Mike Gibbons
(the "St. Paul Phantom")

BORN   July 20, 1897 St. Paul, Minnesota
DIED August 31, 1956 St. Paul, Minnesota
HEIGHT 5-9
WEIGHT 145-162 3/4 lbs
RACE   White; Irish-American
MANAGER Eddy Reddy, George Barton

Gibbons was an outstanding Welterweight/Middleweight of the teens; Despite never winning the title, he is regarded by many historians as one of the greatest Welterweights/Middleweights of all time

Indisputably, Gibbons was a great defensive fighter, mainly because of his tremendous footwork; Gibbons used this style to perplex much bigger fighters such as Jack Dillon; Harry Greb was quoted as telling his manager upon facing Gibbons "From now on, match we with one guy at a time"

Gibbons retired because of failing vision; He entered business in St. Paul and became a member of the Minnesota Athletic Commission; His brother was Tommy

Charley Rose ranked Gibbons as the #4 All-Time Middleweight; Nat Fleischer ranked as the #9 All-Time Middleweight; Mike was elected to the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1958 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992



Gibbons-O'Dowd 1919 Fight Video Clip

Mike-Tommy Sparring Fight Video Clip

(Press the  button at the top of the screen to return)

1908
Jan 11 Roy Moore                  St. Paul, Mn                     KO  3
Mar 20 Herbert Catherwood         St. Paul, Mn                      D 15
          -Some sources report 3/02/08
Apr  1 Otto Herwig                Minneapolis, Mn                   W 10
Apr 30 Mike Brown                 St. Paul, Mn                      W  6
Jun  1 Jimmy Bartos               St. Paul, Mn                      W  6
Jun 24 Con Holland                St. Paul, Mn                      W  6
Jul  4 Art Banholzer              St. Paul, Mn                     EX  6
          -Some sources report "ND 6"
Nov 10 Thor Thompson              St. Paul, Mn                      W  6

1909
Jan  5 George "K.O." Brown        St. Paul, Mn                     KO  1
Mar  1 Art Godfrey                St. Paul, Mn                     KO  1
Apr 12 Roy Moore                  St. Paul, Mn                      W 10
Jun  4 Thor Thompson              St. Paul, Mn                      W  6
Aug 21 Jimmy Bartos               Hudson, Wi                        W  6
Sep 11 Jimmy Clabby               St. Paul, Mn                      L 10
Sep 30 Jack Duleavy               Hudson, Wi                       EX  6
          -Gibbons claimed the Middleweight Championship 
           of the World after Stanley Ketchel's murder
Nov  1 Jack Doyle                 St. Paul, Mn                      W 10
Dec 10 Kid Flandrie               St. Paul, Mn                     EX 10

1910
Jan  9 Kid Grantly                St. Paul, Mn                     KO  9
          -Some sources report 1/10/10
May  4 Herbert Catherwood         Minneapolis, Mn                   D 10
Jul  4 Jack Parres                Minneapolis, Mn                  KO  3
Sep 23 Jack Doyle                 Duluth, Mn                        D 15
Nov 13 Jimmy Potts                Minneapolis, Mn                   D 10
Dec  2 Al Hoppe                   Hibbing, Mi                      KO  3

1911
Jan  8 Kid Grantly                Minneapolis, Mn                  KO  5
Mar 15 Art Godfrey                Minneapolis, Mn                  KO 14
Mar 26 Freddie Hicks              Minneapolis, Mn                   W  8
Apr 17 Gus Christie               Milwaukee, Wi                    ND  8
May  5 Gus Christie               Milwaukee, Wi                    ND 10
Jun 16 Joe Wilson                 Winnipeg, Man, Can               KO  8
Jul  4 "Young" Kid Broad          Winnipeg, Man, Can               KO 13
Aug 22 Hilliard Lang              Winnipeg, Man, Can                W 10
          -Some sources report 8/25/11 at St. Paul, Mn
Sep  1 Jimmy Clabby               Milwaukee, Wi                    ND 10
Sep 29 Jimmy Clabby               Winnipeg, Man, Can               ND 15
Oct 17 Hilliard Lang              Winnipeg, Man, Can               ND 15
Nov 10 "Young" Billy Sherman      New York, NY                     TK  4
Nov 28 Willie Lewis               New York, NY                     ND 10
Dec  5 Walter Coffey              New York, NY                     ND 10
Dec 12 Frank Perron               Thornton, RI                     KO  9
Dec 16 Young Erne                 Philadelphia, Pa                 ND  6

