JACK DEMPSEY - AUTOGRAPHED INSCRIBED PHOTOGRAPH CO-SIGNED BY: PACKEY (JIMMY) O'GATTY - HFSID 322772

JACK DEMPSEY and PACKEY O'GATTY
A light hearted photograph of a towering Dempsey and smiling O'Gatty with raised fists, signed by both boxers in ink
Inscribed photograph signed: "To Vince/Good Luck Pal/Jack Dempsey", "Packey O'Gatty", in blue ink, B/w 10x8. Billed as the "Manassa Mauler" and the "toughest man ever to come out of the West," the 6-foot, 190-pound DEMPSEY (1895-1983) met the 6-foot-6, 250-pound heavyweight champion Jess Willard on July 4, 1919, at Toledo, OH. Dempsey won on a 3rd-round knockout. During the next seven years, Dempsey defended his title only six times but made a lot of money in the process. His fight against Frenchman Georges Carpentier on July 2, 1921 produced boxing's first $1 million gate. He lost his title to Gene Tunney on September 23, 1926 in a ten-round decision after which he retired. Named the greatest fighter of the half-century in a 1950 Associated Press poll, he won 60 professional fights, 49 by knockout; lost 7, 1 by knockout; and fought 7 draws, 5 no-decisions, and 1 no-contest. Italian boxer PACKEY O'GATTY (1900-1966), often nicknamed "Speed Demon", was a successful (54-11-5) featherweight boxer active in the ring from 1916 to 1928. He is well known for his involvement in the The People vs. Packey O'Gatty case, involving the Supreme Court's ruling that the repeal of the 1911 Frawley Act also automatically outlawed club-membership boxing in the state. Corners lightly worn and creased. Printing defects from original negative. Pencil notes (unknown hand) on verso. Slightly soiled on corners. Otherwise, fine condition.