, William would stick his face in brine to build resilience in his skin and chew pine tar gum to help strengthen his jaw. William started to attend Lakeview Elementary School when his family moved to Provo, Utah at age 12. He dropped out of school when he was in 8th grade so that he could work but at age 17, he quit working and started to box for more money. His brother, Bernie Dempsey, was prizefighting for years and called himself Jack Dempsey after another famous boxer. In 1914, Bernie became sick and asked Jack to fill in for him. When he competed he had to go in as Jack Dempsey in which after he won he never took away his name. As Jack gained a better reputation he started fighting in bigger fights. Eventually he fought Jess Willard, the heavyweight champion and succeed in the ring despite the huge disadvantage in size wise. Although he was the heavyweight champion for 7 years, he was never popular. When Jack fought Tunney in front of a massive crowd, he finally gained popularity through losing. When he returned to his wife after the fight bruised up, she asked what had happened and Jack replied,” Honey, I forgot to duck.” This anecdote of history made Jack in a folk legend. A year later, Jack challenged Tunney for a rematch in which he lost again. Many debate whether he would have won if the extra time Tunney had to get up would have cost him the match. When he lost, Jack retired from boxing and opened up a restaurant called Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant in NYC. He also starred in a few movies with his wife Estelle Taylor. On May 31, 1983, Jack Dempsey passed away from the cause of heart failure.
120,000 people who came to watch the first match between tunney and dempsey.
Jack Dempsey's Restaurant