Jack Burke
John "Jack" Burke (* 1874 or 1875 , † February 14, 1942 in Plainfield , New Jersey) was an American boxer . He played the longest boxing match of all time against Andy Bowen .
Little information is available about the life of Burke. The long fight against his opponent for a lightweight title seems to have been the most memorable event of his boxing matches. It apparently brought him fame in the 1890s.
On the evening of April 6, 1893, Andy Bowen and John "Jack" Burke competed at the Olympic Club in New Orleans for $ 2,500 in prize money . When the fight began at 9:00 p.m. (sources also speak of 9:15 p.m. or 9:30 p.m.), no one suspected they were going to witness a historic event. The opponents, already equipped with boxing gloves, wanted to fight in 3-minute rounds according to the rules until the winner was determined. The referee was John Duffy, who often judged Bowen's compliance in competitions.
In the first 14 rounds, both boxers tried to come to a quick decision. But then their strength slackened and both waited for the opponent to show themselves. At 3:00 a.m., lap 89 was reached. Bowen was said at the time that he had a broken wrist. Some spectators migrated to take care of breakfast, others were overwhelmed by sleep and the reporter for the local newspaper "Daily Picayune" also suffered from fatigue. After 7 hours and 19 minutes, 110 laps had been played. Both boxers were pumped out. Burke's knuckles were broken in both hands. When the bell rang in round 111, none of the opponents came out of his corner and referee Duffy, according to sources, ended the action at 4:43 am with the statement "No contest" . The boxing match was later rated as a "tie".
Burke is said to never have stepped into the ring again after this experience. He died at the age of 67 in Plainfield, New Jersey, of injuries apparently sustained in traffic.
The boxer must not be confused with the "bare-knuckle" boxer Jack Burke (1861–1897), nicknamed "The Irish Lad" .
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.archive.org/stream/louisianaaguidet010578mbp/louisianaaguidet010578mbp_djvu.txt
- ↑ http://www.trivia-library.com/b/boxing-sports-oddities-and-trivia.htm
- ↑ https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,884503,00.html TIME of February 23, 1942
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated June 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Burke, Jack |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Burke, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American boxer, participant in the longest boxing match |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1874 or 1875 |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 14, 1942 |
| Place of death | Plainfield , New Jersey, USA |