1912
Jan 23 Jack Denning               New York, NY                     ND 10
Feb  7 Mike "Young" Cashman       New York, NY                     KO  4
Feb 13 Freddie Hicks              New York, NY                     ND 10
Feb 17 Tommy Howell               Philadelphia, Pa                 ND  6
Feb 23 Willie Lewis               New York, NY                     KO  2
Mar 26 Jack Denning               New York, NY                     ND 10
Apr 11 Jeff Smith                 New York, NY                     ND 10
May 14 Paddy Lavin                Buffalo, NY                      TK  8
May 31 Willie "K.O." Brennan      Cleveland, Oh                    ND 10
Jun 10 Tommy Connors              Brooklyn, NY                     ND 10
Jun 25 Joe Stein                  New York, NY                     ND 10
Jul  1 Sid Burns                  New York, NY                     TK  5
Sep 14 John "Young" McCartney     Philadelphia, Pa                 KO  2
Sep 23 Tommy Maloney              New York, NY                     ND 10
Nov 20 Jack McCarron              Philadelphia, Pa                 ND  6
Dec  4 Eddie McGoorty             New York, NY                     ND 10

1913
May 13 Gus Christie               Boston, Ma                        W 12
May 16 Jack McCarron              New York, NY                     ND 10
May 29 Jimmy Perry                Pittsburgh, Pa                   TK  2
Jun  3 Joe White                  Boston, Ma                        W 12
Jun 13 Young Ahearn               New York, NY                     KO  4
Oct  9 Spike Kelly                Kenosha, Wi                      ND 10
Oct 30 Kid Wagner                 Wilkes-Barre, Pa                 KO  9
Nov 14 Marty Rowan                Brooklyn, NY                     TK  2
Dec 10 Wildcat Ferns              New Orleans, La                  TK  2
Dec 16 Joe Hirst                  Philadelphia, Pa                 ND  6
          -Some sources report 12/15/13

1914
Jan 12 Bob McAllister             New York, NY                     KO  7
Feb 16 Perry "Kid" Graves         Philadelphia, Pa                 ND  6
Feb 23 Al McCoy                   Brooklyn, NY                     ND 10
Mar 24 Gus Christie               Hudson, Wi                       ND 10 
May  5 Johnny Howard              Brooklyn, NY                     ND 10
May 26 Johnny "Kid" Alberts       Syracuse, NY                     ND 10
May 29 Vic Hansen                 Kansas City, Mo                  KO  6
          -Some sources report "TK 8"
Jul  9 George "K.O." Brown        Boston, Ma                        W 12 
Sep  7 George "K.O." Brown        Benton Harbor, Mi                ND 10
Sep 22 Bill McKinnon              Covington, Ky                    ND  6
Oct 27 Billy Maxwell              Brooklyn, NY                     ND 10
Nov  9 "Young" Mike Donovan       New York, NY                     KO  6
Dec  4 Bob Moha                   Hudson, Wi                       WF  2
Dec 14 Willie "K.O." Brennan      Buffalo, NY                      ND 10

1915
Jan 21 Jimmy Clabby               Milwaukee, Wi                    ND 10
Mar  2 Eddie McGoorty             Hudson, Wi                       ND 10
Mar 15 Sailor Jack Carroll        Kansas City, Mo                  EX  4
May 26 Leo Houck                  New York, NY                     ND 10
May 31 Jacob "Soldier" Bartfield  Brooklyn, NY                     ND 10
Sep 11 Packey McFarland           Brooklyn, NY                     ND 10

1916
Jan 18 Young Ahearn               St. Paul, Mn                     KO  1
Mar 17 Jeff Smith                 St. Paul, Mn                     ND 10
May 18 Ted "Kid" Lewis            New York, NY                     ND 10
Nov 19 Jack Dillon                St. Paul, Mn                     ND 10
          -Some sources report 11/10/16
Dec  8 Clay Turner                Sioux City, Ia                   ND  4

