Daniel Kerrigan (1843 – January 26, 1880) was an American pugilist, sportsman and politician. He was part owner of the Star and Garter, a popular

Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...

saloon, and was a longtime political organizer and "fixer" for

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

. He was also involved in one of the longest

bare-knuckle boxing Bare-knuckle boxing (or simply bare-knuckle) is a combat sport which involves two individuals throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time without any boxing gloves or other form of padding on their hands. It is a regulated ...

prize fights when he defeated "Australian Kelly" after a near-three and a half hour bout at Island Pond in 1860.

Biography

Dan Kerrigan was one of five siblings born to

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...

immigrant in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's Sixth Ward in 1843. His father, Daniel P. Kerrigan, was a lawyer and his mother "a woman of superior education". Dan Kerrigan received a public school education and later attended a local Catholic

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic priests. They are generally Catholic institutions, and ...

under Rev. Father Halpin. He was a

choir boy ''Choir Boy'' is a coming-of-age play by American playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. The play premiered in September 2012 at the Royal Court Theatre, London, before going on to play productions at New York City Center, Alliance Theatre, Geffen ...

at St. Patrick's Church and was strongly encouraged to pursue religious training, and for a time considered entering the priesthood, but eventually became dissatisfied and left the school to work for underworld figures

Ben Wood Ben Wood (born 1980, in Shoreham-By-Sea, United Kingdom) is a British visual artist living and working in San Francisco. Over the past decade he has carried out public projects in San Francisco and exhibited in Mexico City, Honolulu and the United ...

and

Zachariah Simmons Zachariah Simmons was an American underworld figure involved in running policy games in New York during the late 19th century. Supported by the Tweed Ring, he took over the policy rackets from Reuben Parsons and John Frink following the end of th ...

, both controlling the

policy racket The numbers game, also known as the numbers racket, the Italian lottery, Mafia lottery or the daily number, is a form of illegal gambling or illegal lottery played mostly in poor and working class neighborhoods in the United States, wherein a be ...

and

illegal gambling Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, c ...

in the city."Dan Kerrigan's Death. A Characteristic Sportingman who was Known Throughout the Union". ''New York Sun'', January 27, 1880. Kerrigan quickly rose through the ranks of their organization, becoming a first class

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

and accountant, and was given complete control of managing the organization's accounts. He acquired a large personal fortune while employed by Wood and Simmons and began living a lavish lifestyle. Kerrigan started gambling, becoming known as a

high roller A high roller, also referred to as a whale or cheetah, is a gambler who consistently wagers large amounts of money. High rollers often receive lavish " comps" from casinos to lure them onto the gambling floors, such as free private jet transfers ...

, and left the service of Wood and Simmons in 1860 to become a professional gambler. A formidable pugilist, he fought "Australian Kelly" in a $1,000 prize fight that same year. The bout was officially held two miles from the Island Pond Hotel in Island Pond on August 22, 1860. The fight lasted 25 rounds, lasting nearly three and a half hours, and was eventually won by Kerrigan after a foul blow by Kelly."The Prize Ring.; Fight between Dan Kerrigan and Australian Kelly - Kerrigan Victorious". ''New York Times.'' August 22, 1860. He became deeply involved in illegal gambling, having mixed success with running faro banks throughout the city, and traveled the United States for almost 20 years becoming one of the most widely recognized sportsmen in the country. He was also a regular at nearly every horse race held at

Jerome Park Jerome Park is a municipal park in the West Bronx of New York City. The park, along with the surrounding neighborhood of the same name, are both on land that was once Jerome Park Racetrack, which was founded by Leonard W. Jerome, grandfather o ...

, Saratoga and

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...

. Kerrigan developed extensive political connections as a longtime political organizer and "fixer" for

and was at one time the chairman of the Tammany Hall General Committee. In 1878, Kerrigan opened a saloon in the Twenty-Ninth District known as ''the Strand''. This establishment became very popular in the area however, the following year, he was arrested by Captain Alexander "Clubber" Williams and charged with keeping a "

disorderly house In English criminal law a disorderly house is a house in which the conduct of its inhabitants is such as to become a public nuisance, or outrages public decency, or tends to corrupt or deprave, or injures the public interest; or a house where per ...

". His political connections secured his release and, in October 1879, he became one of the owners of the Star and Garter with William C. Rogers. During his four months at the establishment, he loaned $6,000 to those in need. In early-January 1880, Kerrigan contracted a severe cold which quickly turned into

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. Although he was advised to seek medical treatment, Kerrigan ignored this advice and his condition grew more serious. On January 22, he left his home to ride with a friend and returned seriously ill. Two physicians were called, Dr. Loomis and Sass, but were doubtful that he would recover. His three brothers and sister were called, as well as his partner William Rogers, and remained with him until the time of his death four days later. He dictated his last wishes during this time and, although he had not written a will, Kerrigan expressed that he wished his fortune to be divided among his family with Rogers as the executor. He also said he did not wish an elaborate funeral but to be quietly buried next to his parents in Calvary Cemetery. Kerrigan died at the Star and Garter on the evening of January 27, 1880. His funeral was held the following day at the Church of the Holy Innocents.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerrigan, Daniel 1843 births 1880 deaths American people of Irish descent Criminals from New York City