# Jake Kilrain

John Joseph Killion (February 9, 1859 – December 22, 1937), more commonly known as Jake Kilrain, was a famous American bare-knuckle fighter and glove boxer of the 1880s.

## Early life

Kilrain found employment as a teenager in Somerville, Massachusetts. As a country boy from Long Island, he had to learn how to stand up to the workers in the rolling mills. By the age of 20, he had been recognized as the toughest fighter in the mill. Kilrain was also a champion rower having won the National Amateur Junior Sculling Championship in 1883. He was later stripped of that honor when it was discovered that he was a prizefighter and thus could not be considered an amateur.
In 1883, Kilrain took up prizefighting as a profession and quickly established a reputation as a very tough fighter.

## Professional career
### World Championship fight with Jem Smith

By 1887 Kilrain already has been recognized as the U.S. National Champion, that gave him an opportunity to fight for the Championship of the World and silver belt versus the British Champion Jem Smith, scheduled to take place in December 1887, in France, at a little island on the River Seine, called St. Pierre d'Autils. The bout was attended by about a hundred of the upper class spectators and journalists, mainly from England, being covered by the major international media of the day, such as Reuters, Gaulois, etc. They fought 1-minute rounds with 30 seconds break between the rounds. At the outset the men fought evenly. After the 3rd round Kilrain scored several knockdowns, and wrestling formed the principal mode of operations for the rest of the fight. Before the 106th round had started, after two hours and a half of fighting (roughly three times the full duration of modern-day 12-round championship fights,) when darkness set in, the bout was stopped due to technical reasons, as no artificial lighting of the scene has been arranged the outcome was called a draw due to darkness.
Clearly dominant throughout the fight (even the English newspapers wrote that "the Englishman was no match for the American crack") upon his return to the United States, Kilrain was pronounced by Richard K. Fox of the National Police Gazette as Heavyweight Champion of the World for his bout with Jem Smith. The awarding of the belt to Kilrain was part of a strategy by Fox to draw Sullivan into a fight. Any remote claim he had to the title of world champion was lost in 1889 after his loss to John L. Sullivan.

### Bout with John L. Sullivan

Kilrain is perhaps best known for challenging champion John L. Sullivan in 1889 in the last world heavyweight championship prizefight decided with bare knuckles under London Prize Ring rules in history. They fought 1-minute rounds with 50 seconds break between the rounds. In a hard-fought contest, Kilrain lost at the start of the 76th round (after 2 hours 16 minutes) when Mike Donovan, his second, threw in the sponge. Kilrain had not wanted to give up thinking that he could outlast Sullivan, but Donovan defended his actions insisting that Kilrain would have died had the fight gone on. In any case, the Kilrain-Sullivan fight can rightly be listed among the greatest fights of the pre-modern era.

### Later career

Kilrain continued on for 10 more years after the Sullivan fight with gloves under Marquess of Queensberry rules with some success. His most significant win was a 44-round knockout of Boston's George Godfrey in 1891. He retired with a record of 18 wins (3 by KO), 6 losses and 12 draws along with 1 non-decision. He lived in his later years as a devoted family man with his wife and children as proprietor of a saloon in Baltimore, Maryland. After his saloon burned down, he moved back to Somerville and was given a job with the parks department. After government cutbacks during the Great Depression he became a night watchman at a Quincy, Massachusetts shipyard.
In his later life, Kilrain became good friends with John L. Sullivan. When Sullivan died in 1918, Kilrain served as a pallbearer at the funeral. He was also godfather to the English boxer Charley Mitchell's son Charles Mitchell.

## Death and honors

Kilrain died on December 22, 1937, in a local hospital from complications of old age and diabetes, aged 78.
Kilrain was elected to the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009 and to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012.
Scottish boxer and welterweight champion Henry Owens would later fight under the name "Jake Kilrain".

