Sharkey, Jack
(26 October 1902–17 August 1994)
- Luckett V. Davis
Extract
Sharkey, Jack (26 October 1902–17 August 1994), world heavyweight boxing champion, was born Josef Paul Zukauskas (the name he gave when he entered the U.S. Navy) in Binghamton, New York. His name at birth has been the source of much confusion; it has been given incorrectly in boxing record books and elsewhere as John Zukauskay, John Coccoskey, and Joseph Paul Cukoschay. His parents were Lithuanian immigrants; his father was a mechanic by occupation. Sharkey attended school until the eighth grade, when a family financial crisis forced him to seek employment. He worked in a shoe factory and as a construction worker, a glassblower, and a railroad brakeman before joining the navy....
