Quick Facts
CapricornBiography
Joseph Francis Hagan (better known as Philadelphia Jack O'Brien) (January 17, 1878 – November 12, 1942) was the world light heavyweight boxing champion. Nat Fleischer, founder and editor of The Ring Magazine, ranked O'Brien as the No. 2 All-Time Light Heavyweight, and famed boxing promoter Charley Rose ranked him as the No. 3 All-Time Light Heavyweight. O'Brien was inducted into the Ring Magazine hall of fame in 1968, the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1987, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994.
Biography
Born in Philadelphia, Hagan was the older brother to Young Jack O'Brien and the cousin of heavyweight boxer Jack Rowan.
To mark his sixtieth birthday in early 1938 he was the subject of a 5000-word profile in The New Yorker by A J Liebling.
O'Brien turned pro in the 1890s. He stood 5-10½ and weighed between 152 and 165 pounds. He was agile, quick and limber, a two-handed puncher who landed often but not a particularly hard hitter. His best punches were a left jab and a hard overhand right, and he was a good defensive fighter who blocked punches well and counterpunched accurately.
By 1900 he weighed 155 pounds, but with many good men fighting at this weight their talents were at a discount. O'Brien conceived the idea of going to England where, he heard, the competition was softer. He knocked out Dido Plum, the British middleweight champion, in six rounds, and George Crisp, the heavyweight titleholder, in eleven.
O'Brien returned to Philadelphia in May 1902 and on December 20, 1905, won the world light heavyweight championship with a 13-round TKO over Bob Fitzsimmons in San Francisco, California, but abandoned the title without ever defending it. He challenged world heavyweight champion Tommy Burns on November 28, 1906, in Los Angeles, and got a 20-round draw. The referee was former world champion James J. Jeffries. O'Brien challenged Burns again in Los Angeles on May 8, 1907, and this time Burns won the 20-round decision. He fought the fearsome middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel in a 10-round No Decision on March 26, 1909, in which O'Brien was saved by the bell at the end of the 10th round. He fought heavyweight champion Jack Johnson in a six-round No Decision on May 19, but on June 9 he faced Ketchel again and was beaten in three rounds.
His career record in 194 fights is 145 wins, 16 losses and 28 draws.
Hagan managed a gym on the seventh and top floors of the Rosemont building at 1658 Broadway, New York City, in the late 1920s/early 1930s.World middleweight champion Harry Greb trained in O'Brien's at gym, and the only existing films of Greb in action are workouts and sparring with O'Brien.
He died on November 12, 1942.
Notable bouts
| Result | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | Sam Langford | TKO | 5 (10) | 1911-08-15 | Twentieth Century A.C., New York, New York | |
| Loss | Stanley Ketchel | TKO | 3 (6) | 1909-06-09 | National A.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| Draw | Jack Johnson | NWS | 6 | 1909-05-19 | National A.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Newspaper Decision |
| Loss | Stanley Ketchel | NWS | 6 | 1909-03-26 | National A.C., New York, New York | Newspaper Decision |
| Win | Jack Blackburn | NWS | 6 | 1908-06-10 | National A.C., New York, New York | Newspaper Decision |
| Loss | Tommy Burns | PTS | 20 | 1907-05-08 | Naud Junction Pavilion, Los Angeles, California | For World Heavyweight Title |
| Draw | Tommy Burns | PTS | 20 | 1907-05-08 | Naud Junction Pavilion, Los Angeles, California | For World Heavyweight Title |
| Win | Bob Fitzsimmons | RTD | 13 (20) | 1905-12-20 | Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California | Won World Light Heavyweight Title |
| Win | Young Peter Jackson | PTS | 10 | 1905-04-07 | 4th Regiment Armory, Baltimore, Maryland | |
| Win | Young Peter Jackson | DQ | 2 (15) | 1905-03-24 | 4th Regiment Armory, Baltimore, Maryland | |
| Win | Dixie Kid | NWS | 6 | 1904-11-12 | National A.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| Win | Tommy Burns | NWS | 6 | 1904-10-07 | Panorama Building, Milwaukee, Wisconsin | |
| Loss | Bob Fitzsimmons | TKO | 6 (6) | 1904-07-23 | Baker Bowl, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| Draw | Kid McCoy | NWS | 6 | 1904-05-14 | 2nd Regiment Armory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Newspaper Decision |
| Draw | Tommy Ryan | NWS | 6 | 1904-01-27 | National A.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Newspaper Decision |
| Draw | Barbados Joe Walcott | PTS | 10 | 1903-04-20 | Health & Physical Culture A.C., Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Win | Joe Choynski | NWS | 6 | 1903-03-30 | Washington S.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Newspaper Decision |
| Win | Peter Maher | NWS | 6 | 1902-10-30 | Penn Art Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Newspaper Decision |
| Win | Peter Maher | NWS | 6 | 1902-10-03 | Ariel A.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Newspaper Decision |
| Win | Joe Choynski | PTS | 6 | 1902-09-29 | America A.C., Chicago, Illinois | |
| Win | Young Peter Jackson | NWS | 6 | 1902-04-28 | Washington S.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Newspaper Decision |
| Win | Barbados Joe Walcott | NWS | 6 | 1902-04-11 | Industrial A.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Newspaper Decision |
| Loss | Young Peter Jackson | KO | 13 (20) | 1900-02-14 | Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California | |
Exhibitions
Known Exhibitions fought by O'Brien:
- 1909-8-20 EX4 Dick Gilbert, Denver, Colorado
- 1909-2-11 EX4 Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1909-1-04 EX2 Fred Cooley, Washington S.C. Philadelphia, PA
- 1909-1-04 EX2 Jack Reed, Washington S.C. Philadelphia, PA
- 1909-1-04 EX2 Jack Cooper, Washington S.C. Philadelphia, PA
- 1908-9-23 EX4 Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Philadelphia, PA
- 1908-4-04 EX4 Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Philadelphia, PA
- 1902-3-26 EXJack McCann, Reading, Pennsylvania
- 1902-3-26 EX2 Morris Mahoney, Reading, PA
O'Brien was also the chief second to Jack Dempsey at the 1926 Dempsey-Tunney bout in Philadelphia.
Popular Culture
Philadelphia Jack O'Brien is a featured character in The Killings of Stanley Ketchel (2005), a novel by James Carlos Blake.