## Professional boxing record

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

### Official record

| 51 fights | 31 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 18 | 5 |
| By decision | 13 | 1 |
| Draws | 10 | 10 |
| No contests | 3 | 3 |
| Newspaper decisions/draws | 1 | 1 |
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, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 51 | Loss | 31–6–10 (4) | Steve O'Donnell | TKO | 5 (15), 2:15 | Oct 20, 1899 | Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, US | |
| 50 | Loss | 31–5–10 (4) | Frank Slavin | KO | 1 (10), 2:15 | Sep 14, 1896 | Eureka A.C., Baltimore, Maryland, US | |
| 49 | ND | 31–4–10 (4) | Abe Ullman | ND | 10 | Sep 30, 1895 | Baltimore, Maryland, US | Exact date unknown |
| 48 | Loss | 31–4–10 (3) | Steve O'Donnell | TKO | 21 (25), 1:18 | May 6, 1895 | Sea Side A.C., Coney Island, New York, US | |
| 47 | Draw | 31–3–10 (3) | Steve O'Donnell | PTS | 8 | Mar 18, 1895 | Suffolk A.C., Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 46 | Loss | 31–3–9 (3) | Frank Slavin | TKO | 9 (10) | Jun 16, 1891 | Granite A.C., Hoboken, New Jersey, US | For world interim heavyweight title (National Police Gazette) |
| 45 | Win | 31–2–9 (3) | George Godfrey | KO | 44 | Mar 13, 1891 | California A.C., San Francisco, California, US | A finish fight |
| 44 | Win | 30–2–9 (3) | George Maguire | KO | 2 (?) | Dec 4, 1890 | Utica, New York, US | |
| 43 | Win | 29–2–9 (3) | Mike Brennan | PTS | 3 | Dec 3, 1890 | Montana, New York, US | |
| 42 | Win | 28–2–9 (3) | George Harris | KO | 2 (?) | Dec 1, 1890 | New York City, New York, US | |
| 41 | Win | 27–2–9 (3) | Arthur Chambers | PTS | 3 | Aug 22, 1890 | Union Opera House, Ogden, Utah, US | |
| 40 | Win | 26–2–9 (3) | Jerry Slattery | TKO | 2 (?) | Aug 1, 1890 | New York City, New York, US | |
| 39 | Win | 25–2–9 (3) | Dick Mayel | PTS | 3 | Jun 18, 1890 | Cleveland, Ohio, US | |
| 38 | Win | 24–2–9 (3) | Tommy McManus | PTS | 3 | Jun 13, 1890 | New York City, New York, US | |
| 37 | Win | 23–2–9 (3) | Frank Straub | KO | 4 (?) | Jun 12, 1890 | New York City, New York, US | |
| 36 | Win | 22–2–9 (3) | Frank Bosworth | TKO | 3 (4) | Jun 10, 1890 | New York City, New York, US | |
| 35 | Loss | 21–2–9 (3) | James J. Corbett | PTS | 6 | Feb 18, 1890 | Southern A.C., New Orleans, Louisiana, US | |
| 34 | Win | 21–1–9 (3) | Felix Vacquelin | KO | 3 (?) | Feb 2, 1890 | New Orleans, Louisiana, US | |
| 33 | Loss | 20–1–9 (3) | John Scholes | NWS | 4 | Nov 4, 1889 | Mutual Street Rink, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
| 32 | Loss | 20–1–9 (2) | John L. Sullivan | KO | 75 (?) | Jul 8, 1889 | Richburg, Mississippi, US | For world bare-knuckle heavyweight title; For inaugural world heavyweight title (National Police Gazette); London Prize Ring Rules |
| 31 | Draw | 20–0–9 (2) | Jem Smith | PTS | 106 (?) | Dec 19, 1887 | St. Pierre d'Autils, France | Claimed world heavyweight title (National Police Gazette); London Prize Ring Rules |
| 30 | Win | 20–0–8 (2) | Joe Lannon | TKO | 11 (?) | Mar 8, 1887 | Watertown, Massachusetts, US | |
| 29 | ND | 19–0–8 (2) | Jack Ashton | ND | 4 | Dec 22, 1886 | New Assembly Rooms, Baltimore, Maryland, US | |
| 28 | ND | 19–0–8 (1) | Johny Seidel | ND | 4 | Dec 22, 1886 | New Assembly Rooms, Baltimore, Maryland, US | |
| 27 | Win | 19–0–8 | John P. Clow | PTS | 4 | Dec 22, 1886 | New Assembly Rooms, Baltimore, Maryland, US | |
