Morrissey, John (1831–78), boxer, gang-leader and US congressman, was born 12 February 1831 at Templemore, Co. Tipperary, the only son among eight children of Timothy Morrissey, factory worker, and Julia (or Mary) Morrissey. In 1834 the family emigrated to Canada and then the United States, settling at Troy, New York. From the age of ten Morrissey worked, first in a mill, and then as an iron worker due to his size and strength. Morrissey became involved in various street gangs, developing a reputation as a pugilist of great strength and resolve. As leader of the Downtowns he defeated six members of the rival Uptown gang in a single afternoon in 1848. He took work on a Hudson River steamer and married Sarah Smith, daughter of the ship’s captain. They had one child who died before reaching adulthood.
In a New York saloon Morrissey challenged Charley ‘Dutch’ Duane to a prize fight and, when he was not to be found, with typical bravado he extended the challenge to everyone present. This impressed the owner, Isaiah Rynders, the Tammany Hall politician, and he employed Morrissey to help the Democratic party: this involved Morrissey in intimidating voters at election time. A fistfight with gang rival Tom McCann earned Morrissey the nickname ‘Old Smoke’. Mid-fight he was forced on to a bed of coals, but despite having his flesh burned refused to concede defeat; he fought his way back and beat McCann into unconsciousness. Stowing away to California to challenge other fighters, he began a gambling house to raise money, and embarked on a privateering expedition to the Queen Charlotte Islands in a quixotic attempt to make his fortune.
In his first professional prize fight (21 August 1852) he defeated George Thompson in dubious circumstances, and began calling himself the ‘champion of America’. However, it was only on 12 October 1853 that he officially earned this title, when he won the heavyweight championship of America in a bout at Boston Corners, New York, against Yankee Sullivan. The fight lasted thirty-seven rounds, and Morrissey had the worst of most of them, but he was awarded the contest after a free-for-all in the ring.
Increasingly involved in New York politics, he and his supporters fought street battles against the rival gang of William Poole, known as ‘Bill the Butcher’, a Know Nothing politician later fictionalised in the film The gangs of New York (2002). On 26 July 1854 the two men fought on the docks, but Morrissey was beaten badly and forced to surrender. This marked the beginning of a bitter feud between the two parties, with heavy casualties on both sides, which climaxed on 8 March 1855 when Poole was murdered. Morrissey was indicted as a conspirator in the crime, but was soon released because of his political connections. On 20 October 1858 he fought John C. Heenan (1835–73) in another heavyweight championship bout. Heenan broke his hand early in the fight and was always at a disadvantage; after taking much punishment Morrissey finally made his dominance count. There was a rematch on 4 April 1859, which Morrissey again won, and after this he retired from the ring. Investing his prize money, he ran two saloons and a gambling house in New York. With the huge profits from his gambling empire he invested in real estate in Saratoga, opening a racetrack there in 1863 which has endured to become America’s oldest major sports venue.
A political career beckoned as a reward for his consistent support for the Democratic party. He was elected to the house of representatives in 1866 representing New York’s fifth district, was re-elected the following year, and served until 3 March 1871. He supported President Andrew Johnson against demands for his impeachment and was sceptical about the Radicals’ plans for reconstruction in the south. In his final years he served as a US senator for New York State (1875–8). He died at the Adelphi Hotel, Saratoga Springs, on 1 May 1878, and was buried at Saint Peter’s cemetery, Troy. On the day of his funeral, flags at New York’s City Hall were lowered to half-mast, while the National Police Gazette declared ‘few men of our day have arisen from beginnings so discouraging to a place so high in the general esteem of the community’ (4 May 1878). His name is included in the list of ‘pioneer’ inductees in the Boxing Hall of Fame, and each year the John Morrissey Stakes are held at Saratoga racecourse in honour of its founder.