The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia -- Old Timer
"Philadelphia" Pal Moore
(Paul Walter Von Franzke)
BORN October 1891; in Germany DIED December 20 1942; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Some sources report December 20 1943) HEIGHT 5-6 (Some sources report 5-4) WEIGHT 115-140 lbs Pal Moore was one of five brothers from Philadelphia who were boxers;
The others were Reddy, Willie, Frankie, and Al
Moore was one of five brothers fighting out of Philadelphia, others being - Willie, Reddy, Frankie and Al; He was not yet sixteen years of age when he began fighting in 1907; Right away, he fought many contests each year and was an experienced fighter even as a teen; Not a power hitter, he was a talented, scrappy boxer who tangled with the best
Fighting in during a period in which "No Decision" bouts were the norm, newspaper reports indicate that he "bested" many top men and future champions such as - Jem Driscoll, Oscar "Battling" Nelson, Johnny Dundee, Jimmy Walsh, "Young" Johnny Dyson, Eddie Smith, Julius "Yankee" Schwartz, Joe "Kid" Coster, Valentine "Knockout" Brown, Al Delmont, Tommy O'Toole, Matty Baldwin, Robert "Bert" Keyes, "Young" Sammy Smith, Jack Redmond, "Fighting" Dick Hyland and "Young" Abe Brown
Moore was inducted into the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame in 1973PHILADELPHIA PAL MOORE
(The "Other" Pal)
By Jim Amato
Although Memphis Pal Moore was once a title claimant and the possessor of a fine record, he should not be confused with Pal Moore out of Philadelphia. In fact, the Pal from the City of Brotherly Love may have been the overall better fighter.
Philadelphia Pal Moore was a member of the famous "Fighting Moore Family" which included brothers Willie, Reddy, and Frank. He was born Paul Von Franzki, October 1891, in Germany. He began his professional career in 1907 in Philadelphia. By 1909 he had invaded New York and began to draw attention. By 1910, he had hit the big time. On February 1st of that year he stopped Henry Miers in Boston prompting ex-heavy weight champion James J. Corbett who was in attendance to heap praise on Pal. On May 25th Pal scored an upset six round newspaper verdict over the heralded Jim Driscoll. In his last five bouts for 1910 he twice met Owen Moran losing a newspaper decision and then holding Moran to a draw. He then lost newspaper verdicts to Abe Attell, Harlem Tommy Murphy, and Tommy Langdon.Pal remained at the top of his game in 1911 battling some of the best fighters in the world. Win, lose, or draw Moore always gave a good account of himself. In April the paper had him a loser against Freddie Welsh in New York. He twice met Harlem Tommy Murphy in rematches dropping a newspaper decision and then holding Tommy to a draw. He won a clear-cut decision over Battling Nelson on October 17th in Boston. He gave Nelson quite a going over in that one.
In 1912 Pal drew with Owen Moran and then lost a twenty round decision to Jack Britton. He was a newspaper winner over Johnny Dundee but ended the year losing to Charley White and Joe Shugrue. In 1913, he again lost to White and had a no contest bout with Britton. In 1914 he again met Dundee. He also had two battles with Young Abe Brown. On September 7th he met the great Benny Leonard and lost a newspaper decision after ten torrid rounds. In 1915 according to newspaper accounts Pal lost all five of his fights. Among his losses was a ten rounder to Shugrue.
By 1916 Pal’s career was slowing down and in 1917 he suffered two major setbacks losing by knockout to Paul Doyle and on May 14th a two round stoppage at the hands of George "KO" Chaney. He finished 1917 with three fights after the Chaney debacle. There are no fights on record for Pal in 1918. In 1919 he fought once against Al Thompson. Pal had his last recorded fight on March 20, 1920 winning a newspaper decision over ten rounds against Johnny Heeman in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. Pal passed away on December 20, 1942 in Philadelphia.
Some other notable boxers that Pal met during his distinguished career were Knockout Brown, Jimmy Walsh, Tommy Maloney, Dick Hyland, Matty Baldwin, Johnny Griffith, Patsy Cline, and Frankie Callahan.
Although Pal was probably the most famous of the "Fighting Moorer Brothers," Reddy, Frankie, and Willie carved out respectable careers. Also, brothers Al and Harry boxed and oldest brother Charley was a bare-knuckle saloon brawler. A special thank-you to Joe Cassidy of Cleveland who is Willie’s grandson for providing me with much of the information.