| 26 | Win | 18–0–8 | Denny Killen | PTS | 4 | Nov 19, 1886 | Comique Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 25 | Win | 17–0–8 | Tommy Kelly | KO | 4 (4) | Nov 17, 1886 | Theatre Comique, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 24 | Win | 16–0–8 | Joe Godfrey | KO | 2 (?) | Nov 15, 1886 | Theatre Comique, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 23 | Win | 15–0–8 | Frank Herald | TKO | 1 (?), 2:00 | Nov 8, 1886 | Herring Run, Maryland, US | Police intervened |
| 22 | Win | 14–0–8 | Jack Ashton | PTS | 8 | Jul 31, 1886 | Ridgewood Baseball Park, New York City, New York, US | |
| 21 | Draw | 13–0–8 | Frank Faber | PTS | ? | 1886 | Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 20 | Draw | 13–0–7 | George Fryer | PTS | 5 | May 15, 1885 | Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 19 | Win | 13–0–6 | Alf Greenfield | PTS | ? | 1884-1886 | Location unknown | Precise date (including year) & the number of rounds of bout unknown at this time. |
| 18 | Win | 12–0–6 | Jerry Murphy | PTS | 4 | Jan 5, 1885 | Norumbega Hall, Bangor, Massachusetts, US | |
| 17 | Draw | 11–0–6 | Jack Burke | PTS | 5 | Dec 1, 1884 | New England Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 16 | Draw | 11–0–5 | Jem Goode | PTS | 5 | Jul 3, 1884 | Battery D Armory, Chicago, Illinois, US | |
| 15 | Draw | 11–0–4 | Mike Cleary | PTS | 4 | Jun 26, 1884 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US | |
| 14 | Win | 11–0–3 | William Sherriff | PTS | 3 (4) | May 6, 1884 | Union Hall, Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, US | Police intervened |
| 13 | Draw | 10–0–3 | Charley Mitchell | PTS | 4 | Mar 26, 1884 | Institute Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 12 | Win | 10–0–2 | Jerry Murphy | KO | 2 (?) | Oct 29, 1883 | Bangor, Massachusetts, US | Police intervened |
| 11 | Draw | 9–0–2 | Jem Goode | PTS | 5 | Oct 26, 1883 | Conant Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 10 | Win | 9–0–1 | George Godfrey | TKO | 3 (3) | May 16, 1883 | Boston, Massachusetts, US | Police intervened |
| 9 | Win | 8–0–1 | John McGylnn | TKO | 4 (?) | Apr 16, 1883 | New Bedford, Massachusetts, US | |
| 8 | Win | 7–0–1 | Pete McCoy | KO | 3 (3) | Mar 19, 1883 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 7 | Win | 6–0–1 | John Allen | PTS | 3 | Feb 10, 1883 | Boston, Massachusetts, US | Precise date of bout unknown at this time |
| 6 | Draw | 5–0–1 | George Godfrey | PTS | 3 | Jan 15, 1882 | Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | John Hughes | PTS | 3 | Jan 10, 1880 | Boston, Massachusetts, US | Precise date of bout unknown at this time |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Dennis Roach | TKO | ? (?) | Apr 1, 1879 | Somerville, Massachusetts, US | Precise date & number of rounds of bout unknown at this time |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Dan Dwyer | PTS | ? (?) | Mar 10, 1879 | Somerville, Massachusetts, US | Precise date & number of rounds of bout unknown at this time |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Jem Driscoll | TKO | ? (?) | Feb 1, 1879 | Somerville, Massachusetts, US | Precise date & number of rounds of bout unknown at this time |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Jack Daley | KO | 2 (?) | Jan 1, 1879 | Somerville, Massachusetts, US | Precise date of bout unknown at this time; Professional debut |

