Jack Dempsey Research Paper

Jack Dempsey: The Boxer Who Started It All

Imagine being in a boxing ring and only having 14 seconds to react, that's how fast Jack Dempsey could knock someone out. Dempsey was a boxer who grew up in the 1920’s between Colorado and Utah since his family moved frequently but later became known as one of the best boxers in the 1920’s. Following in the footsteps of his older brother which sparked his love for boxing, Jack Dempsey became on of the best, highest paid, and most popular boxers of the 1920’s, who made Americans fall in love with the sport.

Jack Dempsey followed in the footsteps of his older brother to spark his love for boxing. Howes says, Dempsey’s birth name in William Harrison Dempsey and was one of eleven children. As a kid Dempsey moved

Howes explains, the name “Jack Dempsey” came from Dempsey’s older brother Bernie in honor of an Irish middleweight champion with the first name “Jack”.While Dempsey’s family was in hard times He left school before ninth grade in order to work for his family and started to do odd jobs such as shoe shining, pig feeding, and even a field worker. At age 16 Dempsey started to work in the local copper mine to provide for his family(67). Dempsey did not know this, but his future would soon change dramatically. Howes says, his brother, Bernie, started to box and began a small career, so as Dempsey watched his brother, he fell in love with boxing (68). Kelly King Howes says, “Around that time, his brother Bernie began a brief career as a boxer, calling himself ‘Jack Dempsey’ in honor of an Irish middleweight champion with that name. The younger brother followed Bernie's example and especially his training methods”(68). This quote helps explain just how Jack Dempsey got into what he became. Howes also states that Dempsey trained in very strange ways such as racing against horses to develop speed, chewing gum