Johnny Kilbane
| Johnny Kilbane | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | John Patrick Kilbane |
| Nickname(s) | Johnny |
| Rated at | Featherweight |
| Nationality | United States Of America |
| Born |
April 9, 1889 Cleveland, Ohio |
| Died | May 31, 1957 (aged 68) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 142 |
| Wins | 110 |
| Wins by KO | 24 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Draws | 15 |
| No contests | 1 |
John Patrick "Johnny" Kilbane (April 9, 1889 – May 31, 1957) was a featherweight boxer in the early part of the 20th century. He held the World Featherweight title from 1912 to 1923, the longest period in the division's history. He is the second longest world title holder in boxing history behind Joe Louis. Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Kilbane as the #2 ranked featherweight of all-time, while The Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at #5. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Kilbane as the 8th best featherweight ever. He was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1960 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.
Kilbane was born to John and Mary (Gallagher) Kilbane in Cleveland, Ohio on April 9, 1889. His mother died when he was 3 years old and his father went blind when he was 6. He attended school until the sixth grade when he dropped out to help support his family.
Kilbane's first professional fight was in 1907, for which he earned $25.
On February 22, 1912 Kilbane took the featherweight title from Abe Atell in a twenty-round match in Vernon, California. When he returned to Cleveland, on St. Patrick's Day, he was given the greatest welcome ever given to a native Clevelander, with more than 100,000 people turning out. He held the featherweight championship for 11 years through numerous fights. He finally lost it to Eugene Criqui. The high number of "no decision"s in his career reflected early boxing rules in many states in the U.S. that dictated "no decision"—ND—unless a fight ended by knockout.
Kilbane fought 1904 World Bantamweight champion Jimmy Walsh in a World Featherweight Title match on May 21, 1912 at the Pilgrim Athletic Club in Boston, Massachusetts to a twelve-round draw decision. They had previously fought in a non-title match on May 30, 1911, in a 12-round draw bout in Canton, Ohio, that was characterized as "full of clinches", with neither man "doing much hard work."
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