Thomas (Tommy) Joseph Gibbons
Tommy was born in Saint Paul
(Burke) Gibbons. He had fours and three sisters including
another brother named Thomas who
died before he was born.
Because his parents had no pictures of their first Thomas,
they immediately had Tommy's photo taken after
he was born
so that he would not suffer the
same fate as his namesake.
He began boxing with his brother
Mike Gibbons professionally
in 1911 as a middleweight.
He married Helen Constance Moga
on May 27, 1916
in Turtle
Lake. Mike Gibbons and his wife Mary Agnes (Mae)
Gibbons
were the best man and matron of honor at their
wedding. Tommy
and Helen had ten children, eight boys and two
girls. One of
the boys, Joseph, (born last
before the girls) was stillborn. The
children in order are Thomas Jr.,
John (Jack), Richard, Jerome
and Mark, Gregory, Peter, Joseph, Mary, and
Veronica.
His biggest fight came near the
end of his career when he
met heavyweight champion Jack
Dempsey on July 4, 1923
in Shelby, Montana. Tommy Gibbon forced
Dempsey to
fight the entire fifteen rounds for the first
time ever, before
Dempsey was given the decision. Tommy received
only his
expense money for the fight. "I could have licked him in
Shelby if I had been 30, but I
was 32. I'll never forget that
day. I never got so tired of a man in my
life." Tommy Gibbons
Tommy wife, Helen Gibbons died on
January 23, 1940
at
the age of 46.
She had been sick for several years before
her death.
When Tommy retired from boxing after the
Tunney fight; his stated that
with his age, and Helen's
illness, he was needed at home with his wife
and children.
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.
Tommy married Josephine Catherine
Leinenkugel Black
on February 15, 1941. They honeymooned to Florida
where they met with Jack Dempsey and Gene
Tunney.
It was the first time the three had all met together. They
also went to Havana and had coconut ice cream
and bought
Cuban cigars. Upon returning, Jody became stepmother to
nine children and Tommy to three.
Tommy was crowned King Boreas IX
in 1946 for the
St. Paul Winter Carnival. Tommy and Helen donated
the Immaculate Conception Church to the people
of Osakis,
MN where Tommy owned a summer home for many
years.
He stated, "I can't think of a nicer way to spend money." He
was Knighted twice in the Catholic Church for
his works: A
Knight of St Gregory and A Knight of St.
George.
At the age of thirty four he was
elected at Sheriff of Ramsey
County.
He was reelected for six 4 year terms and worked
there for 24 years. Two of the six terms he for sheriff, he ran
unopposed, a first time occurrence in Ramsey
County. He
retired at the age of 68 to relax and spend
more time fishing
and more time with his family. Twenty months later, after
a few good days of hunting and
visiting his daughter and sons,
Tommy went home to his wife, spent the evening
writing
letters and reading. By morning, he was
gone. Mrs. Gibbons
stated, "I don't believe he struggled a
bit." November 19, 1960.
0 comments:
Post a Comment