KILRAIN, JAKE SUPPLEMENT POSTER (1887)

HISTORY:  By 1887 Kilrain already has been recognized as the U.S. National Champion, that gave him an opportunity to fight for the Championship of the World and silver belt versus the British Champion Jem Smith, scheduled to take place in December 1887, in France, at a little island on the River Seine, called St. Pierre d'Autils. The bout was attended by about a hundred of the upper class spectators and journalists, mainly from England, being covered by the major international media of the day, such as Reuters, Gaulois, etc. They fought 1-minute rounds with 30 seconds break between the rounds. At the outset the men fought evenly. After the 3rd round Kilrain scored several knockdowns, and wrestling formed the principal mode of operations for the rest of the fight. Before the 106th round had started, after two hours and a half of fighting (roughly three times the full duration of modern-day 12-round championship fights,) when darkness set in, the bout was stopped due to technical reasons, as no artificial lighting of the scene has been arranged the outcome was called a draw due to darkness.  Clearly dominant throughout the fight (even the English newspapers wrote that "the Englishman was no match for the American crack",) upon his return to the United States, Kilrain was pronounced by Richard K. Fox of the National Police Gazette as Heavyweight Champion of the World for his bout with Jem Smith. The awarding of the belt to Kilrain was part of a strategy by Fox to draw Sullivan into a fight.  Any remote claim he had to the title of world champion was lost in 1889 after his loss to John L. Sullivan.  Offered here is an original supplement poster of Jake Kilrain put out in 1887 prior to his bout with Jem Smith.

FULL DESCRIPTION: This is an original, paper, supplement poster which pictures Jake Kilrain at center with highlights of four of his fights surrounding. Bold, clear images. Mounted on paper backing. Has a center crease. Corner and edge wear. Minor staining. 14" x 20 1/2." Rare.