was born in West Troy, New York, where he was apprenticed as a machinist after a minimal education. At the age of seventeen he followed the lure of easy money west, settling in Benicia, California, where he went to work for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company in the foundry. There he worked twelve hours a day swinging a thirty-two-pound sledge hammer and developing a formidable strength. By 1857 Heenan had a reputation as a saloon brawler, and vigilantes suggested that he had best fight elsewhere. Known as the "Benicia Boy" Heenan returned to New York, where backers arranged for him to fight American champion John C. Morrissey.

Bare-knuckle boxing was a disreputable sport.

Many communities would not allow it, and contests often had to be held in hastily arranged locations. The sport was brutal, and it was conducted virtually without rules. A round lasted until...