ack Gibbons never threw the first punch. But he usually landed the last one.
Born in St. Paul, Michael John "Jack" Gibbons rose to fame in the boxing ring but was a gifted athlete and excelled in nearly every sport. The past 40 years he lived on Grave Lake near Brainerd with his wife, Vida.
Gibbons, 86, died last week and was buried Monday in St. Paul. He suffered from Alzheimer's disease and had fallen and broken his hip two weeks prior to his death.
"I knew him well," said former Brainerd Dispatch editor Les Sellnow, who worked with the Brainerd Golden Gloves program. "He was just a fine human being. He was warm, kind. Throw in any adjective you want. He was a prince of a guy."
Those who knew Gibbons would have a hard time believing he was one of Minnesota's all-time boxing greats.
"He never threw the first punch," said his daughter Kathleen. "He would have to get hit first to get mad enough to fight."
Gibbons fought when there was a single champion in each of the eight weight divisions. He was the fourth-ranked middleweight in the world in 1935-36 and was the No. 6-ranked light heavyweight in 1936-37.
An all-state football and basketball player at Cretin High School in St. Paul, Gibbons was an undefeated amateur boxer and compiled a 101-7-1 professional record.
Two fights punctuate his career. He earned a 10-round decision over Tony Zale, who later defeated Rocky Graziano for the world middleweight title, and he later decisioned Canadian champion Frank Battaglia.
Gibbons knocked out 42 opponents and had a 72-fight win streak.
His uncle, Tommy, lost a 15-round decision to Jack Dempsey on July 4, 1923.
Sellnow said Gibbons was a boxer, not a fighter.
"His forte as a boxer was his boxing ability," said Sellnow. "This guy could box. He didn't have a lot of knockout power, but he could box ... He had a very gifted left jab. He didn't have a devastating hook. And he was hard to hit."
Jack and Vida were married for 60 years.
"He was still boxing (after their marriage)," said Vida. "He quit shortly after that. I said I didn't think I would want to be married to a boxer because I didn't want him to get hurt."
Gibbons was appointed to the Minnesota Boxing Commission in 1956 and was named the commission's executive secretary in 1968. He held the position until he retired in 1975.
The couple had two daughters, Mary Pat and Kathleen. Mary Pat Dobmeier lives in Baxter and is a fifth-grade instructor at Harrison Elementary School in Brainerd.
Dobmeier remembers her father as a gentle, religious man who was devoted to his family.
"The last clear words we heard from him were about two weeks ago when we visited him at Bethany (Good Samaritan Village in Brainerd)," said Dobmeier. "He turned to me and he said, 'Do you know how proud I am of you?' Then he took mother's hand and said, "Do you know how much I'm in love with you?'
"That's the kind of man he was," added Dobmeier. "He always wanted to tell you he was proud of you or loved you. He never complained; he never felt sorry for himself."
Gibbons was an excellent golfer and excelled at football, basketball, hockey, speed skating and billiards during his younger days.
"In the sports world he was so good at all of them," said Dobmeier. "It was never to win or to gain fame, but to beat himself. He said 'Do what you have to do but be better at it.' He set his goals very high.
"He was a giant. He was a very humble man."
Gibbons also had a sense of humor. Once he was teaching Kathleen how to golf in the front yard. She hit a 9 iron and the ball flew through a window of the house. "It was a nice, round hole," recalled Dobmeier. "Dad said it was beautiful, a perfect shot.
"Once," continued Dobmeier, "I offered to caddy for him. He let me do it once. Well, I loved to pick flowers and didn't know anything about golf. On his first backswing I said, 'Come on dad, hit a hole-in-one.' That broke his concentration and (the ball) went into the water. He said, 'Why don't you go back to the clubhouse.' "
Gibbons often took his daughters to the fights when they lived in St. Paul.
"I worked at Fanny Farmer downtown (St. Paul)," remembered Dobmeier. "Every Thursday night he'd pick me up. Instead of going to my senior prom I went to the fights with him. He let me buy a new dress for the fights (on prom night)."
Gibbons' sister, Virginia Schwitz, called him "St. John of Brainerd," because he often carried the rosary with him.
"He and my mother prayed a lot together," said Dobmeier. "They said the rosary every day together. When our dates would come to pick us up, they'd have to wait on the porch until we got done with the rosary."
When it came to life, as well as boxing, God was in Gibbons' corner.
