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 ...
), known as Irish Jackie Pilkington, was a professional
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
in the
Lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Boxing
Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing.
Notable lightweight boxe ...
division.
Background
Pilkington was born 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 ...
to
Irish American
, image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png
, image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state
, caption = Notable Irish Americans
, population =
36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...
parents. After the death of his widowed mother in 1919, his older brother
Charlie Pilkington
Charles Francis Pilkington (September 22, 1897 - May 20, 1974), known as Charlie Pilkington and The Meriden Flash, was an American professional boxer in the Featherweight division.
Background
Pilkington was born on September 22, 1897 in New ...
moved the entire family to
Meriden, Connecticut
Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Professional career
During his career, Pilkington actively participated in boxing matches in the New York City,
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, and
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
boxing circuits.
Shortly after Jackie began boxing in the professional leagues, his older brother took him to Australia, where he fought five bouts in 1927.
In 1930, Pilkington boxed for the Connecticut state title against Bobby Mays in a match set up by the famous manager,
Al Weill
Armand "Al" Weill (December 28, 1893 – October 20, 1969) was a boxing manager.
Background
Weill moved to the United States from his birthplace of France at the age of 13. In his early years, he began working as a professional ballroom dancer ...
. Unfortunately, Pilkington lost the match at the Thames Arena in New London.
In 1931, Pilkington fought his brother's forming sparring partner,
featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Boxing
Professional boxing
History
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...
champion
Kid Kaplan
Louis "Kid" Kaplan (born October 15, 1901 in Kyiv, Ukraine – October 26, 1970) was a professional boxer and a 1925 world featherweight champion.
Early life
Kaplan and his family emigrated to the United States from the Kyiv when he was five ...
in Hartford for the New England Lightweight Championship, losing the match to Kaplan in a 10 round match.
Over the course of his career, Pilkington fought
Benny Bass
Benjamin "Benny" Baruch J. Bass (December 4, 1904 – June 25, 1975), known as "Little Fish", was an American boxer. He was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, with his family emigrating to the United States in 1906; choosing to settle in Philadelphia, Penns ...
, Billy Wallace,
Georgie Day
Georgie Margaret Day (born May 2, 1947) is a nurse and former political figure in New Brunswick, Canada. She represented Kings Centre and then Hampton-Belleisle in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1991 to 1999 as a Liberal member.
...
, and
Johnny Dundee
Johnny Dundee (November 19, 1893 – April 22, 1965) was an American featherweight and the first world junior lightweight champion boxer who fought from 1910 until 1932. He was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1957 and the Inte ...