Jack Dempsey

His first marriage was to the actress Estelle Taylor which ended in a divorce. He married Broadway singer Hannah Williams in 1933 and had two children with her. This marriage too ended in divorce in 1943. His final marriage was to Deanna Piatelli to whom he was married till his death.

He died of heart failure in 1983 when he was 87 years old.

He was born as the son of Celia and Hyrum Depsey. His father had problems finding a stable job and the poor family traveled often in search of work.

He started working at the age of eight. As a young boy he worked as a miner, farm hand and a cowboy to contribute to his family income. His elder brother Bernie, a prizefighter in saloons taught his younger brother how to fight.

He attended Lakeview Elementary School for some time before drooping out to work full-time. He held a number of odd jobs to make ends meet.

In a bid to earn extra money the well-built and muscular youngster started challenging people at saloons to fight him. He proved to be a capable fighter and decided to get trained in this field.

After realizing that he could earn more money fighting than by working, he began to travel from town to town in search of fighting opportunities. From 1911 to 1916 he fought under the name ‘Kid Blackie’. A local organizer in Salt Lake City arranged his fights.

He took the name ‘Jack Dempsey’ after a 19th century boxer of the same name. He had his first fight under this name in 1914 which ended in a draw after six rounds. Following this he won six bouts in a row by knockout before losing to Jack Downey.

During mid 1910s he registered a winning streak of ten wins in a row, beating Downey by knocking him out in two rounds.

He worked in a shipyard and continued to box even as the U.S. entered into the World War I in 1917. He was criticized for not enlisting even though he had tried hard to enlist but had been turned down by the army.

He fought in 17 bouts during 1918 and registered a record of 15-1 with one no-decision. His opponents for the year included Fireman Jim Flynn, the only boxer ever to beat Dempsey by a knockout in a previous match; he avenged his defeat by beating him this time.

Dempsey was one of the longest reigning heavyweight boxing champions in the history of boxing. He held the title for 7 years, 2 months and 19 days.