Terry McGovern
Titles: bantamweight champion 1899-1900, featherweight champion 1900-1901
Record: 60-4-4 with 10 no decisions
Born: March 9, 1880 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania (USA)
Years active: 1897-1908
Nickname: Terrible Terry or The Brooklyn Terror
Two of the early boxing historian ranked McGovern as the best...... in two
separate divisions. The Ring founder Nat Fleischer had Terry as the best
featherweight of all time while Charley Rose ranked Terry number 1 all time at
bantamweight. This is a testament to the skills and more importantly the power
of McGovern, who should also be ranked among the hardest hitters to ever
campaign in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. Even now 80 years
after he last fought McGovern was ranked the second best featherweight of all
time by "The Ring" magazine in 1996. He also had a legendary temper which
contributed to at least two of his 4 lifetime losses (Corbett and Callahan) in
the ring. Like his ringstyle, McGovern's championship reigns were short but
sensational. Terry loved to box and was fearless, fighting anyone, anytime and
anywhere just so he could fight. His style, if it can be called a style was to
bowl forward throwing punches at his opponents from all angles. What he lacked
in grace he made up for with his power and swarming style.McGovern was also one
of the first fighters to be known for his body punching, often throwing
combination punches to the stomach after ducking low to avoid blows. He was
best described by early writers who called him a two fisted terror. McGovern
grew up in South Brooklyn, New York and never saw the inside of a classroom,
instead taking odd jobs and as a newspaper boy. At age 15 he took a job in a
lumber yard and there got into a occasional fight in which he fared well. The
owner of the lumber yard saw potential and told Terry to think about boxing.
McGovern did so and at the age of 17 turned professional. In two years time he
made people in the media capital of New York take notice of his offensive
style, it did not take long for him to become a fan favorite and highly ranked
contender at bantamweight. In his first 62 bouts, 38 men could not last the
distance against him. Bantamweight contenders like George Munroe, Harry Forbes,
Austin Rice and Casper Leon all fell to the pressure of McGovern. In a time
where it took boxers decades to get title shots, McGovern managed to do it in
two years! In 35 fights before challenging Palmer, Terry had only lost once, by
disqualification, when he knocked out Tim Callahan on the break after his
opponent called him a "Irish son of a bitch." In 1899 McGovern would knock out
11 consecutive opponents inside of three rounds, a incredible feat for the
time. also in 1899, two years after his debut McGovern faced world bantamweight
champion Tom "Pedlar" Palmer. Pedlar was a experienced veteran who had yet to
loose a fight but could not even get out of the first round against McGovern.
Terry charged from his corner at the opening bell and swarmed Pedlar who seemed
amazed at the aggression of McGovern. The first punch nearly ended the fight
and it was over in less than 2 minutes with a right hand ending the matter.
McGovern had won his first world title in spectacular fashion. McGovern only
made one defense of the title, knocking out Harry Forbes. The next year, 1900,
saw McGovern move up in weight and take on a fading but still crafty technician
in George Dixon who had held the featherweight title for 10 years. The bout was
held in the Broadway Athletic Club and it brought out the best in McGovern. The
onslaught of McGovern was simply too much for Dixon to stay away from. Dixon
gave in to the pressure in the 8th round after doing good work in the early
rounds. Dixon (who had never been knocked down in 14 years) tried gamely but
absorbed a terrible beating and his manager threw in the sponge after his man
had been down 6 times in the eighth round. McGovern had now won two titles in
two years. A fighter named Eddie Santry was recognized by some as the
featherweight at the time but McGovern soon cleared up that matter by knocking
him out in 5 rounds. McGovern would go on to defended the title 6 times within
16 months, all by knockout. This included a win over Joe Gans in just two
rounds which was widely believed to have been fixed. Later it was proven to be
fixed when Gans admitted to taking a dive so his manager could collect on bets.