### Unofficial record

| 51 fights | 31 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 18 | 5 |
| By decision | 13 | 2 |
| Draws | 10 | 10 |
| No contests | 3 | 3 |
Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column.
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 51 | Loss | 31–7–10 (3) | Steve O'Donnell | TKO | 5 (15), 2:15 | Oct 20, 1899 | Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, US | |
| 50 | Loss | 31–6–10 (3) | Frank Slavin | KO | 1 (10), 2:15 | Sep 14, 1896 | Eureka A.C., Baltimore, Maryland, US | |
| 49 | ND | 31–5–10 (3) | Abe Ullman | ND | 10 | Sep 30, 1895 | Baltimore, Maryland, US | Exact date unknown |
| 48 | Loss | 31–5–10 (2) | Steve O'Donnell | TKO | 21 (25), 1:18 | May 6, 1895 | Sea Side A.C., Coney Island, New York, US | |
| 47 | Draw | 31–4–10 (2) | Steve O'Donnell | PTS | 8 | Mar 18, 1895 | Suffolk A.C., Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 46 | Loss | 31–4–9 (2) | Frank Slavin | TKO | 9 (10) | Jun 16, 1891 | Granite A.C., Hoboken, New Jersey, US | For world interim heavyweight title (National Police Gazette) |
| 45 | Win | 31–3–9 (2) | George Godfrey | KO | 44 | Mar 13, 1891 | California A.C., San Francisco, California, US | A finish fight |
| 44 | Win | 30–3–9 (2) | George Maguire | KO | 2 (?) | Dec 4, 1890 | Utica, New York, US | |
| 43 | Win | 29–3–9 (2) | Mike Brennan | PTS | 3 | Dec 3, 1890 | Montana, New York, US | |
| 42 | Win | 28–3–9 (2) | George Harris | KO | 2 (?) | Dec 1, 1890 | New York City, New York, US | |
| 41 | Win | 27–3–9 (2) | Arthur Chambers | PTS | 3 | Aug 22, 1890 | Union Opera House, Ogden, Utah, US | |
| 40 | Win | 26–3–9 (2) | Jerry Slattery | TKO | 2 (?) | Aug 1, 1890 | New York City, New York, US | |
| 39 | Win | 25–3–9 (2) | Dick Mayel | PTS | 3 | Jun 18, 1890 | Cleveland, Ohio, US | |
| 38 | Win | 24–3–9 (2) | Tommy McManus | PTS | 3 | Jun 13, 1890 | New York City, New York, US | |
| 37 | Win | 23–3–9 (2) | Frank Straub | KO | 4 (?) | Jun 12, 1890 | New York City, New York, US | |
| 36 | Win | 22–3–9 (2) | Frank Bosworth | TKO | 3 (4) | Jun 10, 1890 | New York City, New York, US | |
| 35 | Loss | 21–3–9 (2) | James J. Corbett | PTS | 6 | Feb 18, 1890 | Southern A.C., New Orleans, Louisiana, US | |
| 34 | Win | 21–2–9 (2) | Felix Vacquelin | KO | 3 (?) | Feb 2, 1890 | New Orleans, Louisiana, US | |
| 33 | Loss | 20–2–9 (2) | John Scholes | NWS | 4 | Nov 4, 1889 | Mutual Street Rink, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
| 32 | Loss | 20–1–9 (2) | John L. Sullivan | KO | 75 (?) | Jul 8, 1889 | Richburg, Mississippi, US | For world bare-knuckle heavyweight title; For inaugural world heavyweight title (National Police Gazette); London Prize Ring Rules |
| 31 | Draw | 20–0–9 (2) | Jem Smith | PTS | 106 (?) | Dec 19, 1887 | St. Pierre d'Autils, France | Claimed world heavyweight title (National Police Gazette); London Prize Ring Rules |
| 30 | Win | 20–0–8 (2) | Joe Lannon | TKO | 11 (?) | Mar 8, 1887 | Watertown, Massachusetts, US | |
| 29 | ND | 19–0–8 (2) | Jack Ashton | ND | 4 | Dec 22, 1886 | New Assembly Rooms, Baltimore, Maryland, US | |
| 28 | ND | 19–0–8 (1) | Johny Seidel | ND | 4 | Dec 22, 1886 | New Assembly Rooms, Baltimore, Maryland, US | |
| 27 | Win | 19–0–8 | John P. Clow | PTS | 4 | Dec 22, 1886 | New Assembly Rooms, Baltimore, Maryland, US | |