1907 Jul 11 Tommy Peterson Philadelphia, Pa KO 3 Aug 27 Tommy Peterson Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 4 1908 Jan 14 Willie Kessler Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 3 Jan 16 Frankie White Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 3 Jan 24 Louisiana Philadelphia, Pa ND-D 6 Jan 28 Louisiana Philadelphia, Pa ND-D 4 Mar 17 Louisiana Philadelphia, Pa TK 3 May 27 Happy Davis Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Jun 23 Happy Davis Philadelphia, Pa ND-D 3 Aug 4 Happy Davis Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Sep 1 Eddie O'Keefe Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Sep 4 Tommy Reilly Philadelphia, Pa ND-D 6 Sep 5 Joe Ferguson Philadelphia, Pa TK 2 Sep 7 "Young" Owen Moran Philadelphia, Pa KO 5 Sep 29 Happy Davis Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Oct 6 Eddie Doyle Philadelphia, Pa ND-D 6 Oct 20 Young Bijou Philadelphia, Pa KO 1 Nov 2 Eddie Murray Philadelphia, Pa KO 3 Nov 17 Young Cassidy Philadelphia, Pa KO 2 Nov 23 Nick McGlinchy Philadelphia, Pa KO 3 Dec 1 Johnny Loeber Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Dec 5 Frankie Bartch Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Dec 12 Johnny Smith Philadelphia, Pa TK 4 Dec 19 Johnny Coffey Philadelphia, Pa KO 3 1909 Jan 14 Johnny Loeber Lancaster, Pa ND-D 6 Jan 16 Tommy Houck Philadelphia, Pa ND-D 6 Jan 19 Jerry Sullivan Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Jan 25 Jerry Sullivan Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Feb 13 Jerry Sullivan Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Feb 15 Frankie Bartch Sunbury, Pa ND-D 6 Feb 23 Kid Butts New York, NY ND-W 10 Mar 18 Willie Houck Lancaster, Pa ND-W 6 Apr 6 Terry Brooks New York, NY ND-W 10 May 22 Johnny Mayo Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Jun 16 Tommy West Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Jun 30 Johnny Glover New York, NY ND-W 10 Jul 7 Johnny Moran New York, NY ND-W 10 Jul 20 Patsy Brannigan New York, NY ND-L 10 Aug 25 Patsy Brannigan New York, NY ND-W 10 Aug 28 Julius "Yankee" Schwartz New York, NY ND-W 10 Dec 6 Valentine "Knockout" Brown New York, NY ND-W 10 Dec 13 Eddie Carr Boston, Ma D 10 Dec 20 Valentine "Knockout" Brown New York, NY ND-W 10 1910 Jan 1 Joe "Kid" Coster New York, NY ND-W 10 Jan 4 Henry Miers Boston, Ma D 10 Jan 17 Harry Thomas New York, NY ND-W 10 Feb 1 Henry Miers Boston, Ma TK 8 Feb 8 Mike Malone Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Feb 11 Al Delmont New York, NY ND-W 10 Feb 26 Tommy O'Toole Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Mar 1 Al Delmont Boston, Ma W 10 Apr 4 Willie Jones New York, NY ND-W 10 Apr 21 Jimmy Walsh New York, NY ND-W 10 May 7 Teddy Maloney Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 May 25 Jem Driscoll Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 May 31 Jimmy Walsh Boston, Ma L 12 Jun 24 Young Snowball New York, NY KO 3 Sep 28 Owen Moran Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 6 Oct 4 Owen Moran Boston, Ma D 12 Nov 30 Abe Attell Bronx, NY ND-L 10 Dec 15 "Harlem" Tommy Murphy New York, NY ND-L 10 Dec 21 Tommy Langdon Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 6 1911 Jan 17 Matthew "Matty" Baldwin Boston, Ma W 12 Feb 17 Robert "Bert" Keyes New York, NY ND-W 10 Mar 1 Tommy Maloney New York, NY ND-W 10 Mar 10 "Young" Sammy Smith New York, NY ND-W 10 Apr 12 Freddie Welsh New York, NY ND-L 10 May 2 Jack Redmond Boston, Ma W 12 