Most historians of the sport cite 1859, the year after
Minnesota became a state, as the beginning of boxing
here, with most of its participants coming from
elsewhere in the nation. Among those pioneer fighters
was heavyweight Pat Killen, a product of suburban
Philadelphia, who relocated in St. Paul sometime
after turning professional.
Killen was raised in Hadington, Pa., and was known
for a knockout punch after becoming a veteran of
street fights in the city. The record books indicate that
he turned to professional fighting in 1883 at the age
of 22 although he most likely started even younger.
Known as the Cyclone of the Northwest, Killen scored
knockouts in 52 of his 55 victories.
Killen became a friend and student of boxer Jack Burke,
from whom he learned the art of counter punching,
a technique he mastered, and in 1883 signed with
manager Parson Davies, relocating in Chicago to work
under Tom Chandler, one of the leading trainers of his
time. Davis had recently split with Patsy Cardiff, a top
heavyweight contender, and found a new headliner
in Killen.
Killen fought for the first time on July 6, 1883,
knocking out John Howard who was also making his
professional debut. He quickly became identified by
boxing writers who saw him as the fastest heavyweight
in the ranks and over the next two years scored
eight additional knockouts, mostly over inexperienced
fighters from the friendly confines of Philadelphia
where he was raised.
Davies, who was friendly with Twin Cities promoters
John Barnes and Pat Conley, displayed his managerial
skills by guessing that Kellen would be a popular
fighter in St. Paul because of its large Irish population.
A match was made against unbeaten Joe Lannon of
Boston and the date settled upon was November 8,
1885. It was to be held outside at a large, fairly flat
piece of land known as Silk’s Grove on the shore of the
Mississippi River and named for owner John Silk. The
location was beyond the jurisdiction of the St. Paul
police and the Ramsey County sheriff. Nonetheless,
the promoters were taking a chance with Mother
Nature. Early November could bring cold, wind and
rain, even snow.
Four days before the fight, Killen arrived in St. Paul by
train and was greeted by a large crowd at the depot
eager to see the knockout artist. Patsy Cardiff, who
held the Northwest heavyweight title at the time,
was living in Minneapolis and stated that he wanted
to meet the winner of the fight.
A paddleboat left the Chestnut Street wharf in St. Paul
filled with patrons along with the boxers and their
camps and sailed south to Silk’s Grove. A ring was set
up upon their arrival and a referee appointed heavyweight
boxer Bill Wilson, who would become the first
African American to officiate a fight in Minnesota.
Killen was attired in pink tights and Lannon in brilliant
blue tights when they toed the line at 4:01 p.m.
Lannon commanded the first three rounds before
Killen took over, wearing down his opponent steadily
before flooring him in the ninth round. Lannon was
knocked down a total of six times when Wilson
declared Killen the knockout winner.
In a scenario that Don King would have loved, the
local promoters claimed that the crowd for the fight
was comprised largely of gate-crashers so there
wasn’t much in the way of ticket sales. Killen received
a paltry $34.50 of the $300 he had been promised.
Lannon was paid even less, $25. Killen, Davies and
Chandler promptly climbed aboard the 8:40 p.m.
train for Chicago.
Killen fought six rounds on March 6, 1886 against
Pat McHugh in a bout ruled no contest due to
McHugh’s unwillingness to engage actively in
the fight. Killen had left Davies by this time and
moved to St. Paul where he married shortly
thereafter. From a wealthy family, Killen opened a
large saloon on West 7th Street in St. Paul and soon
thereafter became one of its best customers himself.
Twenty-four of Killen’s fights were staged in
Minnesota, most of them in Minneapolis or St. Paul,
although he fought in Duluth and Rochester as well.
As alcohol took over his life his run-ins with the law,
for assault and various other infractions, became more
numerous, and at one point he left Minnesota for
Canada with no evidence that he ever returned. In the
meantime operation of his saloon in the Seven Corners
area was taken over by relatives.
Killen’s record included only two losses, although one
of them, by disqualification to Mervine Thompson in
Cleveland, Ohio, bordered on fraud. The referee for
the fight was a relative to Thompson. Each time Killen
knocked Thompson down he was given a prolonged
count. When angry patrons stormed the ring in protest,
the referee disqualified Killen.
Six months later Killen set the record straight, knocking
out Thompson in a rematch, this one in Omaha with
not a relative in sight. He lost by seventh-round
knockout to Joe McAuliffe on September 11, 1889.
That loss was accompanied by reports that Killen was
intoxicated when he entered the ring. Following a wild
swing at his opponent he hit the mat and dislocated a
shoulder. Killen would fight only twice more, winning
by disqualification against Joe Sheehy at the Jackson
Street Rink in St. Paul in one of the fights. Killen was
winning so easily that Sheehy became enraged. He
threw Killen to the mat four times, biting him in the
chest, the leg and the stomach. Referee Dick Moore,
who disqualified Sheehy called those actions the most
outrageous he had ever seen.
Killen would fight once more, nearly eleven months
later, ending his career with a knockout over Bob
Ferguson in Richardson, Illinois.
Ten days later Killen died in Chicago from an infection.
He was twenty-nine years of age. His brother Denny
returned Pat’s body to Philadelphia for burial. Three
and one-half months later, Denny died from the
same illness that killed Pat. He was buried in the
same grave site on top of his brother.
Now, one-hundred and twenty-five years later, Pat
Killen will get a second memorial, as an inductee in
the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame.
