Tom O'Rourke (May 13, 1856 – June 19, 1936) was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and became a

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

manager in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. O'Rourke boxed in his youth, but his primary talent was rowing. He began managing boxers in the late 1880s, finally getting the black

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

George Dixon in his stable in 1889. O'Rourke saw Dixon outmatch Paddy Kelly in Boston, and began managing him to an eventual meeting with Cal McCarthy, the lightweight champion of the world. The bout ended in a draw, so O'Rourke and Dixon took their show on the road, eventually claiming the world championship in 1891, and the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

championship in 1892 in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in a rare (for the time) mixed-race bout, a tribute to O'Rourke's matchmaking abilities. In addition to Dixon, O'Rourke managed Joe Walcott (note: not

Jersey Joe Walcott Arnold Raymond Cream (January 31, 1914 – February 25, 1994), best known as Jersey Joe Walcott, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1930 to 1953. He held the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), National Boxing Associa ...

, who took his name from O'Rourke's boxer), who won the welterweight championship of the world in 1901. Walcott and Dixon are famous for traveling with O'Rourke in a "take on all comers" tour, where O'Rourke had his own, slightly smaller than usual, boxing ring for the bouts. The smaller ring gave his boxers an advantage, as both men were known for their straightforward style. In 1902, O'Rourke arranged the World Series of Football while serving as manager of Madison Square Garden trying to bring in attractions while promoting various boxing events. Pop Warner played his last game for the event. He held another World Series of Football in 1903 but lackluster support led him to end the event. Another well-known boxer of O'Rourke's is Sailor

Tom Sharkey Thomas "Sailor Tom" Sharkey (November 26, 1873 – April 17, 1953) was an Irish professional boxer who laid claim to the world heavyweight title by defeating Bob Fitzsimmons on December 2, 1896 in a highly controversial fight. Sharkey's recor ...

, who was managed by O'Rourke when he lost the heavyweight title bout with

James J. Jeffries James Jackson Jeffries (April 15, 1875 – March 3, 1953) was an American professional boxer and List of world heavyweight boxing champions, world heavyweight champion. He was known for his enormous strength and stamina. Jeffries fought out of ...

in 1899. The number one fighter that he began managing was George Gardner, once the Light Heavyweight Champion of the World in 1903. Gardner won the title from

Jack Root John Arthur Root, born as Janos Ruthaly and known professionally as Jack Root (May 26, 1876 – June 10, 1963) was an American boxer. He was the first world light heavyweight champion as well as a challenger for the world heavyweight title. He fo ...

and lost the title to

Bob Fitzsimmons Robert James Fitzsimmons (26 May 1863 – 22 October 1917) was a Cornish professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating "Gentleman Jim" Corbett (the man who beat John L. Sulliv ...

. It is often thought that the Fitzsimmons match was a publicity stunt, possibly a bribery making Fitzsimmons the first triple title champion in boxing history. O'Rourke died after collapsing in

Max Schmeling Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (, ; 28 September 1905 – 2 February 2005) was a German boxing, boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cul ...

's dressing room prior to his bout with

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...

on June 19, 1936.

References

*Roberts, James B. and Skutt, Alexander G. (2006). "Tom O'Rourke." ''The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall of Fame Official Record Book'',4th ed, p 739.
IBHOF enshrinee information
1856 births 1938 deaths Sportspeople from Boston American boxing managers {{US-boxing-bio-stub