Boxing has always been a sport filled with hardened men; men cut from a mold that society would rather forget exists. But within the sport known for its blood and glory, there exists a small section of fame for the “baddest of the bad”—the toughest of the tough; and each generation has had their own claim to such a fighter. These are men who eat nails for breakfast and crap buckshot before dinner; men who sprinkle arsenic in their coffee because it tastes sweet, and date women in garter belts because they can’t feel the difference. In 1880’s America, a love affair with fisticuffs was in full-swing and the playing field was thick with young talent, all hoping to earn the big purses that would give them a fast track to fame and the good life. Among all the talent, stood a 5’ 8” Lightweight whose temper and fighting abilities were widely-known from coast to coast. Contrary to history, which states he was born someplace between Hell and Hades, he was actually born in Saint Paul, Minnesota—his name… Danny Needham.
Pugilism in the late 1800’s often saw only 2 oz. gloves used and when no agreement could be had on the amount of rounds, parties simply agreed to fight to the finish. To say that one needed a chin and incredible amount of stamina in that era would be an understatement. Fighters of today could not imagine fighting a 20 or 30 round fight. Neither could Needham; try 43, 76, and 100 rounders, which were his three longest bouts, which is why Needham became known as an “iron man”, in that he could not be outlasted or broken—eventually you’d get tired or get careless and when you did, Needham would be right there waiting. In fact, of Needham’s reported 84 fights, 11 were 20 rounds or greater, including the 2nd longest fight on record, that being a 100 round fight with Patsy Kerrigan in which Needham broke his hand in the 5th round, fighting the remaining 95 one-handed and in pain for the almost 7 hour slugfest.
Besides his power, Danny Needham was also known for his explosive Irish temper. It would prove to be his undoing throughout many points in his life. He was known for getting himself extremely worked up before fights, making terrible facial expressions in efforts to psych himself up. This habit led to his nickname of, “The Saint Paul Terror”. When the World title fight between Tommy Danforth and Tommy Warren took place in late September of 1886, Needham, who was already an established amateur boxer, was overheard by many saying that he could beat either one of them. Word reached Danworth and he challenged young Danny. The condition set for the match was that Needham had to knock out Danforth or else lose the decision and the purse. Needham was said to clearly have had the better of the fighting, but since he could not knock him out, Danforth was declared the winner. Within his first year as a pro, he became well-known in the Midwest, and after a string of consecutive KO wins, including laying claim to the Lightweight Championship of the Northwest by beating William Edwards in 1887, Needham was a nationally-known commodity.
In the fall of 1888, his manager Patrick Shanley, secured a match with the Lightweight Champion of America, Billy Myer. It would be for 20 rounds in Minneapolis at the Washington Roller Rink with 2 oz gloves. It would prove to be a very close fight, but the crowd booed loudly when referee Joe Mannix awarded the decision to Myer, as Myer was a bloody mess, while Danny showed little effects of the fight, using his expert counter-punching skills on his adversary all night long.
1889 would be a big year for Needham, as he rattled off 11 consecutive victories, his biggest wins being over the very feared Charles Gleason, and Billy Gilmore. In the Gilmore bout, Needham’s stamina had once more brought him to victory with a KO in round 20. After the big win over Gilmore, Needham quickly reeled off two KO wins over Con Keefe and Frank Besow. Around this time, Needham took on new management, hiring J.P. Herman and Charles Feller. Feller arranged for a fight in San Francisco. While there, he fought a tough one with Paddy Smith before ending things in the 17th round via the KO route. About this time, Danny was beginning to find it hard to make the confines of the Lightweight limits and Herman thought it best that he make the jump to Welterweight. This move set up a major showdown with Patsy Kerrigan in February of 1890. It would prove to be the second longest fight in boxing history, lasting just under 7 hours and going into the 100th round. Some fans were reported to have left and came back a few hours later, only to find the two still fighting! Finally, referee Joe Mannix declared that neither man could continue due to the condition of their badly mangled hands and the fact that neither had thrown a punch in the last 11 rounds due to extreme physical exhaustion, they had merely circled one another, making an occasional feint, but both possessed iron wills despite their depleted conditions and broken hands, and neither wanted to quit, hence Mannix’s actions. It would go down in the record books as a 100 round Draw verdict for both. This fight almost killed each man, with Needham needing almost three months to fully recover and Kerrigan taking an entire year off from the ring.
In late 1890, Danny fought the dangerous Billy Mahan. It was a fight to the finish, and Needham was in for yet another grueling trial, as it took 43 long rounds to put the tough Mahan away. About this time, people began talking about matching the two top Welterweights to determine the world’s champion. They were talking about Needham vs. Tommy Ryan. It would be held on February 17, 1891 at the Twin City Athletic Club in Minneapolis (located today where the Cowles Center is at 528 Hennepin Ave. S.), using 2 oz. gloves and it was to be to the finish. Unknown to most, Needham had injured both his hands while sparring and entered the fight with two bad hands but plenty of determination. It would be an all-time classic, and yet another one of boxing longest battles on record. A capacity crowd of 1,200 spectators watched as 76 bloody rounds transpired between them before Needham’s corner threw in the sponge. The fight lasted over 5 hours and both men were a sight at the conclusion.
He traveled out west for a rematch with rival Bill Mahan, again knocking him out; this time in the 29th round. He later fought 29 hard rounds with the man no one wanted to face, George Dawson. Dawson was known for his fearsome KO power, but Needham was giving him a boxing lesson until his chin failed him and he was KO’d in the 29th round. Needham’s next two fights were equally as unforgiving, as he was stopped by former mentor, Mysterious Billy Smith and Billy Shadow Maber.
After these losses, many wondered how much Needham had left, but Danny wasn’t close to being done. He lived for long and arduous fights, almost as if he thrived off of the physical brutality of such lengthy encounters, as he next faced the highly regarded Charley Johnson, fighting out a 40 round Draw. Shortly after, he fought Louis Groeninger for the Welterweight Championship of America, winning a points decision over only 5 rounds, as the police broke it up, prompting the referee to make a decision early, and he decided in favor of Danny. Despite the new title, Danny was pretty much through as a fighter. After his wife died in 1901, Danny was said to have suffered a breakdown and disappeared and was believed to be dead, until late 1918, he surfaced in St. Paul broke and in bad mental and physical condition and was transferred to the care of the state mental asylum at St. Peter in Nicollet County, where he died of throat cancer on September 12, 1922 at the age of 55.
Danny Needham never knew what it was like to take money for an easy fight. The sport has yet to find a fighter who competed in as many fights that lasted as many rounds as Needham did. New fights of his are being found every year, but his record as we know it stands at 65 wins, 11 losses, and 6 draws with 53 KO’s. It’s a crime that the World Boxing Hall of Fame and the International Boxing Hall of Fame have not called his name after all of these years. Perhaps they know it is because his name is no longer a known commodity and will not draw fans to attend the Induction banquets; or on the other hand…maybe their voters simply don’t know him at all. But one thing is certain in this crazy, but entertaining sport we love; Danny Needham was an all-time great who at one time held the Lightweight Championship of the Northwest and the Welterweight Champion of America. His likeness may never be seen again, as it is quite rare to find a fighter with the chin, stamina, heart, and counter-punching skills of “The Saint Paul Terror”, Danny Needham.
