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 1920s. 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.
Born William Harrison Dempsey in Manassa, Colorado, he grew up in a poor family in Colorado, West Virginia, and Utah.[A] The son of Mary Celia (née Smoot) 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.[citation needed]
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 rarely lost these barroom brawls.[10] 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.[11] The two men remained friends for years afterward.[citation needed]
