Tommy Gibbons

Thomas Joseph Gibbons was an American professional heavyweight boxer.

Life and career

He was born on March 22, 1891, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Thomas John Gibbons and Mary Gibbons. He had a brother, Mike.
Tommy started boxing professionally in 1911 as a middleweight. Like his brother he was a master scientific boxer who chose to outbox his opponents. In time, he advanced to the heavyweight boxing class and developed a respectable punch.
On May 27, 1916, he married Helen Constance Moga in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
His biggest fight came near the end of his career in Jack Dempsey vs. Tommy Gibbons when he met heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey on July 4, 1923, in Shelby, Montana. The local backers and the town of Shelby went broke putting on the fight. The great Dempsey battled through the full fifteen rounds before winning by decision. Dempsey was awarded $200,000, whereas Gibbons received expense money.
Tommy Gibbons record was 56-4-1 with 44 no decisions, and 1 no contest. He scored 48 knockouts, and was stopped only once by Gene Tunney on June 5, 1925. The names dotting his record read like boxing's hall of fame. Tommy recorded wins over George Chip, Willie Meehan, Billy Miske, Chuck Wiggins, Jack Bloomfield, and Kid Norfolk. Tommy had no decision matches with George "K.O." Brown, Billy Miske, Harry Greb, Battling Levinsky, Bob Roper, Chuck Wiggins, Georges Carpentier, and others. Only Harry Greb, Billy Miske, Jack Dempsey, and Gene Tunney were able to score wins over Gibbons.
Following his retirement from boxing, Tommy Gibbons was elected four times as the Sheriff of Ramsey County. He won for six consecutive four year terms before retiring at the age of 68. He died on November 19, 1960, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Legacy

Gibbons became a member of the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1963, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993, and the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010.