Also McGovern was floored and in big trouble against Oscar Gardner but thanks
to questionable refereeing survived the round and came back to knock Gardner
out. McGovern might have become the first three division champion if his fight
with lightweight champion Frank Erne had been for the title. In that fight Erne
scored a flash knockdown of McGovern early, but Terry got up and blasted Erne
out in the 3rd round. McGovern seemed invincible. In 1901 McGovern meet a young
fighter from Denver who went by the name of Young Corbett II, he matched Terry
in attitude. Before the featherweight title fight in Hartford, Corbett got
McGovern so incensed he entered the ring with uncontrollable rage. Before the
fight Corbett unnerved McGovern with his confidence and by insulting him at a
restaurant the afternoon of the fight. As Corbett walked by the champions
dressing room on his way to the ring he shouted out "Come on out you Irish Rat,
and take the licking of your life." McGovern charged from the corner at the
opening bell as was his custom but left himself much more open to counters
because of the extra wide hooks he was throwing. Corbett countered and put
McGovern on his pants in the first round. McGovern would have his moment
however as he knocked Corbett down in the same round, but it did not shake the
confidence of Corbett. In the next round McGovern again came out swinging
wildly and was again knocked down, this time he could not recover and Corbett
finished him off in the second round and took his title. After McGovern was
revived with smelling salt Corbett added to his misery by stating "You can keep
your title, Terry. I am satisfied just to be known as the guy who kayoed Terry
McGovern." Like many fighters who suffered their first K.O loss McGovern never
seemed to be the same fighter again, going into a steady decline. Many think
that perhaps he was not the same man because in 1903 and 1904 his two daughters
ages 1 and 3 died within months of each other. A rematch with Corbett in 1903
ended in similar fashion, but this time it took 11 rounds. Corbett again
insulted McGovern, his mother, his wife and anyone else he could think of
during clinches. McGovern controlled himself better in this fight but still did
not have the speed to overcome Corbett. Over the next 5 years McGovern fought
sporadically but never again found the kind of accuracy his punches would need
to fight at the highest levels. At only 28 years of age when most boxers enter
their prime Terry was a shot fighter. After his ring career McGovern sadly
entered several sanitariums for mental problems and erratic behavior. McGovern
died where he left his greatest impression, in the ring, while refereeing a
fight in a World War I army camp. McGovern was dead of pneumonia at the age of
38. A sad end to a brilliant beginning.
Terry McGovern
Career Record: 60 W, 4 L, 4 D, 10 ND (42 K.O's)
1897
Apr 3 Jack Shea Brooklyn, NY KO 1
Apr 24 Frank Barnes Brooklyn, NY W 10
May 3 Eddie Avery New York, NY W 4
May 22 Kid Dougherty Brooklyn, NY W 10
Jun 7 Tom McDermott Brooklyn, NY W 10
Jun 12 Tommy Sullivan Brooklyn, NY D 10
Aug 16 Eddie Goodbody Brooklyn, NY W 10
Aug 23 Billy Barrett Brooklyn, NY W 10
Sep 18 Jack Leon Brooklyn, NY KO 7
Oct 2 Jack Reagan Brooklyn, NY W 6
