| Pat Killen | |
| Realname: | Patrick J. Killen |
| Nickname: | The Cyclone of the Northwest |
| Weight: | Heavyweight |
| Nationality: | American |
| Birth Date: | December 24, 1859 |
| Death Date: | (age 29) |
| Birth Place: | Haddington, Pennsylvania |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 60 |
| Wins: | 54 |
| Ko: | 52 |
| Losses: | 2 |
| Draws: | 3 |
| No Contests: | 1 |
Pat Killen (December 24, 1861 - October 21, 1891) was an American boxer. He died at 29, in Chicago while hiding from Minnesota authorities.
Killen was born in Haddington, Pennsylvania. He later moved to Minnesota, where he made his home for the majority of his life and career (notwithstanding the final five months of his life).
Standing 6'1" (1.85 m) and weighing around 195lb, he was large for a heavyweight of his era. This benefited him tremendously as he was nearly three inches (8 cm) taller than most of his opponents. He was a patient fighter who usually waited for his opponent to make the first move, while setting up his punch. He was known as the best counter-punching heavyweight of his era, but known even more for his devastating one-punch power, winning most often by knockout. Some at the time felt he may have had greater one-punch power than even boxers John L. Sullivan or Peter Maher. However, he was less tough, durable, and was not as aggressive or tenacious as Sullivan, the reigning champion at that time.
Killen's first fight was against John Howard, whom he managed to knock out in the second round. Twenty-one more wins followed (all by knockout) before he lost on a foul against Mervine Thompson. Killen had knocked down the highly regarded Thompson four times, but the referee allegedly kept giving Thompson all the time he needed to recover each time, prompting the crowd to grow angry and storm the ring, as well as Killen taking off his gloves in disgust. All of this caused him to lose via disqualification.
Contrary to historical reports, Killen was not murdered. He died of Erysipelas in Chicago, while on the run from the authorities from his home state of Minnesota, where he had been arrested for assault and battery of two different people, both within two days; both during drunken stupors. He made bail and fled the state to Winnipeg and then later Chicago. He was 29 when he died.
He was rated as the seventh all-time greatest Minnesota heavyweight by boxing historian George Blair. His current (incomplete) record is 55 wins (52 by knockout), two losses, three draws and one no-contest.
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | Win | 54–2–3 | Bob Ferguson | KO | 6 (?) | Oct 11, 1891 | ||
| 59 | Win | 53–2–3 | Joe Sheehy | DQ | 2 (15) | Dec 19, 1890 | ||
| 58 | Loss | 52–2–3 | Joe McAuliffe | KO | 7 (?) | Sep 11, 1889 | ||
| 57 | Win | 52–1–3 | Jack Welch | KO | 3 (?) | Aug 14, 1889 | ||
| 56 | Win | 51–1–3 | Jack Fraser | KO | 3 (?) | Jul 22, 1889 | ||
| 55 | Win | 50–1–3 | Jack Smith | KO | 2 (?) | Jul 16, 1889 | ||
| 54 | Win | 49–1–3 | Corporal Toomey | KO | 1 (?) | Jul 11, 1889 | ||
| 53 | Win | 48–1–3 | Patsy Cardiff | KO | 4 (15) | Jun 26, 1888 | ||
| 52 | Win | 47–1–3 | Jack Cooper | KO | 1 (?) | Jan 1, 1888 | ||
| 51 | Win | 46–1–3 | Lem McGregor | PTS | 6 | Dec 16, 1887 | ||
| 50 | Win | 45–1–3 | Frank Cook | KO | 2 (?) | Nov 25, 1887 | ||
| 49 | Win | 44–1–3 | O.H. Smith | KO | 2 (?) | Nov 17, 1887 | ||
| 48 | Win | 43–1–3 | Frank Lewis | KO | 1 (?) | Oct 12, 1887 | ||
| 47 | Win | 42–1–3 | Henry Dows | KO | 1 (?) | Sep 7, 1887 | ||