Professional boxing record

All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Age	Location	Notes
106	Loss	56–4–1	Gene Tunney	KO	12	Jun 5, 1925		Polo Grounds, New York City, New York, U.S.
105	Win	56–3–1	Tiny Jim Herman	KO	3	Jan 30, 1925		Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
104	Win	55–3–1	Jack Burke	TKO	6	Jan 7, 1925		Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
103	Win	54–3–1	Kid Norfolk	TKO	6	Dec 9, 1924		Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
102	Win	53–3–1	Ted Jamieson	KO	1	Oct 24, 1924		Coliseum Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
101	Win	52–3–1	Bill Reed	TKO	3	Oct 10, 1924		Bellaire, Ohio, U.S.
100	Win	51–3–1	Jack Bloomfield	KO	3	Aug 9, 1924		Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London, England, U.K.
99	Win	50–3–1	Georges Carpentier	NWS	10	May 31, 1924		Floyd Fitzsimmons' Arena, Michigan City, Indiana, U.S.
98	Win	50–3–1	Jack McFarland	KO	2	Apr 3, 1924		Nashville Baseball Park, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
97	Win	49–3–1	Soldier Lee	TKO	3	Mar 31, 1924		Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
96	Win	48–3–1	Joe Downey	KO	1	Mar 24, 1924		Lakeside Park Pavillion, Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
95	Win	47–3–1	Jack Moore	KO	2	Mar 14, 1924		Board of Trade Building, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
94	Loss	46–3–1	Jack Dempsey	PTS	15	Jul 4, 1923		Arena, Shelby, Montana, U.S.	For NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring heavyweight titles
93	Win	46–2–1	Chuck Wiggins	TKO	10	Apr 30, 1923		Coliseum Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
92	Win	45–2–1	Andy Schmader	KO	1	Mar 26, 1923		Majestic Theatre, Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
91	Win	44–2–1	Jim Tracey	KO	2	Mar 5, 1923		East Chicago, Indiana, U.S.
90	Win	43–2–1	Billy Miske	UD	10	Dec 15, 1922		Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
89	Win	42–2–1	Joe Burke	KO	1	Dec 11, 1922		Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, U.S.
88	Win	41–2–1	George Ashe	KO	1	Nov 13, 1922		Danceland Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
87	Loss	40–2–1	Billy Miske	DQ	10	Oct 13, 1922		Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
86	Win	40–1–1	Sailor Martin	KO	2	May 29, 1922		Broadway Bowl, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
85	Win	39–1–1	Harry Foley	TKO	6	May 1, 1922		Louisiana Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
84	Loss	38–1–1	Harry Greb	UD	15	Mar 13, 1922		Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
83	Win	38–0–1	Pat McCarthy	TKO	4	Feb 2, 1922		Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
82	Win	37–0–1	Bartley Madden	NWS	10	Dec 19, 1921		Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
81	Win	37–0–1	Hope Mullen	KO	1	Dec 2, 1921		Southern AC, Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
80	Win	36–0–1	Dan O'Dowd	KO	6	Nov 25, 1921		Louisiana Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
79	Win	35–0–1	Soldier Jones	KO	1	Nov 16, 1921		Armouries, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
78	Win	34–0–1	Fred Allen	TKO	1	Oct 14, 1921		Odeon Theater, Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.
77	Win	33–0–1	Clay Turner	KO	1	Oct 7, 1921		Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, U.S.
76	Win	32–0–1	Joe Burke	KO	2	Sep 20, 1921		Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.
75	Win	31–0–1	Bill Reed	TKO	2	Sep 12, 1921		Redland Field, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
74	Win	30–0–1	Dan O'Dowd	TKO	3	Sep 5, 1921		South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
73	Win	29–0–1	Willie Meehan	TKO	1	Jun 22, 1921		Dunn Field, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
72	Win	28–0–1	Willie Keeler	KO	2	Jun 7, 1921		Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
71	Win	27–0–1	Jack Clifford	KO	3	May 30, 1921		Ebbets Field, New York City, New York, U.S.
70	Win	26–0–1	Sergeant Ray Smith	KO	2	May 27, 1921		Idora Park, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
69	Win	25–0–1	Jack Heinen	KO	1	May 23, 1921		Canton Auditorium, Canton, Ohio, U.S.
68	Win	24–0–1	Hugh Walker	TKO	2	Apr 29, 1921		Grand Opera House, Terre Haute, Pennsylvania, U.S.
67	Win	23–0–1	Porky Dan Flynn	TKO	11	Apr 19, 1921		Coliseum, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
66	Win	22–0–1	Larry Williams	TKO	4	Apr 12, 1921		Pioneer Sporting Club, New York City, New York, U.S.
65	Win	21–0–1	Sergeant Norcross	KO	1	Mar 31, 1921		Springfield, Ohio, U.S.
64	Win	20–0–1	Paul Samson Koerner	TKO	2	Mar 22, 1921		Pioneer Sporting Club, New York City, New York, U.S.
63	Win	19–0–1	Al Reich	KO	1	Mar 18, 1921		Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
62	Win	18–0–1	Hugh Walker	NWS	10	Feb 14, 1921		Heuck's Opera House, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
61	Win	18–0–1	Tony Melchior	KO	1	Feb 10, 1921		Coliseum, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
60	Win	17–0–1	Chuck Wiggins	NWS	10	Jan 11, 1921		Heuck's Opera House, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
59	Win	17–0–1	Chuck Wiggins	NWS	12	Dec 6, 1920		Coliseum, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
58	Win	17–0–1	Hugh Walker	NWS	10	Nov 11, 1920		Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
57	Loss	17–0–1	Harry Greb	NWS	10	Jul 31, 1920		Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
