Jimmy Goodrich
| Jimmy Goodrich | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | James Edward Moran |
| Rated at | Lightweight |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Reach | 65.5 in (166 cm) |
| Nationality |
American 
|
| Born |
July 30, 1900 Scranton, Pennsylvania |
| Died | September 25, 1982 (aged 82) Fort Myers, Florida |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 195 |
| Wins | 118 |
| Losses | 52 |
| Draws | 25 |
| No contests | 0 |
Jimmy Goodrich became the World Lightweight Champion when he defeated Chilean boxer Stanislaus Loayza in a second round TKO at Queensboro Stadium in Queens, New York on July 13, 1925. He retained the title only five months, losing it by unanimous decision to Rocky Kansas on December 7, 1925. Goodrich was known for having never been the victim of a knockout.
Goodrich was born on July 30, 1900, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish Catholic parents. His father was a coal miner. Like many boxers of his era, in his youth he sold newspapers to make extra money. In his teens his family moved to Buffalo, and both he and his father became steel workers. He once wrote that some of his earliest bouts were exhibitions he gave at the factories where he worked.
When his father died, and his mother remarried, he took used his stepfather's surname Goodrich as his ringname and subsequently kept it throughout his life. He married his wife Patti around 1920 and remained married until he died.
Goodrich began a professional career in boxing by 1918, winning a string of his early fights, mostly short bouts in the Buffalo area. One of his few early losses was to Johnny McCoy, on May 6, 1919. McCoy would become World Flyweight Champion in October 1927. Some of the better boxers Goodrich met in his early career included Benny Valgar, Johnny Dundee, Frankie Callahan, and Louis "Kid" Kaplan. Of these, he beat only Frankie Callahan on April 2, 1923 in Buffalo. Significantly, in his first match with Johnny Dundee on April 4, 1922, in the Civic Arena in Toronto, he lost in a ten round split decision. The fight was intended to have been a Jr. Lightweight World Championship except that Goodrich was one pound overweight, disqualifying him from Jr. Lightweight status. The fight was close, and could be considered Goodrich's first bout as a contender.
Goodrich defeated accomplished boxer Pal Moran on September 4, 1923 in Queensboro Stadium in a ten round points decision. He drew with Benny Valgar on April 9, 1923 in a close 12 round decision in Buffalo. He lost to Sid Terris, a highly rated lightweight in a ten round points decision in New York on January 13, 1925.
Goodrich fought well known boxer Eddie "Kid" Wagner in front of a crowd of 5000 in Madison Square Garden in his first elimination match for Benny Leonard's Vacant World Lightweight Title. In a very close bout, the referees added two extra rounds to the original ten to help reach a decision. According to the Montreal Gazette, "the decision was unpopular, the crowd voicing its disapproval in a wild demonstration which continued for fifteen minutes after the end of the match". In May and June 1925, he beat Sammy Mandell and Benny Valgar, in Queensboro Stadium in Queens, both elimination bouts for the Vacant World Lightweight Title.
...
Wikipedia