Jock Malone; Minnesota's all-time ring general. He was the most avoided Middleweight since Mike Gibbons, and for those fortunate enough to have watched Malone ply his trade, it was said to have been a sight of pure mastery; a mix of defensive wizardry and explosive offense. Poetry in motion they said. The old-timers said, "you either liked Malone or you hated him. There was no in-between…the cockiest SOB you ever did see." This was true, as Malone was known to smile, wink, and even dance a quick jig before he hit you. He talked into his opponents' ears while in clinches decades before Ali and Leonard ever existed, and did what he pleased, where he pleased, with little care in the world. Indeed, Malone was double-jointed at the mouth; but the fast-talking, fast-handed, brash welter/middleweight, could almost always back it up, a trait few talkers possess.
The feisty Irishman was born in 1896 to James and Jennie Malone. He excelled at every sport he undertook, notably baseball and boxing, but fighting was what Malone loved to do most, and he thought he may was well do it for pay. He began his career out east in 1916, fighting under the alias of Johnny Murphy, mostly on account of the fact that Malone was still also campaigning as an amateur in Minnesota where people knew him. But Jock wanted to make money while gaining experience and tipped his toes into professional boxing with his alias. This lasted only so long before the game was up and he became too recognizable. By early 1917, he went by his real name and no other, and continued tearing through the Welterweight ranks of professional boxing. He often kept his left low, something few fighters have the speed to get away with, but Jock was an exception, holding it low to lure opponents close where he would stick them as they came in, often spinning them around and cutting loose a two-fisted flurry. His biggest test of that year was against local rival, Johnny Tillman. Tillman handed Jock a tough loss over 10 rounds in St. Paul, but Malone learned from the experience and got better. After picking up a nice wins over Milburn Sailor he faced Eddie Moha and permanently retired and nearly killed him, as Malone gave him a severe cerebral concussion.
After the Moha battle, Malone split a pair matches with the highly-rated Bryan Downey before headlining another card against rival, Johnny Tillman. Though the battle was fierce and close, newspapers awarded the victory to Malone. Malone's defense and jab were said to be his best weapons at this point, and he used them to great effect to post another 2 wins over Downey that year, but lost a close battle to former world champion, Jack Britton. Around this time, Jack Dempsey telegrammed Malone's manager, Nate Lewis to secure Jock for sparring for his upcoming title fight against Jess Willard. A streak of bad luck fell on Malone in that year of 1919, as he suffered his first TKO loss to KO Loughlin, though it was due to the fact that Jock had broken his arm during the fight and could not continue, thus taking the TKO loss on his record. Several months later, he faced Art Magirl in Wisconsin and was winning until hurting his left hand in round 6, and ended up losing the decision. But after dropping another decision to Britton, Jock went on a legendary tear, going 24 fights straight without a loss, including big wins Tillman, Soldier Bartfield, Charley Nashert, Panama Joe Gans, Lou Bogash, and Augie Ratner.
By 1922, Malone was rated in the Top 5 in the world at Middleweight. He was about to get his biggest victory to date when on August 2, 1922, he beat future Welterweight champion, Mickey Walker so decisively, that the papers only gave Walker 2 rounds. After this, Malone was rated the #1 challenger for the Middleweight crown by the most state athletic commissions of the day and a match was set with a man he had already beaten a handful of times-Bryan Downey. Downey had recently fought world champion Johnny Wilson in a no-decision affair, but the victor was so obvious, and coupled with the fact that Wilson was under a lot of scrutiny by the New York Athletic Commission as well as Ohio Athletic Commission, the two biggest boxing commissions of their day, for purposely not defending his title, and both states refused to recognize Wilson as champion. So when Downey won the newspaper decision over Wilson, both Ohio and New York began recognizing Downey as the new Middleweight champion. It's wasn't true, but nevertheless, 22 other states followed suit in recognizing Downey as the world champ, so when Jock handed him a terrible shellacking on September 18, 1922, about half the nation recognized Malone as the newly crowned champion, a title that Malone defended until the New York Commission publicly corrected themselves in May of 23' and recognized Wilson as the rightful champion. However, one bout that defined Malone locally, was his in-state rival, Mike O'Dowd. O'Dowd was the former world Middleweight Champion, but was past his best days. Nevertheless, they two had hated each other for years, and waged a very public battle leading up to their March 16, 1923 bout in St. Paul. It was a bad move for O'Dowd, which ended up being the last fight of his career, against a prime killing machine in Malone, as Jock took him apart in the very first round, handing O'Dowd his lone KO loss on his record.
1923 saw Malone beat Lou Bogash once again, as well as posting another thrilling win over the great Panama Joe Gans. 1924 was a mixed bag for Malone, as he lost twice to Mickey Walker and once to former champion, Johnny Murphy on what Malone insisted was a foul, but the referee thought otherwise, resulting in a TKO loss for Malone. But he also posted big wins over Roland Todd, Frank Moody, and returned the trick on Murphy, winning a convincing 10 round fight. In 1925, Malone twice faced the immortal Tiger Flowers, losing both bouts, and prompting Malone to forever claim that Flowers was the most talented fighter he ever faced. Though Malone was known for his temper and cockiness, he also showed class and fairness. In his second fight with Flowers in front of his home fans in St. Paul, he was fouled several times, and twice offered a chance by the referee to walk away with a win by DQ, but Malone refused to win that way, and each time recovered from the illegal blow, only to continue and take the loss.
1926 saw Malone go 11-4-1, with stellar wins over Joe Roche, Ernie Owens, and Frankie Denny. Over the next few years, Jock continued to win and yet continued to be avoided by all title-holders, viewed as far too risky of a man to defend against. Wins over Osk Till, Walcott Langford, and future world champion, Maxie Rosenbloom all decorated Malone's record during this time, but Malone's famous speed was starting to slow down, and he was beginning to get beat by guys he would have whipped just a few years earlier. Nevertheless, Malone accepted his only real opportunity to fight for the world's Middleweight title against old nemesis, Mickey Walker in June of 1928 at Lexington Park in St. Paul. It was officially a no-decision bout per Minnesota law at the time, unless Malone won by KO or DQ. He wouldn't, as Walker was at his Hall of Fame best, and punished the aging Malone severely. Many urged Jock to call it quits, but boxing was his only trade and his only love, and the feisty Irishman refused to retire. Just to prove his critics wrong, Jock began a West Coast tour in 1929 and won nearly every match he engaged in, fighting 17 times and winning 12 of them, yet it was against lower level opposition than he traditionally had faced.
1930 saw Malone win his last fight, a 10 round battle with Tiger Johnny Cline. It would be the last hurrah for Celtic warrior from St. Paul. Gone was the cocky smile, the fast moves that once befuddled the world's greatest boxers, and the lighting quick reflexes. What remained was the intellect and desire, and he fought on another year, losing all 6 matches. He later became embarked on a sales career and was also a boxing manager, including the very first for the great Lee Savold. Jock later moved to Detroit with his wife, where he spent several years as a security guard for the Ford Motor company. He later moved to Brooklyn and spent his final days with his mother and sister, before succumbing to a heart attack at the age of 67. Jock Malone's body rests today in a New York cemetery, but his heart, spirit, and legacy remain in St. Paul. He rests soundly knowing his state records of 190 bouts, 130 wins, and career 1,640 rounds boxed, will likely never be touched. Neither will his memory.
