John Morrissey is known to have started his career as a bare knuckles feared boxer. However, with time he went on to become a mobster and worked for Tammany Hall politicians as leg breaker.
His early life
It was in 1831 in County Tipperary’s Templemore region, Ireland that he was born. His parents who rightly guessed the potato famine in 1833 immigrated to Troy, New York. Although uneducated, he was considered to be excellent with his fists. The local Irish mafia bosses employed him as collection agent. For a Troy brothel, he worked as bouncer, where he taught himself to write and read. He realized the fact that he had limited opportunities in Troy and hence, went to New York, where he was into rough hooligan fighting for sport, in different piers and bars and made a name for himself.
His nickname
With Tom McCann, he was into an impromptu fight, where a powerful punch from McCann drove him from the overturned hot stove, over the coals. His flesh and clothes got burnt badly and smoke was coming from the backside, which made him to leap forwards, making him senseless. It is at this time, he had earned the nickname as ‘Old Smoke’.
Boxing titles
He then went on to challenge Yankee Sullivan, the world champion for world title, which took place at Boston Corners on 12th October 1853. Although battered in the fight, he had won during the 37th round by disqualification, as he got hit by Sullivan, when he was down.
His life as a mafia
His newfound fame and becoming Dead Rabbits’ member, he was employed for protecting polling places from Bowery Boys’ Gang by Tammany Hall. In 1854 on Election Day, he had come across the gang of Butcher Bill Pooole. Poole on noticing his gang being outnumbered by Morrissey left the place without creating any problem, which made Morrissey to become a hero in the eyes of Tammany Hall. They offered him with free gambling house for his heroics.
In 1855, he was almost killed to death by Poole in a fist fight, which made his friend to retaliate and had Poole shot to death. It was Tammany Hall’s influence that helped both Morrissey and his friend to escape being arrested.
He left boxing in 1857 and established 16 gambling houses and from 1867-71, he got elected as New York’s Congressman. He testified against Boss Tweed, the chief of Tammany Hall, for which Tweed was convicted and imprisonment. At 47, he died because of pneumonia.