Bill Brennan
American boxer
- Born
- 23 June 1893, County Mayo
- Died
- 15 June 1924, New York City
- Citizenship
- United States
- Sport
- boxing
- Discipline
- heavyweight
- Occupation
- boxer
- Height
- 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Bill Brennan (June 23, 1893 – June 15, 1924) was an American boxer who fought and lost to World Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey in a well attended title fight that ended in a twelfth-round knockout on December 14, 1920, in Madison Square Garden. He lost to Dempsey for the first time in a non-title fight on February 5, 1918, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in a sixth-round technical knockout.
He began fighting under the name Bill Shanks, close to his actual name, and knocked out 11 of his first 12 opponents, fighting in the Midwest and then the New York City area. He had a strong punch and a very good knockout percentage. Brennan's manager was Leo P. Flynn and his trainers included Dia Dollings and Frank Cline.
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q4908255 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.