Patrick McGuigan (March 17, 1868 – September 13, 1938) was an American boxer, promoter, entertainer, business man, and sports figure in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A member of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame, he is considered one of the best fighters of the era and was a beloved figure among sports fans in the region, considered by many to be "The Pride of New Jersey." He became the New Jersey Lightweight Champion in 1890 and the Interstate New York & New Jersey Lightweight Champion in 1892. Fighting in both the bare-knuckle and gloved eras, he met virtually all of the world's top boxers in his class. At the peak of his career he traveled the country with William Muldoon's athletic carnival, "meeting all comers" in each city they visited. Once he retired from boxing professionally, he became a promoter and opened a fight club and a saloon in Harrison, NJ. He has been credited as one of the men responsible for boxing's rise to affluence in New Jersey after it was legalized in 1918 under the Hurley Law, being the first individual in the state to secure a license to legally host boxing matches. Paddy "must be chronicled as one of the greatest ringmen who ever lived,"Anthony Marenghi, "Mourners Recall McGuigan's Foes", September 14, 1938, The Newark Star-Eagle according to sportswriter Anthony Marenghi, and has been described by Hall of Fame manager Tom O'Rourke as the greatest fighter he had ever seen.
Early life Paddy was born in Kentucky in 1868 to Michael McGuigan and Bridget McClachey, both Irish immigrants. Around the age of six, Paddy moved to Newark, NJ with his parents and two older brothers, John and James. Paddy became separated from his parents around the age of ten or twelve, though the reason is unknown, and later began working in local strawberry fields. He and his brothers lived together until their deaths in 1905 and 1913 and they moved often, living in Paterson, Newark, and Harrison, the latter being where Paddy settled and began to raise his family. Paddy's father Michael lived on his own until his death and his mother Bridget died of tuberculosis.
Professional career Paddy is regarded as one of the toughest fighters of his time, having fought many top boxers, including George Dixon, Joe Walcott, Jack McAuliffe, Johnny Banks, and Kid Lavigne. He fought out of Newark, Hoboken, and Harrison, NJ. In the period in which he fought, often referred to as the Jim Corbett era, records were scarcely kept and official decisions were often not made due to the illegality of prizefighting in most places. Consequently, some of McGuigan's bouts were held in meadows, barns, or barges in the Newark Bay in order to stall law enforcement and confound local officials with questions of jurisdiction.Special to The New York Times, "Paddy M'Guigan: Former Fighter, 78, Had Claimed Victory Over Joe Walcott," September 14, 1938, The New York Times For a period of time at the height of his career, McGuigan was part of a boxing stable managed by William Muldoon and Tom O'Rourke and traveled the United States with Muldoon's athletic carnival, "meeting all comers" wherever they stopped.
George Dixon fight
Shortly after McGuigan quit the troupe around 1888, George "Little Chocolate" Dixon, who was managed by O'Rourke, won the world bantamweight title and became the first black world champion at any class. As was common, O'Rourke then began an exhibition tour around the country for Dixon to "take on all comers." O'Rourke scheduled his tour to stop at Waldmann's Theatre in Newark which was perhaps, as the Newark Star-Ledger described, an oversight since O'Rourke knew of McGuigan's ability fully well and should have known he resided in the area. McGuigan found his way onto the stage and what ensued was one of fiercest bouts Dixon had ever fought and a match that would become shrouded in controversy. McGuigan was seen leading through the first three rounds and had Dixon knocked to the floor in the fourth when O'Rourke suddenly dropped the curtain to save Dixon from further humiliation, a knockout, or both. An angered McGuigan demanded that Dixon resume fighting, but he refused. Later, in 1891, Dixon won the featherweight title and McGuigan challenged him to a title match, but Dixon declined and refused to acknowledge McGuigan as a rival for the championship.
Jack McAuliffe exhibition
At one point during the height of his career, McGuigan had been chasing Young Griffo around the country in the hopes of meeting him in the ring, however Griffo refused to fight him. Griffo shortly after went on to fight a 25-round draw with George Dixon, before McGuigan fought Dixon at Waldmann's Theatre in Newark. Jack McAuliffe, the reigning undefeated lightweight champion of the world at the time, had heard stories about how Griffo had been avoiding a match with McGuigan, as well as how hard McGuigan pressed Dixon, and sought out to prove that he wasn't afraid to fight Paddy himself, agreeing to meet him in two consecutive nights in Newark while on a tour. McGuigan described the event himself during an interview by sports journalist G.A. Falzer of the Newark Sunday Call, "I punched the great McAuliffe all around the ring. The fight went six rounds, maybe it was four. Anyway, when we were to clash the second time on the following night, the champion shooed me away and elected to go on with a sparring partner named Jimmy Nelson.""Paddy Met all the Tough Ones," December 19, 1937, The Newark Sunday Call