| 26 | Win | 18–0–8 | Denny Killen | PTS | 4 | Nov 19, 1886 | Comique Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 25 | Win | 17–0–8 | Tommy Kelly | KO | 4 (4) | Nov 17, 1886 | Theatre Comique, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 24 | Win | 16–0–8 | Joe Godfrey | KO | 2 (?) | Nov 15, 1886 | Theatre Comique, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 23 | Win | 15–0–8 | Frank Herald | TKO | 1 (?), 2:00 | Nov 8, 1886 | Herring Run, Maryland, US | Police intervened |
| 22 | Win | 14–0–8 | Jack Ashton | PTS | 8 | Jul 31, 1886 | Ridgewood Baseball Park, New York City, New York, US | |
| 21 | Draw | 13–0–8 | Frank Faber | PTS | ? | 1886 | Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 20 | Draw | 13–0–7 | George Fryer | PTS | 5 | May 15, 1885 | Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 19 | Win | 13–0–6 | Alf Greenfield | PTS | ? | 1884-1886 | Location unknown | Precise date (including year) & the number of rounds of bout unknown at this time. |
| 18 | Win | 12–0–6 | Jerry Murphy | PTS | 4 | Jan 5, 1885 | Norumbega Hall, Bangor, Massachusetts, US | |
| 17 | Draw | 11–0–6 | Jack Burke | PTS | 5 | Dec 1, 1884 | New England Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 16 | Draw | 11–0–5 | Jem Goode | PTS | 5 | Jul 3, 1884 | Battery D Armory, Chicago, Illinois, US | |
| 15 | Draw | 11–0–4 | Mike Cleary | PTS | 4 | Jun 26, 1884 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US | |
| 14 | Win | 11–0–3 | William Sherriff | PTS | 3 (4) | May 6, 1884 | Union Hall, Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, US | Police intervened |
| 13 | Draw | 10–0–3 | Charley Mitchell | PTS | 4 | Mar 26, 1884 | Institute Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 12 | Win | 10–0–2 | Jerry Murphy | KO | 2 (?) | Oct 29, 1883 | Bangor, Massachusetts, US | Police intervened |
| 11 | Draw | 9–0–2 | Jem Goode | PTS | 5 | Oct 26, 1883 | Conant Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 10 | Win | 9–0–1 | George Godfrey | TKO | 3 (3) | May 16, 1883 | Boston, Massachusetts, US | Police intervened |
| 9 | Win | 8–0–1 | John McGylnn | TKO | 4 (?) | Apr 16, 1883 | New Bedford, Massachusetts, US | |
| 8 | Win | 7–0–1 | Pete McCoy | KO | 3 (3) | Mar 19, 1883 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 7 | Win | 6–0–1 | John Allen | PTS | 3 | Feb 10, 1883 | Boston, Massachusetts, US | Precise date of bout unknown at this time |
| 6 | Draw | 5–0–1 | George Godfrey | PTS | 3 | Jan 15, 1882 | Boston, Massachusetts, US | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | John Hughes | PTS | 3 | Jan 10, 1880 | Boston, Massachusetts, US | Precise date of bout unknown at this time |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Dennis Roach | TKO | ? (?) | Apr 1, 1879 | Somerville, Massachusetts, US | Precise date & number of rounds of bout unknown at this time |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Dan Dwyer | PTS | ? (?) | Mar 10, 1879 | Somerville, Massachusetts, US | Precise date & number of rounds of bout unknown at this time |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Jem Driscoll | TKO | ? (?) | Feb 1, 1879 | Somerville, Massachusetts, US | Precise date & number of rounds of bout unknown at this time |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Jack Daley | KO | 2 (?) | Jan 1, 1879 | Somerville, Massachusetts, US | Precise date of bout unknown at this time; Professional debut |

## Media

Mike Mazurki portrayed Kilrain in the 1942 film Gentleman Jim.