The Roscommon Giant

a.k.a. The Dublin Giant

Supplied courtesy of Tracy Callis, Historian, International Boxing Research Organisation

BORN : Jan 27, 1890, Co. Roscommon, Ireland

DIED : Dec 20, 1959, Dublin, Ireland

HEIGHT : 6′3″

WEIGHT : 210 lbs

MANAGER : Billy Gibson

WINS : 32

NO-DECISION : 20

LOSSES : 5

EXHIBITION : 4

Click Here for an explanation of boxing verdicts and "No Decision"s

The following tables detail Jim Coffey's boxing record from 1912 to 1921

1912

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
Jan 26	Nick Muller	New Polo AC, New York	W 6
Mar 1	Al Benedict	New Polo AC, New York	KO 8
Mar 15	Alfred “Soldier” Kearns	New Polo AC, New York	LK 1
Apr 29	Larry Williams	Olympic AC, New York	KO 2
May 13	“Soldier” Delaney	Olypmic AC, New York	ND 10
Aug 21	Jack Rowan	St. Nicholas Rink, New York	KO 4
Aug 24	Tim Logan		KO 6
	Fred McKay		KO 5
Sep 10	“Soldier” Delaney	Some sources report Sep 23	KO 3
Oct 26	Dan Daily	National AC, Philadelphia	ND 6
Nov 23	Ray Simmons		ND 10
	Billy Ryan		KO 1

_{*key to decisions}

1913

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
Jan 1	Ray Simmons	New York	KO 2
Jan 9	Arthur Pelkey	Philadelphia	ND 6
Jan 25	Dan Daily	National AC, Philadelphia	ND 6
Feb 12	Ned Carpenter	Fairmont AC, Bronx	KO 1
Feb 26	Jack McFarland	Fairmont AC, Bronx	KO 5
Mar 26	George “Boer” Rodel	Fairmont AC, Bronx	TK 9
Apr 29	Whitey Allen	Fairmont AC, Bronx	KO 1
May 23	“Fireman” Jim Flynn	Madison Square Garden	ND 10
Dec 22	"Battling" Levinsky	Madison Square Garden	ND 10

_{*key to decisions}

1914

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
Jan 2	"Battling" Levinsky	National AC, Philapelphia	ND 6
Jan 17	Jack Lester	Fairmont AC, Bronx	KO 5
Feb 19	Tony Ross	Empire AC, New York	KO 6
Mar 9	"Battling" Levinsky	Madison Square Garden	ND 10
Mar 28	Jack Connors	Fairmont AC, Bronx	KO 1
Apr 18	Tom Kennedy	New York	ND 10
Apr 24	“Fireman” Jim Flynn	Stadium AC, New York	KO 4
May 11	Alfred “Soldier” Kearns	Philadelphia	KO 1
May 25	Dan Daily	Olympia AC, Philadelphia	ND 6
Oct 7	Terry Kellar	Stadium AC, New York	TK 9
Oct 26	Charles Weinart	Olympia AC, Philadelphia	ND 6
Dec 15	Ed “Gunboat” Smith	Madison Square Garden	ND 10

_{*key to decisions}

1915

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
Feb 18	Jack “Twin” Sullivan	Fairmont AC, Bronx	KO 5
Feb 26	Bill Ryan	New York	KO 2
Mar 4	Arthur Pelkey	Fairmont AC, New York	KO 3
Mar 27	“Soldier” Delaney	Queensboro AC, Long Island	KO 2
Mar 30	George “One-Round” Davis	Fairmont AC, New York	ND 10
Apr 7	Carl Morris	St. Nicholas Arena, New York	ND 10
May 5	Al Reich	Madison Square Garden	KO 3
May 31	“Fireman” Jim Flynn	Brighton Beach AC, Brooklyn	KO 9
Sep 15	Jack Reed	Montreal, Quebec	KO 3
Sep 20	Jack Driscoll	New Bedford, Massachusetts	KO 4
Oct 19	Frank Moran	Madison Square Garden	LK 3
Nov 29	Ed “Gunboat” Smith	Madison Square Garden	KO 4

