irishamerican

Maybe really "McGrath"?

Matt McGrath en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_McGrath

Thanks! Following up on your tip, it looks like a match to another Bain photo of Matt McGrath at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.22285 . (We'll fix the spelling in the title.)

Nice to see the follow up with correction of spelling.

How very Irish. Your photo is very inspiring. I would
be delighted if you would join us.

I would be honored if you would add this fantastic image to:
Proud Irish American

That looks a little more like a wrestler's stance than a boxer's...

Agreed he's much more likely a wrestler.

According to Shorpy he is a wrestler, and what's more, an Irish one: www.shorpy.com/node/729?size=_original

A descendent of Patricks, years later, could be looking to what happened him...from listsearchers.rootsweb.com. If anyone could help she left this message over six years ago... From: Maidremm@cs.com Subject: Pat Connolly 1917 World Class Wrestler Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 06:08:28 EDT " Hello listers, I am trying to find any and all information about Pat Connolly. He was born in Co. Galway Ireland, and wrestled in Butte, Montana. He was listed in articles as a British Citizen. He wrestled Ed "Strangler" Lewis on December 3, 1916, and on either January 13, or January 15, 1917 Pat Connolly and Yussif Hussane battled to a 2 1/2 hour draw in Butte, Montana. This information was taken from The Wrestling Datebook, 1915 thru 1920. Pat also wrestled Ed"Strangler" Lewis on November 30, 1916 in Billings, Montana. On January 15, 1917, Pat Connolly had a niece born in Boston, MA, and she was to be Christened on January 28, 1917. Pat traveled by railroad to the Christening, and somewhere between Butte and Boston he died on the way. Some say he was poisoned, some say shot, etc. It still remains a mystery. I am hoping that someone may know of this man, or heard this story. Any help would be very much appreciated. Thank you one and all, Mary " Posted 2 months ago. He features in the top 75 wrestlers of 1908/09 of vintage cigarette cards . Name Of Set: Pugilists and Wrestlers Second Series (51-75) Manufacturer: Ogdens Issue Year: 1909 Card Number: 25 Card Titles: Sam McVey, GC O'Kelly, Councillor Peter Wright, Tom Thomas, Jack Johnson, Jack Sullivan, Eugene Vallotton, Jack Sullivan, Ernst Siegfried, W Withers Bain, Pat Connolly, John Lemm, Bill Lang, Bart Connolly, Frank Crozier, Jimmy Britt, Jim Kenrick, Ian Hague, Bill Squires, Henry Irslinger, Lauritz Neilsen, Frank P Slavin, Donald Dinnie, Sam Langford, Frank Gotch, and Al Delmont. Nearly two years ago, via genforum.com... Date: September 29, 2007 at 11:31 'Connelly Pro' wrestler' "Looking for info' on Pat Connolly of Carna, Galway, Ireland. He died in 1919 in the U.S.A. He lived in Butte, Montana, his sister lived in Boston, Ma." -pat mcgrath Posted 2 months ago. November 23, 1909 IRISH WRESTLERS BOTH DISQUALIFIED; Referee Jenkins Stops Match When Science Gives Way to Slugging. POLICE TAKE A HAND, TOO. Pat Connolly of County Galway Gouges Con O'Kelly's Eyes and Then Trouble Begins on Mat. query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D02E 7D91630E733A... Louisville, KY: December 19, 1914 (Young Men’s Hebrew Association) ... Jess Willard and Pat Connolly worked out together, with Willard dominating the boxing, and Connolly the wrestling. A picture, the next day, shows Willard towering over the wrestler in their workouts. Willard appeared in exhibitions all next week at the Buckingham Theater. 'BOOZE OR A FRAME-UP' ? Willard beats Jack Johnstone. Los Angeles Times CA: December 1, 1915 A crowd of 2,000 hissed champion Jess Willard at a vaudeville performance here last night when he demanded pay to test the chains and weights of a strong man. The actor was given a hand when he told Willard:"I'll be in the spotlight when you are in the discard.” (Don Luce research) Chicago IL: February 4, 1916 William Demetral vs Louis Christenson … Referee: Jess Willard HUSSANE, WRESTLER, TO HELP TRAIN WILLARD (New York World, February 27, 1916) FRANK GOTCH BREAKS LEG (New York Times, Wednesday, July 19, 1916) Grand Island NE: August 3, 1916 Sells Floto Circus, featuring Buffalo Bill Cody, boxing champion Jess Willard and wrestling champion Frank Gotch (although the latter is out of action, $100 is offered to anyone who can last 15 minutes with him). Butte MT: August 20-21, 1916 Sells Floto Circus & Buffalo Bill Wild West show here, supposedly headlined by “The Two World’s Champions” -- Jess Willard and Frank Gotch … But Gotch, of course, had actually withdrawn from the circus after breaking his leg in Kenosha WI … Yussif Hussane filled in for Gotch … When Hussane hurled his challenge to meet all comers, Pat Connolly promptly climbed into the ring … Connolly was put off until the second night and stayed the agreed 15 minutes without being thrown … Connolly challenged for a finish match but was told he must first face “Big” John Freberg.

According to the above report Pat Connolly and Jess Willard worked out together in Louisville, Kentukey on 19 December 1914. A photograph appeared in a newspaper the following day. Does anybody know the name of the newspaper? Thank you, Seosamh O Cuaig

Las Vegas, New Mexico (inscription on the photo makes this clear, but not the Flickr title). In 1912, Jim Flynn fought Jack Johnson in a July 4th match, scheduled to go 45 rounds for the world heavyweight championship. It was broken up after 9 rounds by state police because Flynn, bloody and beaten, had given up any real tactics and was simply trying to launch into Johnson with headbutts. Here's the round-by-round from the New York Times. Another New York Times article from just before the match writes it off as a gimmick match. Flynn was aging and was never a world-class boxer. Johnson was mentioned in the article as two years retired and fat, but he looks in good shape in contemporary photos, and continued fighting for more than fifteen years. "Flynn's Camp" should be regarded as the training camp for the fight, not an actual camp name. Flynn was a fireman in Pueblo, Co. A May 2, 1912 NYTimes article ("$1,100 for Johnson's Training") says that Flynn's camp would be in Montezuma, NM. Jack Curley was Jim's manager for the fight as well as the fight's promoter. Not sure on others in the photo. (by the way, Las Vegas, Nevada, our present-day boxing locus, was in 1912 a year-old city filled with dude ranches for guys wanting to get six weeks of residency for a legal divorce)

This photo is a set with two others: Johnson sparring and Flynn posing as if sparring. Inscription on the photo indicates which name goes to which man. From left to right in front: Al Williams, A. H. Balke, Jim Flynn, C. Colman, Jack Curley, Joe Flynn, C. O'Malley. In the back row, left to right, are M. M. Padget and H. Elfeld. Strangely, the man in between the two rows is not named. With leaves just sprouting from the tree, this looks like an early spring photo. The fight was discussed in papers from the end of 1911.

This photo was discussed in the Flickr Commons group research thread.

Roketpad: Thank you for the information and your research about this photograph. We will update the source data and reload the description.

Hi, this photo is being discussed in one of the projects in the Flickr Commons group, and we'd love to have this added to the group pool!