| 46 | Win | 41–1–3 | James Smith | KO | 1 (?) | Sep 5, 1887 | ||
| 45 | Draw | 40–1–3 | Patsy Cardiff | PTS | 10 | Aug 5, 1887 | ||
| 44 | Win | 40–1–2 | O.H. Smith | KO | 1 (?) | May 2, 1887 | ||
| 43 | Win | 39–1–2 | Jack Cook | KO | 1 (?) | Apr 1, 1887 | ||
| 42 | Win | 38–1–2 | Duncan McDonald | KO | 1 (10), | Mar 4, 1887 | ||
| 41 | Win | 37–1–2 | Paddy McDonald | KO | 7 (10) | Jan 17, 1887 | ||
| 40 | Win | 36–1–2 | O.H. Smith | KO | 2 (5) | Jan 4, 1887 | ||
| 39 | Win | 35–1–2 | Ed McKeown | KO | 5 (?) | Dec 28, 1886 | ||
| 38 | Draw | 34–1–2 | Bill Bradburn | PTS | 5 | Dec 23, 1886 | ||
| 37 | Win | 34–1–1 | John Cusick | PTS | 6 | Nov 12, 1886 | ||
| 36 | Win | 33–1–1 | Tug Wilson | KO | 4 (?) | Oct 24, 1886 | ||
| 35 | Win | 32–1–1 | Luke Dempsey | KO | 1 (4) | Oct 16, 1886 | ||
| 34 | Win | 31–1–1 | Mike Haley | KO | 4 (?) | Sep 15, 1886 | ||
| 33 | Win | 30–1–1 | Dan Stalker | KO | 2 (?) | Aug 15, 1886 | ||
| 32 | Draw | 29–1–1 | Paddy McDonald | PTS | 4 | Aug 7, 1886 | ||
| 31 | Win | 29–1 | Jim Brady | KO | 1 (?) | Aug 2, 1886 | ||
| 30 | Win | 28–1 | Tom Donnelly | KO | 2 (?) | Jul 2, 1886 | ||
| 29 | Win | 27–1 | Captain Jim Daly | KO | 3 (6) | Jul 2, 1886 | ||
| 28 | Win | 26–1 | Dan Stalker | KO | 2 (5) | Jun 19, 1886 | ||
| 27 | Win | 25–1 | John Morris | KO | 2 (?) | Jun 7, 1886 | ||
| 26 | Win | 24–1 | Captain James Dalton | KO | 3 (?) | Jun 1, 1886 | ||
| 25 | Win | 23–1 | Patsy Mellen | KO | 2 (?) | May 2, 1886 | ||
| 24 | Loss | 22–1 | Mervine Thompson | DQ | 4 (?) | Apr 20, 1886 | ||
| 23 | Win | 22–0 | Bill Jordan | KO | 3 (?) | Apr 8, 1886 | ||
| 22 | Win | 21–0 | Mike Smith | KO | 1 (?) | Apr 7, 1886 | ||
| 21 | Win | 20–0 | John Hughes | KO | 3 (?) | Apr 6, 1886 | ||
| 20 | Win | 19–0 | Mike Haley | KO | 2 (?) | Apr 5, 1886 | ||
| 19 | Win | 18–0 | Dan Stalker | KO | 1 (?), | Apr 2, 1886 | ||
| 18 | Win | 17–0 | Jim Brady | KO | 1 (5), | Mar 28, 1886 | ||
| 17 | Win | 16–0 | John Hughes | TKO | 1 (4) | Mar 18, 1886 | ||
| 16 | 15–0 | Pat McHugh | NC | 6 (?) | Mar 6, 1886 | |||
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | George Gray | KO | 2 (?) | Feb 26, 1886 | ||
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Martin McComiskey | KO | 4 (?) | Feb 15, 1886 | ||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Dick Burke | KO | 1 (?) | Feb 5, 1886 | ||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Pat McHugh | KO | 4 (?) | Jan 6, 1886 | ||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | George Gray | KO | 3 (5) | Dec 21, 1885 | ||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Joe Lannon | KO | 9 | Nov 8, 1885 | ||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Jack Morris | KO | 2 (?) | Sep 3, 1885 | ||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | John Lynch | KO | 3 (?) | Aug 2, 1885 | ||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Dan Ring | KO | 1 (?) | Aug 1, 1885 | ||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Denny Kelliher | KO | 4 (?) | May 3, 1885 | ||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Mike Devine | KO | 1 (?) | Nov 2, 1884 | ||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Tom Boylan | KO | 5 (?) | Apr 2, 1884 | ||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Lew Creamer | KO | 2 (?) | Nov 1, 1883 | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Hial Stoddard | KO | 1 (?) | Sep 8, 1883 | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | John Howard | KO | 2 (?) | Jul 6, 1883 | ||