William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 - May 31, 1983), also known as "Kid Blackie" and  "The Manassa Mauler", was an American professional boxer, who became a cultural icon of the 1920. Dempsey held the world Heavyweight Championship from 1919 to 1926, and his aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first million dollar gate. Listed at #10 on The Ring's list of all time heavyweights and #7 among its Top 100 Greatest Punchers, in 1950 the Associated Press voted Dempsey as the greatest fighter of the past 50 years. Dempsey is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and was inducted into The Ring magazine's Boxing Hall of Fame in 1951.

Early life and career

Born William Harrison Dempsey in Manassa, Colorado, he grew up in a poor family in Colorado, West Virginia, and Utah. The son of Mary Celia and Hiram Dempsey, his family's lineage consisted of Irish, Cherokee, and Jewish ancestry. Following his parents' conversion to Mormonism, Dempsey was baptized into the LDS Church in 1903 following his 8th birthday, the "age of accountability", according to Mormon doctrine. Because  his father had difficulty finding work, the family traveled often and Dempsey dropped out of elementary school to work and left home at the age of 16. Due to his lack of money, he frequently traveled underneath trains and slept in hobo camps.

Desperate for money, Dempsey would occasionally visit saloons and challenge for fights, saying "I can't sing and I can't dance, but I can lick any SOB in the house." If anyone accepted the challenge, bets would be made. According to Dempsey's autobiography, he rearely lost these barroom brawls. For a short time, Dempsey was a part time bodyguard for Thomas F. Kearns, president of The Salt Lake Tribune and son of Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns. The two men remained friends for years afterward.

Because he occasionally fought under the pseudonym "Kid Blackie" until 1916, Dempsey's complete boxing record is not known. He first competed as "Jack Dempsey" in 1914 as a tribute to middleweight boxer Jack "Nonpareil" Dempsey. Following the name change, Dempsey won six bouts in a row by knockout before losing on a disqualification in four rounds to Jack Downey. During this early part of his career, Dempsey campaigned in Utah, frequently entering fights in towns in the Wasatch Mountain Range region. He followed his loss against Downey with a knockout win and two draws versus Johnny Sudenberg in Nevada. Three more wins and a draw followed when he met Downey again, this time resulting in a four round draw. Following these wins, Dempsey racked up ten more wins that included matches against Sudenberg and Downey, knocking out Downey in two rounds. These wins were followed with three no-decision mathces, though at this point in the history of boxing, the use of judges to score a fight was often forbidden, so if a fight went the distance, it was called a draw or a no decision, depending on the state or county where the fight was held.

After the United States entered world War I in 1917, Dempsey worked in a shipyard and continued to box. Afterward, he was accused by some boxing fans of being a slacker for not enlisting. This remained a black mark on his reputation until 1920, when evidence produced showed he had attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army, but had been classified 4-F. After the war, Dempsey spent two years in Salt Lace City, "bumming around" as he called it, before returning to the ring.

World Heavyweight Champion

Among his opponents for World Heavyweight Champion were Fireman Jim Flynn, the only boxer ever to beat Deampsey by a knockout when Dempsey lost to him in the first round (although some boxing historians believe the fight was a "fix"), and Gunboat Smith, formerly a highly ranked contender who had beaten both World Champion Jess Willard and Hall of Famer Sam Langford. Dempsey beat Smith for the third time on a second round knockout.

Before he employed the long-experienced Jack Kearns as his manager, Dempsey was first managed by John J. Reisler.