Big Jim Coffey disembarked onto the busy Boston docks in April 1910, with grand dreams of prosperity and possibilities. He had finally arrived at his destination having travelled from his home in Roscommon, detouring through Cobh before a week long voyage across the Atlantic aboard the Cymric.
Born in 1890 in the townland of Tully near Gortaganny village, Jim was the sixth child of eleven born to John and Ann Coffey. Here in Tully he grew up quickly working hard on his struggling father’s farm where the daily physical exertions saw him develop into a big and strong youngster. The small family farm though was never going to keep the Coffey boys in work and when Jim and his brothers reached a certain age they took advantage of the seasonal manual work on the vast farms of England. Likely it was here that they began to dream of a life in America and as Jim reached his twenties he left his home in Roscommon clutching the ticket that his sister Bessie had sent for him.
Once in America he worked for a stint as a labourer, but later found much better paying employment as a trolley motorman carrying passengers around New York suburbs Manhattan and the Bronx. In 1913 by some great stroke of luck he happened to pick up a passenger that would change his life and fortunes forever. The passenger was Tom Shaw, a local traffic cop moonlighting as an amateur boxer, and as the streetcar waited in New York traffic Coffey was convinced to try out at the local boxing gym. Here he discovered a natural flair that, coupled with his 6 foot 4 inch powerful frame, gave him a distinct advantage against his sparring partners. Over the next four years he gradually moved up the reins of the profession, fighting many established fighters while at the same time developing a large following especially among the growing Irish diaspora in the States. By early 1915 he had fought in, and filled out, the boxing Mecca that was Madison Square Garden several times and he was inevitably mentioned as the new “white hope”.
For years the African American, Jack Johnson, had dominated the heavyweight division and this never sat comfortably with the influential white fight-goers or media commentators. After every Johnson victory the newspapers cried out for a white challenger to dethrone the Galveston Giant, as they named him, and every time the new “white hope” succumbed to his might.
By early April 1915 though the king was finally dethroned but sadly not by Coffey. A young working cowboy from Kansas named Jess Willard had finally beaten Johnson and was instilled as the new champion of the world. Jim Coffey though would still have his title shot at the new champ but first he had to deal with another rival, Frank Moran, to get this chance.
The night of the fight saw huge crowds gather inside The Garden in numbers higher than ever before seen for a boxing event. Coffey’s time had come and he climbed into the ring with his fans chants shaking the very roof of the venue as their anticipation reached frenzied level.
The fight proceeded as expected with Coffey comfortably using his reach and far greater skill to effect. He pounded his opponent relentlessly for the first round and into the second with very little coming back at him. Moran it seemed was about to be outclassed but as he swung his roundhouse aimlessly near the end of the round he connected with Coffey’s chin and sent him staggering around the ring. The bell ended the round but Coffey’s senses could never return sufficiently in time for the next one. He was caught again and the fight was over.
In the aftermath of the fight Coffey played down the loss, only his first official one in 44 contests, calling out Moran and the lucky sucker punch that he caught him with. He and and the newspapers demanded a rematch. Meanwhile Moran soaked up the acclaim and with tongue in cheek christened the punch “Mary Ann” while at the same time agreeing to the fight.
The rematch, when it came, went somewhat along the lines of the first with Coffey dominating the first 7 rounds and was well ahead on the judges scorecards. Unfortunately as the fight entered the final phase he let his guard down and again he was caught by one of Moran’s “Mary Ann” specials that finished the fight as a contest.
After this loss Coffey continued to box for a number of years with some degree of success but he never again came close to a World Title fight albeit he did return for a bout in Castlerea’s Hanley Hall in 1919. He returned to Roscommon for good in 1923 along with his boxing payouts and married a local schoolteacher Kate Kenny before settling down to a life of farming.
In 2017 a plaque was unveiled in his native Tully townland to commemorate “The Roscommon Giant”, Jim Coffey.

References:

http://theroscommongiant.com

http://boxrec.com

The Los Angeles Herald

The New York Times