56	Win	17–0–1	Clay Turner	NWS	10	Jul 22, 1920		Nicollet Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
55	Win	17–0–1	Harry Greb	NWS	10	May 15, 1920		Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
54	Win	17–0–1	Bob Roper	NWS	10	Apr 9, 1920		Armory, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
53	Win	17–0–1	Jack Reeves	KO	2	Feb 19, 1920		Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
52	Draw	16–0–1	Noel "Boy" McCormick	PTS	10	Feb 11, 1920		Arena, Milwaukie, Oregon, U.S.
51	Win	16–0	George K.O. Brown	NWS	10	Feb 2, 1920		Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
50	Win	16–0	Jimmy Darcy	PTS	10	Dec 16, 1919		Arena, Milwaukie, Oregon, U.S.
49	Win	15–0	Frank Farmer	PTS	6	Dec 3, 1919		Crystal Pool, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
48	Win	14–0	Mick King	PTS	15	Nov 27, 1919		Victoria Pavilion, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
47	Win	13–0	George K.O. Brown	NWS	12	Jul 3, 1919		Denver, Colorado, U.S.
46	Draw	13–0	Billy Miske	NWS	10	Jun 19, 1919		Nicollet Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
45	Win	13–0	Tom Roper	NWS	10	Apr 28, 1919		Waterloo Theatre, Waterloo, Iowa, U.S.
44	Win	13–0	George Chip	PTS	10	Apr 10, 1919		Stockyards Stadium, Denver, Colorado, U.S.
43	Win	12–0	Larry Williams	NWS	10	Feb 10, 1919		Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo, New York City, New York, U.S.
42	Win	12–0	Len Rowlands	NWS	10	Jan 30, 1919		Town Hall, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
41		12–0	Bartley Madden	NC	4	Jan 25, 1919		National A.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
40	Win	12–0	George Chip	NWS	12	May 3, 1918		Coliseum, Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
39	Win	12–0	Gus Christie	PTS	10	Apr 26, 1918		Terre Haute, Pennsylvania, U.S.
38	Win	11–0	Silent Martin	NWS	15	Apr 20, 1918		Armory, Akron, Ohio, U.S.
37	Win	11–0	Clay Turner	NWS	10	Apr 18, 1918		Town Hall, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
36	Win	11–0	Gus Christie	NWS	12	Mar 22, 1918		Coliseum, Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
35	Win	11–0	Silent Martin	KO	10	Mar 13, 1918		Albaugh Theater, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
34	Win	10–0	George Chip	NWS	10	Mar 7, 1918		Town Hall, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
33	Win	10–0	Clay Turner	NWS	10	Feb 11, 1918		Southside Market House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
32	Win	10–0	Gus Christie	NWS	10	Feb 4, 1918		Southside Market House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
31	Win	10–0	Gus Christie	PTS	15	Sep 3, 1917		Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
30	Win	9–0	George Chip	NWS	10	Aug 22, 1917		Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
29	Win	9–0	Battling Levinsky	NWS	10	Mar 23, 1917		Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.	World light heavyweight title at stake;
28	Win	9–0	Jackie Clark	NWS	10	Mar 15, 1917		Town Hall, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
27	Win	9–0	Bert Kenny	NWS	10	Mar 3, 1917		Fairmont A.C., New York City, New York, U.S.
26	Win	9–0	Bob Moha	NWS	10	Feb 6, 1917		Elite Rink, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
25	Win	9–0	Joe Herrick	NWS	12	Nov 16, 1916		Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
24	Win	9–0	Joe Herrick	NWS	12	Oct 27, 1916		Walker Theatre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
23	Win	9–0	Vic Hansen	PTS	10	Mar 8, 1916		Saint Joseph, Missouri
22	Win	8–0	Gus Christie	NWS	12	Feb 15, 1916		Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
21	Win	8–0	Harry Greb	NWS	10	Nov 16, 1915		Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
20	Win	8–0	Billy Miske	NWS	10	Jul 12, 1915		Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
19	Win	8–0	Billy Murray	NWS	10	Feb 2, 1915		Arena, Hudson, Texas, U.S.
18	Win	8–0	Billy Glover	TKO	6	Nov 26, 1914		Fairmont A.C., New York City, New York, U.S.
17	Win	7–0	Bert Fagan	KO	2	Sep 2, 1914		Arena, Hudson, Texas, U.S.
16	Draw	6–0	Young Mahoney	NWS	10	Jun 5, 1914		Superior A.C., Superior, Wisconsin, U.S.
15	Win	6–0	Buck Crouse	TKO	4	May 22, 1914		Arena, Hudson, Texas, U.S.
14	Win	5–0	George K.O. Brown	NWS	10	Apr 21, 1914		Superior, Wisconsin, U.S.
13	Win	5–0	Billy Miske	NWS	10	Mar 24, 1914		Arena, Hudson, Texas, U.S.
12	Win	5–0	George K.O. Brown	NWS	10	Feb 9, 1914		Hudson, Texas, U.S.
11	Win	5–0	Al Worgin	KO	4	Jan 15, 1914		Hudson, Texas, U.S.
10	Win	4–0	Willie K.O. Brennan	NWS	10	Sep 29, 1913		Elmwood Music Hall, Buffalo, New York, U.S.
9	Win	4–0	Jack Denning	NWS	10	Jun 13, 1913		Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
8	Draw	4–0	Frank Logan	NWS	6	Jun 9, 1913		Olympia A.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
7	Win	4–0	Johnny Shaw	TKO	3	May 27, 1913		Brown's Gym A.A., Far Rockaway, New York City, New York, U.S.
6	Win	3–0	Young Mike Donovan	NWS	10	May 16, 1913		Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
5	Win	3–0	Joe Borrell	NWS	10	Apr 29, 1913		Fairmont A.C., New York City, New York, U.S.
4	Win	3–0	Tommy Bergin	NWS	10	Apr 22, 1913		Atlantic Garden A.C., New York City, New York, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Tommy Nelson	TKO	1	Dec 7, 1912		Fairmont A.C., New York City, New York, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Colored Brown	KO	5	Oct 2, 1911		Cooke's Gym, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Oscar Kelly	KO	5	Sep 5, 1911		Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.