1. Patrick Ryan was an Irish American boxer, and became the bare-knuckle American heavyweight champion on 30 May 1880, after he won the title from Joe Goss.
29 Facts About Paddy Ryan
1. 2.
Paddy Ryan retained the title until losing it to the exceptional John L Sullivan on 7 February 1882.
3.
Paddy Ryan fought only ten major bouts, but as many as twenty-five exhibitions including many Sullivan in his late career.
4.
Paddy Ryan was born in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland on 14 March 1851.
5.
Killoran saw Paddy Ryan dealing with troublemakers and drunks at the saloon and decided to train him as a prizefighter.
6.
Paddy Ryan was as much an all-around fighter, grappler or wrestler as he was a boxer.
7.
Paddy Ryan's final blow was a right that knocked out Goss.
8.
Paddy Ryan's opponent appeared winded, but Ryan was terribly battered around the face and body.
9.
In 1881, Paddy Ryan fought eight exhibition bouts primarily in the New York area, in which he fought Goss again on 18 May, and then fought John Dwyer on 2 July.
10.
John L Sullivan and Ryan arrived in New Orleans on 6 February 1882, to determine who would hold the American heavyweight championship.
11.
Paddy Ryan was six years older, at least ten pounds lighter, but an inch or two taller, which gifted him with greater reach.
12.
Paddy Ryan came into the ring at 11:57 with the crowd estimated at 5,000.
13.
Paddy Ryan's rights were devastating and Ryan had difficulty recovering from them.
14.
Paddy Ryan fought Sullivan on many occasions afterward, but never won.
15.
Paddy Ryan was less active in boxing in 1883 when he knocked out Montana champion Jack Waite in a three-round exhibition on 21 October.
16.
Some sources report Paddy Ryan lost, but in any event, police intervened in the first round and stopped the fight.
17.
Paddy Ryan was one of a party of gentlemen entertained by Robert Emmet Odlum, brother of women's rights activist Charlotte Smith, on the morning of 19 May 1885, the day he jumped from the Brooklyn Bridge and was killed, though his intention was merely to prove that the jump could be made safely.
18.
Paddy Ryan fought a two-round draw with Frank Glover on 13 September 1886, in Chicago.
19.
Paddy Ryan fought at 210, above his normal fighting weight and was described as too "fleshy" by a Wisconsin paper.
20.
Paddy Ryan lived for a few years in San Francisco in the late '80s.
21.
On 13 November 1886, before a crowd of 8,000, Paddy Ryan had a non-title rematch with Sullivan, at the Mechanic's Pavilion in San Francisco, California; he lost by knockout in a 3-round contest.
22.
Paddy Ryan was down in the first from a short arm to the chin, though both boxers appeared to have traded some solid blows to the face before the round ended.
23.
Paddy Ryan was down again in the second, before a second knockdown in the third ended the fight.
24.
Paddy Ryan lost to Joe McAuliffe, who knocked him out in three rounds on 23 December 1887, in San Francisco.
25.
Paddy Ryan was arrested on a charge of grand larceny of $100 on 21 21 February 1888, in San Francisco, where he was still living at the time, though once the charge was found to be fraudulent, he was quickly acquitted and released.
26.
Paddy Ryan performed in a series of lucrative and well-attended exhibitions with Sullivan, primarily in New England, from 1891 to 1897, before retiring from boxing.
27.
On 5 March 1899, Paddy Ryan refereed the Alt Allen vs Fred Wyatt match in Plattsburgh, New York.
28.
Paddy Ryan died from his disease on 14 December 1900 in Green Island, New York, aged 49.
29.
Paddy Ryan was elected to The Ring magazine's Hall of Fame in 1973.