_{*key to decisions}

1916

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
Jan 7	Frank Moran	Madison Square Garden	LK 9
Jan 28	Lou Bodie	Arena, Syracuse, NY	KO 5
Apr 13	“Denver” Jack Geyer	New York	KO 5
Sep 23	Ed “Gunboat” Smith	National AC, Philadelphia	ND 6

_{*key to decisions}

1917

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
Feb 8	Bob Devere	Brooklyn	ND 10
Mar 7	Sam Nolan	New York	KO 3
Mar 15	Joe Cox	Clermont Rink, Brooklyn	KO 3
Mar 27	Terry Kellar	Brooklyn	TK 3
Apr 23	Carl Morris	Manhattan AC	ND 10
Sep 3	Bartley Madden	Fairmont AC, New York	ND 10
Sep 11	“Battling” Levinsky	Armory AA, Boston	ND 12
Sep 13	Joe Bonds	Harlem, New York	KO 3
Nov 9	Bill Brennan	Harlem, New York	ND 10
Nov 23	Bartley Madden	Marieville Gardens, Rhode Island	LK 7

_{*key to decisions}

1918

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
May 4	Harry Greb	New York	EX 3
May 24	“Battling” Levinsky	Madison Square Garden	ND 6
Jun 6	“Battling” Levinsky	Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo	ND 6
Aug 10	Joe Jeanette	New York	EX 3
Aug 15	Joe Bonds	Brooklyn, New York	EX 4
Oct 17	Joe Jeanette	Brooklyn, New York	EX 3
Nov 22	Joe Jeanette	New Haven, Connecticut	ND 4

_{*key to decisions}

1919

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
Feb 12	“Battling” Levinsky	Armory AA, Boston	L 12
Mar 3	Larry Williams	Armory, Jersey City	W 8
Apr 7	Jack Clifford	Nesbitt Theater, Wilkes-Barre, Penn.	W 10
	Billy Warren	Castlerea, Ireland	KO 1

_{*key to decisions}

1921

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
Jun 28	Pat Bolger	Commonwealth SC, New York	W 10
Oct 18	Erminio Spalla	Palace of Joy, Coney Island, New York	W 12
Nov 18	Martin Burke	Tulane Arena, New Orleans	L 15

_{*key to decisions}

Key to Fight Result Abbreviations

W : Won
L : Lost
KO : Won by knockout
LK : Lost by knockout
TK : Won by technical knockout
LT : Lost by technical knockout
EX : Exhibition bout
ND : No-Decision

No Decision Verdicts

Meaning of the "ND" verdict as explained by B. R. Bearden in "The Origins of Boxing Terms and Traditions" :

"The No‐Decision Era ran from approximately 1911 until 1920, though it carried over longer in some cases until referees and judges broke out of the habit. It started with the Frawley Law, passed in 1911. The Law was made in an attempt to stop fixed fights, with the idea that a fix was less likely if the only way to win was by knock out. Of course, fight fans want a clear winner, so the newspapers took over, rendering their own decisions, called “newspaper decisions”. But, from a cross-reference of several papers of the time, it is usually very easy to determine who won a particular fight. Suffice to say, if a Hall of Fame fighter has 40 ND listed, it’s a safe bet that he won 35 or more of them. The Law was changed by the Walker Law in 1920, ending the No‐Decision Era. At times a fighter might have deserved to win and been handed the consolation prize of ND, but to their credit, the “newspaper decisions” almost always told the real story. It is from them that we know just how good Harry Wills (25 ND), Philadelphia Jack O’Brien (57 ND), Benny Leonard (121 ND), Sam Langford (48 ND) and scores of other fighters of that time really were."

In contrast, European title fights which went the distance at that time were still awarded by a majority points decision of three international judges.