Billy Papke

Billy Papke
Papke in 1910
Born
William Herman Papke, Sr.

(1886-09-17)September 17, 1886
Spring Valley, Illinois, US
DiedNovember 26, 1936(1936-11-26) (aged 50)
Newport Beach, California, US
Other namesThe Illinois Thunderbolt
Statistics
Weight(s)Middleweight
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights63
Wins39
Wins by KO31
Losses17
Draws7

Billy Papke (born William Papke, and known as "The Illinois Thunderbolt") (September 17, 1886 – November 26, 1936) was an American boxer who held the World Middleweight Championship from September 7 to November 26, 1908. In 1910-12, he also took the Australian and British versions of the World Middleweight Championship, though American boxing historians generally take less note of these titles.[1][2] With a solid and efficient punch, 70 percent of his better publicized career wins by decision were from knockouts, and roughly 40% of his reported fights were as well.[3][4] Papke was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001.[5] Sportswriter Nat Fleischer, original owner of "Ring" Magazine, ranked Papke as the seventh best middleweight of all time. Announcer Charley Rose ranked him as the tenth greatest middleweight in boxing history. He was elected to the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1972.[6]

  1. ^ "The Lineal Middleweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  2. ^ Mark Paloolian (2007). Brutality. Firstchoicebooks. pp. 92–95. ISBN 978-1-897518-37-3.
  3. ^ "Billy Papke". BoxRec. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Billy Papke". BoxRec. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference HallofFame was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference CBZ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).