This silent auction fundraiser is in suport of Jack Dempsey Days 2026: Honoring a Forgotten Fight that Forged a Legend.

In the shadow of Cripple Creek’s gold mines, amid the grit and glory of 1915, a young man stepped into the ring and into history. His name was William Harrison Dempsey — but that night, for the first time, he called himself Kid Blackie in the beginning; this moment taking on his older brother’s ring name for a fight he couldn’t take, Jack Dempsey. Under the flickering lights of the Cripple Creek Lyric Opera House, he faced off against the burly and battle-tested George H. Coplen, a decorated World War I veteran and local favorite.

Dempsey won that night — not just the fight, but a new identity. It was here in Cripple Creek that Kid Blackie truly became Jack Dempsey, the “Manassa Mauler,” who would rise from these rugged beginnings to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World just four years later in 1919.

Yet despite his legacy and the global fame that followed, this pivotal moment — the fight that sparked it all — has been nearly lost to time, buried beneath the dust of the mines and the shifting tides of history. Jack Dempsey Days is our effort to change that.

Kid Blackie Boxing Club is local a 501(c)(3) charity, whose mission is dedicated to building champions in and out of the ring. We support both youth and adults in the local Gold Camp Mining District.

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