KILBANE, JOHNNY SOUVENIR PENNANT

John "Johnny" Patrick Kilbane (April 9, 1889 – May 31, 1957) was a featherweight boxer in the early part of the 20th century. He held the featherweight title from 1912 to 1923, the longest period in the division's history. He was the second longest world title holder in boxing history, behind only Joe Louis. Kilbane's first fight was in 1907, a fight in which he made $25. In 1912 Kilbane took the featherweight title from Abe Atell and held it for 11 years through numerous fights. He finally lost it to Eugene Criqui. (The high number of "no decision"s in his career reflects early boxing rules in many states in the U.S. that dictated "no decision"--ND—unless a fight ended by knockout.) In October 1917, Kilbane became a lieutenant in the U.S. Army — assigned to Camp Sherman located near Chillicothe, Ohio — training U.S. soldiers self-defense during World War I. Following his boxing career, Kilbane refereed boxing matches, operated a gym, served in the Ohio State Legislature, and worked as the Clerk of the Cleveland Municipal Court. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995. Kilbane was such a popular prizefighter in his day that his name appeared in print as a verb. An unsigned commentary in the sports pages of the New York Times on May 16, 1912, reported on an episode involving Detroit baseball player Ty Cobb, who the day before, in a game between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees, had gone into the stands after a heckler. The commentary said, "Ty Cobb 'johnny kilbaned' a spectator right on the place where he talks... and stopped the flow of profane and vulgar words..." Kilbane died of cancer on May 31, 1957 in Cleveland, Ohio. Offered here is a very rare souvenir pennant issued when he was world champion.
This is a souvenir felt pennant. It has raised gold lettering that reads, "JOHNNY KILBANE SIXTH CITY CHAMPION FEATHERWEIGHT OF THE WORLD." Two gold tassles are intact to a metal border. Not creased or torn. The color has faded, but still perfectly readable. No tack holes. 19 inches long. Pennants from this era are extremely rare, especially from a significant fighter like Johnny Kilbane.