Jack Morrisey (1831–1878) was born in Ireland. His family moved to Troy, New York, when he was a boy of three. It was not long before the small boy became a man larger than life. In Troy he was a gang fighter. He gained the nickname “Old Smoke” from a barroom brawl in which he and his adversary knocked over a stove. They finished their “match” on the floor among burning coals. When Morrissey rose up as the winner, his hair and clothing were on fire. Soon afterward, “Old Smoke” was fighting according to the rules of professional boxing.
Morrisey sought a fortune by joining the Gold Rush West. The nuggets he got, however, were the result of an arranged prizefight. He performed so well that he was recruited back East, where he participated in and won a heavyweight championship match. There is no record of a defense, so he probably retired as the undefeated champ. He was only twenty-two at the time, but there was real money to be made, in politics, in the saloon business, and in gambling. He opened a dancing and gambling joint in 1852, and he used it as a staging point for political activity.
He became an important player in the Tammany political machine, as the organization needed tough characters to monitor their ballot-stuffing activities and to keep opponents at bay. Although an Irishman, Morrisey was their man, and he often led fights against immigrant opponents – often other Irishmen. Through his alliances in politics, Morrisey won two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the only heavyweight champion of boxing to have served in the United States Congress. While not exactly a legislative leader, he would occasionally make a fiery speech on the House floor. There he would rant and rave and challenge any ten of his political opponents to fight him at a single time.
In the meantime, Morrisey was attracted to the racing scene. He organized the first thoroughbred races at Saratoga, New York, and he also built the track that is still in use today. Morrisey wanted the high social status he saw in Saratoga, and he went after it. He upgraded the quality of gambling action at the resort by building the Saratoga Club House, then the most plush casino in the United States. He had only two rules for his house: no residents of Saratoga could gamble, and no women were permitted in the gambling saloons. Women, however, could come to the restaurants and the other entertainment areas. It is reported that over 25,000 women came into the Saratoga Club House each season. For a dozen years the Saratoga Club House was the national champion casino. Through it all Morrissey smoked twenty cigars a day and led a very fast life and a tough life to the end. By the age of forty-seven in 1878 he had worn his body out, and when he was hit by a heavy cold, the champ was out for the count.
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