Yankee Sullivan By Rob Snell


Mofo2

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Some reports say that he was actually born in Liverpool, and not London. He got sent to Botany Bay in Australia as a convict for some reason, again reports have been from political trouble in his native Ireland to common trouble making with his fists.

Either way he escaped and arrived in America on a ship called Hamilton in 1839. Again some reports differ and have him first prize fighting in Tasmania.

He fought Billy Bell August 25th (not the 20th as Cyber boxing has it) 1842 on Hart’s Island, New York, lasted 30mins,(cyber boxing again has it lasting 1hr 26mins) 23rounds, Bells seconds threw in the sponge at the end of the 23rd.

He got into a lot of trouble and was a regular at cock and dog fights, in this rough company he was never out of trouble, on numerous occasions he was in the papers for shooting somebody (though never killing them) and also for being set on himself.

Though it was for his prize fighting , after he killed an opponent named Thomas McCoy in Hastings, sometime in 1842 that he got jailed.

Sullivan was sentenced on 2nd November 1842 to 2 years for the manslaughter of Thomas McCoy. He was granted a pardon after serving 10 months `handling stone in the outer yard`. The pardon was on the condition that a sum of $500, which was paid by two respectable citizens, was entered with the threat of forfeit if Sullivan engaged or aided any prize fight for 2years.

He died May 31, 1856 in San Francisco, California.

Sullivan committed suicide while held in the vigilantes committee’s headquarters, he’d been there 6 days awaiting trial for what is not really clear, it was later said they were just deporting him out of the country because they`d found out he was an escaped convict.

Sullivan became so panic-stricken when he heard a Vigilante guard say that he would probably be `hanged on the morrow`, that he opened a vein in his wrist (or elbow-different sources) and bled to death before a physician could reach him.

He’d supposedly told the guard he` d had a dream he’d been hanged and it was so vivid the guard had gone to get him a drink of water, two hours later when the guard got back Sullivan was dead. Understandably it viewed as suspicious.

Something’s I found which differed from Cyber boxing Zone is his fight with Joe Winrow at Mare Island early October for a $1000 a side bet in 1855.

The Marion Daily Star, Ohio Tuesday, June 9, 1885

TOUGH TO THE LAST

An Authentic Account of the last hours Of Sullivan

I was pleased to meet last week with Judge McGowan One of the Argonauts who in 1849 discovered the Golden fleece, which has – to coin a term – Royalised California. In the course of the conversation The Judge told me the concrete history of the tragic end Of the famous prizefighter Sullivan.

Sullivan, whose real name was Ambrose Murry, was arrested and imprisoned. He feared that the vigilantes would put him to death , although as Judge McGowan tells me his apprehension was unfounded. The purpose of that body was to ship him back to Australia on the first clipper ship that sailed to Melbourne. It having been definitely understood that Sullivan, or Murray, was an escaped convict.

The poor devil, however, was so affrighted that he took no stock in the hope of escape from the harsh business of Judge lynch. He called eagerly from his prison window for a priest, feeling that death was settling close around him. But was answered by jeers from the mob without. Finally, in sheer desperation he opened The veins of his left arm with a case knife and bled himself to death.

Sullivan was one of the finest prize fighters in the records. – Washington Hatchet.

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