1917
Feb 10 Harry Greb                 Philadelphia, Pa                 ND  6
May  4 Ray Campbell               Vancouver, BC, Can                W   
May  8 Al Sommers                 Portland, Or                      W  6
Jul  4 George Chip                Youngstown, Oh                   ND 12
Sep  3 Jack Dillon                Terre Haute, In                  ND 10
Sep 14 Jimmy Howard               Duluth, Mn                       KO  4
Oct 12 Frank Mantell              St. Paul, Mn                     TK  3

1918
Apr 26 Packey McFarland           Camp Dodge, Ia                   EX  4

1919
Jan 31 George Chip                Duluth, Mn                       ND 10
Feb 27 Billy Kramer               Scranton, Pa                     KO  3
Mar  4 Jacob "Soldier" Bartfield  St. Paul, Mn                     ND 10
Mar 12 Len Rowlands               Denver, Co                       ND 10
Mar 25 Leo Houck                  St. Louis, Mo                    ND  8
Apr 22 Jacob "Soldier" Bartfield  San Francisco, Ca                 W  4
May 19 George "K.O." Brown        Memphis, Tn                      ND  8
Jun 12 George Chip                Terre Haute, In                  ND 10
Jun 23 Harry Greb                 Pittsburgh, Pa                   ND 10
Jul  4 Jeff Smith                 Kansas City, Mo                  ND 10
Nov 21 Mike O'Dowd                St. Paul, Mn                     ND 10

1921
Apr 21 Charles "Chuck" Wiggins    Minneapolis, Mn                  ND 10
Apr 27 Charles "Chuck" Wiggins    Grand Rapids, Mi                  W 10
          -Some sources report "ND 10" on 5/04/21
May  9 Frank Maguire              Philadelphia, Pa                 KO  6
May 12 Charles Howard             in New Jersey                    KO  4
May 15 "Sailor" Jack Weldon       Syracuse, NY                     KO  2
May 20 "Irish" Paddy Flynn        Brooklyn, NY                      W 15
May 26 Leo Leonard                Scranton, PA                     ND 10
May 30 Dave Rosenberg             Brooklyn, NY                      W 12
Jun  4 Al Sommers                 Spokane, Wa                      KO 11
Jun  7 Thomas "Silent" Martin     Brooklyn, NY                     TK 10
Jun 17 Eddie McGoorty             Minneapolis, Mn                  KO  5
Jul  4 Al Sommers                 Alan, Id                         KO 11
Aug  4 Augie Ratner               New York, NY                      W 10
Aug  5 Gus Platts                 Boston, Ma                        W 12
Aug  9 Jeff Smith                 Jersey City, NJ                  ND 12
Sep 13 Young Fisher               St. Paul, Mn                     ND 10
Sep 17 Battling Ortega            Colorado Springs, Co             KO  6
          -Some sources report "KO 7" on 9/16/21
Oct  7 Joe Herrick                Omaha, Ne                         W 10
          -Some sources report 10/06/21
Oct 31 John "Happy" Littleton     New Orleans, La                   W 15
Nov 25 Tommy Robson               Boston, Ma                        L 10
Dec  1 Phil Krug                  Jersey City, NJ                  ND 12
Dec  5 Augie Ratner               St. Louis, Mo                     W 12
Dec 16 Mike O'Dowd                St. Paul, Mn                     ND 10

1922
Mar  9 "Stockyards" Tommy Murphy  Peoria, Il                       ND 10
Mar 14 Leo Stokes                 Grand Forks, ND                   W 10
          -Some sources report "ND 10"
Apr  8 Battling Ortega            St. Paul, Mn                     KO  1
Apr 28 "Young" Bob Fitzsimmons    Oklahoma City, Ok                ND 10
          -Some sources report "Charlie Nashert"
May  6 Mike O'Dowd                Long Island City, NY              L 12
May 16 "Irish" Danny Fagan        Winnipeg, Man, Can               KO  2

*** The Following Bouts Are Reported But Not Confirmed ***

1910
Mar 12 Jimmy Clabby               St. Paul, Mn                      L 10

1921
Oct 13 "Chief" John Metoquah      Larned, Ks                      SCH   
          -This bout was scheduled; The outcome is not known

Review courtesy of Matt Tegen, Historian, International Boxing Research Organization