An inspiring boxing story of all-time.
Billy Miske was a Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight contender
out of St. Paul, Minnesota. He fought everybody who was anybody in his era
including Tommy Gibbons, Young Griffo, Harry Greb, Jack Dillon, Battling
Levinsky, Jack Dempsey, Jim Flynn, Kid Norfolk and many other notables;
losing only twice in his career (once each to Heavyweights Dempsey and Kid
Norfolk.) What is most remarkable is Miske was diagnosed with the terminal
illness "Brights Disease" in 1919. The doctors advised his prompt
retirement but after a brief rest Miske, whose family was going through
financial troubles decided he needed to raise some money to take care of
his family, and the only way he knew how to do it was in the Ring. After
coming back with a 2 round knockout over Jack Moran he stepped in the ring
with Jack Dempsey for the Heavyweight Championship of the World on Sept.
6th, 1920. Miske held his own for a couple of rounds before Dempsey overwhelmed
him and knocked him out in the 3rd.
Everybody close to Miske thought this was the end of his ring career and
he would fade away quietly away from the boxing ring. They were wrong! Miske
sensing a way to get his family in a secure position for the rest of their
lives (he had earned $25,000 for the Dempsey fight) worked his way back
up the Heavyweight ladder like a man possessed. He started fighting just
about all of the other Heavyweight contenders on a round robin basis, beating
most of them and losing to none. He had 22 fights between 1921-22 with fellow
contenders Bill Brennan, Jack Renault (3 times), Tommy Gibbons (2), Charley
Weinert, Homer Smith, Fred Fulton and others. Finally after his Jan. 12
1923 fight with Harry Foley (a first round KO) his body could not go on
any longer. He was done and he did not have much more to do but wait for
his eventual death.
The months went by and Miske grew restless. He still worried about his family’s
welfare and pleaded with his manager to get him one last payday against
a top fighter. The fighter tabbed was Bill Brennan, a top 10 guy who had
gone 12 rounds with Dempsey a couple years earlier and was known as a hard
hitter. By most accounts Miske dragged himself out of his deathbed in order
to make this one last stand against Brennan. Once back in the ring Miske's
instincts came back to him like he never left. 4 rounds later Miske had
knocked out his dangerous opponent and won another piece of a nest egg for
his family. Less then 2 months later he was dead, finally claimed by his
deadly disease but not before he had accomplished his goal.