Billy Papke
American boxer (1886–1936)
ビリー・パプケ
- Born
- 17 September 1886, Spring Valley
- Died
- 26 November 1936, Newport Beach
- Citizenship
- United States
- Sport
- boxing
- Discipline
- middleweight
- Occupation
- boxer
- Height
- 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
- Recorded fight record
- 37 wins, 11 losses, 6 draws
Billy Papke (born William Papke, and known as "The Illinois Thunderbolt") (September 17, 1886 – November 26, 1936) was an American boxer who held the World Middleweight Championship from September 7 to November 26, 1908. In 1910-12, he also took the Australian and British versions of the World Middleweight Championship, though American boxing historians generally take less note of these titles. With a solid and efficient punch, 70 percent of his better publicized career wins by decision were from knockouts, and roughly 40% of his reported fights were as well. Papke was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001. Sportswriter Nat Fleischer, original owner of "Ring" Magazine, ranked Papke as the seventh best middleweight of all time. Announcer Charley Rose ranked him as the tenth greatest middleweight in boxing history. He was elected to the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1972.
Awards and honours
- International Boxing Hall of Fame 2001
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q930258 (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.