Interstate lightweight championship McGuigan won the interstate lightweight championship by defeating New York champion Jack Aikens in a scheduled ten round bout on November 21, 1892, at the Vendome Club in Newark, NJ. McGuigan was the reigning lightweight champion of New Jersey and was said to have "met all comers in Hoboken and Newark repeatedly", while Aikens was reported to have knocked out almost every man he faced within two rounds. In front of a crowd of 3,000 spectators, McGuigan was awarded a point victory in the eighth round. McGuigan weighed 124 lbs while Aiken weighed 135 lbs."Plimmer's Next Fight", November 19, 1892, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle"A Big Boxing Event at Newark", November 22, 1892, The Sun1
Joe Walcott fight
Considered perhaps his most memorable fight, McGuigan battled Joe Walcott, widely considered one of the greatest welterweights and pound-for-pound boxers of all time, on June 5, 1893, at Caledonian Park Hall in Newark, NJ. The bout was one of a number of exhibitions held that night and the event was the first ever to feature a brass band, an innovation at the time, to entertain spectators between bouts. Notable fighters in attendance included Bob Fitzsimmons, George Dixon, and Jack McAuliffe. McGuigan and Walcott's fight lasted the full ten rounds and was reported at the time as one of the most grueling and savage fights in history. There was a considerable amount of anticipation beforehand, as both McGuigan, long considered "the pride of New Jersey," and Walcott, called "Boston's colored favorite," were known to fight from start to finish and were in top physical condition. Before the fight, McGuigan claimed that Walcott weighed 136 lbs while he only weighed 126, and The New York Times reported that Walcott looked more as if he weighed close to 146 lbs, however Walcott's official weigh-in was said to be at 132 lbs. The Times reported that the beginning of the match was "warmly contested," but McGuigan was "outclassed" and struggled in the last three rounds. He reportedly appeared groggy towards the end of the bout, which surprised his supporters, however that was later understood when a doctor stated that one or two of McGuigan's ribs had been broken in the seventh round. The Times wrote, "How he stood for three hot rounds before his dusky opponent, who is known as a heavy hitter, is a mystery.""Mr. Dacey was Defeated" June 6, 1893, The New York Times The referee awarded the fight to Walcott, however both men declared victory. Subsequently, multiple sources indicated varying results including that no decision was ever made, a Walcott victory, and a draw with a shade in Walcott's favor. McGuigan earned a great deal of praise for going toe-to-toe with an all-time great champion, all while suffering through broken ribs and fighting to the end nonetheless.
Train crash On August 25, 1894, McGuigan was returning home from the Young Griffo–Jack McAuliffe fight on Coney Island when suddenly his trolly car became separated from its wire and stopped on the tracks. The car behind them crashed into the rear of the car where McGuigan was sitting and injured him severely, keeping him bedridden for weeks. He subsequently hired the firm of McCarter, Williamson & McCarter and sued the Consolidated Traction Company for $20,000. His case was heard by the New Jersey Supreme Court in November of that year. The result of the case has yet to be discovered."Traction Items", 1 November 1894, The Jersey Journal
|align="center" colspan=8|Surviving Records"Paddy McGuigan", Cyber Boxing Zone,, November 20, 2011 |- | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res. | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes |-align=center | Win|| Name Unknown ||UNK|| 4 ||1886||Trenton, NJ|| |-align=center | Win|| Young Fagin||UNK|| 3 ||28 June 1886||East Newark, NJ|| |-align=center | Win|| Paddy Carney||UNK||UNK|| 1886–87||| Unknown Location|| |-align=center | Win|| Terrance Fagan||TKO||3|| 1887||| Unknown Location|| |-align=center | Win|| P. Caulfield||UNK||UNK||21 May 1888|||Belleville, NJ|| |-align=center | Win|| Joe Herold||KO||5||16 October 1888|||Belleville, NJ|| |-align=center | Win|| Harry Bartlett||KO||7||29 March 1889|||Long Island, NY||align=left| |-align=center |||Cal McCarthy||EX||3||22 October 1889|||Hoboken, NJ|| |-align=center |||Joe Fielding||UNK||UNK||1890||UNK||align=left| |-align=center |||Jack Darcy||UNK||10||7 January 1890|||Knickerbocker Hall, Hoboken, NJ||align=left| |-align=center |||John Banks||EX||UNK||25 February 1890|||Brooklyn, NY|| |-align=center |style="background: #B0C4DE"|Draw||Jack Martin||Pts||20||28 June 1890|||Boyle's Knickerbocker Garden, Hoboken, NJ||align=left| |-align=center ||||Johnny Banks||UNK||UNK||30 June 1890|||Weare's Hall, West Hoboken, NJ|| |-align=center | Win|||Joe Sonntag||Pts||6||29 July 1890|||Weare's Hall, West Hoboken, NJ|| |-align=center | Win||Jack Nagle||KO||3||5 September 1890|||Jersey City, NJ||align=left| |-align=center |style="background: #B0C4DE"|Draw||Alex Gallagher||Pts||20||23 December 1890|||Boyle's Garden, Hoboken, NJ||align=left| |-align=center |||Jack Hopper||UNK||UNK||7 February 1891|||Brooklyn, NY||align=left| |-align=center | Win||Paddy Carney||UNK||UNK||1891|| Unknown Location|| |-align=center | Win||George Butler||UNK||UNK||1891|| Unknown Location|| |-align=center | Win||Jack Martin||UNK||UNK||1891|| Unknown Location||align=left| |-align=center | Win||Jim Williams||UNK||UNK||1891|| Unknown Location|| |-align=center | Win||Jack Correy||UNK||UNK||1891|| Unknown Location|| |-align=center | Win||Austin Mitchell||KO||2||4 November 1892|||Hoboken, NJ|| |-align=center | Win||Paddy McBride||UNK||UNK||Prior to 21 Nov 1892|||Unknown Location|| |-align=center | Win||Frank Cavanagh||UNK||UNK||Prior to 21 Nov 1892|||Unknown Location|| |-align=center |||Jack McAuliffe||UNK||4||Prior to 21 Nov 1892|||Unknown Location||align=left| |-align=center