Oct 9 Jack Doyle Brooklyn, NY W 6
Oct 22 Eddie Goodbody Brooklyn, NY D 4
Nov 13 Harry Peterson New York, NY W 6
Dec 18 Charles Roden New York, NY W 6
Dec 31 Jack Kelly Brooklyn, NY KO 2
1898
Feb 25 Billy Maynard Yonkers, NY W 8
Mar 12 Pinkey Evans Yonkers, NY W 8
Apr 15 Fred Mayo Waterbury, Ct TKO 6
May 5 George Munroe Yonkers, NY D 20
Jun 11 George Munroe Brooklyn, NY KO 24
Jul 23 Tim Callahan Brooklyn, NY L D.Q 11
Aug 4 George Munroe Brooklyn, NY W D.Q 7
Aug 20 Tim Callahan Brooklyn, NY D 20
Sep 15 Eugene Garcia Brooklyn, NY KO 5
Oct 1 Harry Forbes Brooklyn, NY KO 15
Nov 19 Tim Callahan Brooklyn, NY KO 10
Nov 26 Paddy Donovan Philadelphia, Pa KO 3
Dec 17 Jimmy Rose Brooklyn, NY KO 2
Dec 31 Austin Rice Brooklyn, NY KO 14
1899
Jan 30 Casper Leon Brooklyn, NY KO 12
Feb 18 Fred Snyder Philadelphia, Pa W 6
Mar 14 Patsy Haley New York, NY KO 18
Apr 28 Joe Bernstein New York, NY W 25
May 26 Sammy Kelly New York, NY KO 5
Jun 8 Billy Barrett New York, NY KO 10
Jul 1 Johnny Ritchie Tuckahoe, NY KO 3
Sep 12 Thomas "Pedlar" Palmer Tuckahoe, NY KO 1
-Bantamweight Championship of the World;
Sep 29 Fred Snyder Philadelphia, Pa KO 2
Oct 9 Billy Rotchford Chicago, Il KO 1
Nov 18 Patsy Haley Chicago, Il KO 1
Nov 18 Bill Smith Chicago, Il KO 3
Nov 30 Eddie Sprague Hartford, Ct KO 2
Dec 12 James J. Corbett Jr. Chicago, Il KO 2
Dec 18 Charlie Mason Cincinnati, Oh KO 2
Dec 18 Freckles O'Brien Cincinnati, Oh KO 1
Dec 22 Harry Forbes New York, NY KO 2
1900
Jan 9 George Dixon New York, NY TKO 8
-Featherweight Championship of the World
Jan 29 Jack Ward Baltimore, Md KO 1
Feb 1 Eddie Santry Chicago, Il KO 5
-Featherweight Championship of the World
Mar 9 Oscar Gardner New York, NY KO 3
-Featherweight Championship of the World
Mar 15 Eddie Lenny Philadelphia, Pa KO 2
Apr 17 Tommy White Chicago, Il ND 6
Apr 20 Tommy Warren New York, NY KO 1
May 21 Elwood McCloskey Philadelphia, Pa ND 6
Jun 12 Tommy White Brooklyn, NY KO 3
-Featherweight Championship of the World
Jun 23 George Dixon Chicago, Il W 6
Jul 16 Frank Erne New York, NY TKO 3
Nov 2 Joe Bernstein Louisville, Ky KO 7
-Featherweight Championship of the World
Nov 13 Kid Broad Chicago, Il W 6
Dec 13 Joe Gans Chicago, Il KO 2
1901
Apr 30 Oscar Gardner San Francisco, Ca KO 4
-Featherweight Championship of the World
May 29 Aurelio Herrera San Francisco, Ca KO 5
-Featherweight Championship of the World
Nov 28 Young Corbett II Hartford, Ct Ko by 2
-Featherweight Championship of the World;
1902
Feb 22 Dave Sullivan Louisville, Ky TKO 15
1903
Feb 6 Joe Bernstein Philadelphia, Pa ND 6
Feb 25 Billy Maynard Philadelphia, Pa KO 4
Mar 31 Young Corbett II San Francisco, Ca KO by 11
-Featherweight Championship of the World
Sep 26 Lew Ryall Philadelphia, Pa ND 6
Oct 3 Billy Willis Philadelphia, Pa ND 6
Oct 20 Jimmy Briggs Boston, Ma W 15
Dec 19 Billy Willis Philadelphia, Pa ND 6
1904
Jan 1 Leo Henninger Allentown, Pa KO 2
Apr 10 George Barton St. Paul, Mn L 6
Oct 10 Eddie Hanlon Philadelphia, Pa TKO 4
1905
Oct 18 "Harlem" Tommy Murphy Philadelphia, Pa TKO 1
1906
Mar 14 Oscar "Battling" Nelson Philadelphia, Pa ND 6
May 28 Jimmy Britt New York, NY ND 10
Oct 17 Young Corbett II Philadelphia, Pa ND 6
1908
May 16 Young Loughrey Philadelphia, Pa ND 6
May 27 Frank "Spike" Robson New York, NY ND 6