Jun 13 Matt Wells Boston, Ma L 12 Sep 7 "Harlem" Tommy Murphy New York, NY ND-D 10 Sep 12 "Harlem" Tommy Murphy Boston, Ma D 12 Oct 9 "Fighting" Dick Hyland New York, NY ND-W 10 Oct 17 Battling Nelson Boston, Ma W 12 Oct 21 Grover Hayes Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 6 Nov 4 Frank Madole Philadelphia, Pa ND-D 6 Dec 4 Jack Dorman New York, NY ND-W 10 Dec 5 Willie Howard Brooklyn, NY ND-W 10 Dec 25 Charley Turner Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 6 1912 Jan 1 Billy Allen Rochester, NY ND-W 10 Jan 11 Matthew "Matty" Baldwin New York, NY ND-L 10 Feb 20 Joe Mandot New Orleans, La ND-L 10 Mar 12 Owen Moran Bronx, NY ND-D 10 Apr 30 Jack Britton San Francisco, Ca L 20 Jul 22 Eddie Smith New York, NY ND-W 10 Jul 29 Phil Brock Cleveland, Oh ND-L 12 Sep 23 Joe Sherman Memphis, Tn L 8 Oct 11 Johnny Dundee New York, NY ND-W 10 Nov 18 "Young" Dyson New Haven, Ct W 15 Nov 21 Charley White Kenosha, Wi ND-L 10 Nov 28 Joe "Young" Shugrue Waterbury, Ct L 15 1913 Jan 25 Joe "Kid" Coster New York, NY ND-L 10 Mar 10 Charley White Kenosha, Wi ND-L 10 Apr 5 Willie Jones Brooklyn, NY ND-L 10 Apr 21 Jack Britton Philadelphia, Pa NC 4 May 6 Mike McGowan Elmira, NY TK 6 May 12 Johnny Griffiths Akron, Oh L 12 Sep 18 Frankie Russell New Orleans, La ND-L 10 1914 Feb 26 Johnny Dundee New York, NY ND-L 10 Mar 23 "Young" Abe Brown Rochester, NY ND-W 10 Apr 13 Patsy Drouillard Rochester, NY ND-W 10 Apr 18 Patsy Kline Philadelphia, Pa ND-D 6 Aug 14 "Young" Abe Brown Rockaway Beach, NY ND-D 10 Sep 7 Benny Leonard Bronx, NY ND-L 10 Nov 26 Manuel Vierra Philadelphia, Pa TK 3 Dec 5 Fred Seidel Philadelphia, Pa ND-D 6 Dec 25 Eddie Morgan Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 6 1915 Jan 9 Johnny "Young" Lustig Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 6 Jan 18 Willie "Young" Gradwell Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 6 Feb 15 Joe "Young" Shugrue Rochester, NY ND-L 10 May 21 Jimmy Murphy Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 6 Dec 11 "Irish" Patsy Cline Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 6 1916 Jan 1 Frankie Conifrey Philadelphia, Pa ND-D 6 Mar 6 Allie Nack New York, NY ND-W 10 Apr 3 Willie Jones New York, NY ND-W 10 May 5 Joe Welsh Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 6 Jun 13 Mickey Gallagher Philadelphia, Pa TK 5 Jun 27 Johnny Mealey Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Sep 19 Charley Thomas Philadelphia, Pa ND-D 6 Nov 11 Charlie Metrie Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Dec 9 Harry Condon Philadelphia, Pa ND-D 6 1917 Jan 12 Milburn "Young" Saylor Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 6 Jan 13 George Volk Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Apr 14 Harry Boyle Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Apr 21 Frankie Callahan Brooklyn, NY ND-L 10 Apr 28 Paul Doyle Philadelphia, Pa LK 4 May 14 George "K.O." Chaney Baltimore, Md LK 2 Aug 20 Darby Casper Philadelphia, Pa ND-W 6 Sep 14 Johnny Harvey New York, NY ND-D 10 Sep 24 Chick Simler New York, NY ND-W 10 Oct 2 Johnny Harvey New York, NY ND-L 10 Nov 6 Johnny Dundee New York, NY ND-L 10 1919 Feb 1 "Battling" Harry Leonard Philadelphia, Pa ND-L 6 May 1 Al Thompson Atlantic City, NJ ND-L 6 1920 Mar 20 Johnny Herman Shamokin, Pa ND-W 10 *** Record Provided By Luckett Davis and Paul Zabala*** *** Much Data Provided By Joe Cassidy ***
Review courtesy of Tracy Callis, Historian, International Boxing Research Organization