Oliver Kirk
Encyclopedia
Oliver Leonard Kirk (April 20, 1884 – March 14, 1960) was an American
bantamweight
and featherweight
professional
boxer
who won two gold medal
s in Boxing at the 1904 Summer Olympics
.
He was born in Beatrice, Nebraska
and died in St. Louis, Missouri
.
Kirk is the only boxer
in Olympic
history
to ever win two gold medals in two separate weight
divisions at the same Olympics. He won gold in the featherweight
and lost almost 10 pounds in under two weeks and also won gold in the bantamweight category. Kirk only had to win two fights to capture his two gold medals, in the bantamweight class only two boxers competed. In the featherweight class there were three boxers with Kirk earning the bye in the first round.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bantamweight
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...
and featherweight
Featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
who won two gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
s in Boxing at the 1904 Summer Olympics
Boxing at the 1904 Summer Olympics
At the 1904 Summer Olympics, seven boxing events were contested. Only American boxers competed. The competitions were held on Wednesday, September 21, 1904 and on Thursday, September 22, 1904. Contestants in lighter weight classes could also compete in heavier classes...
.
He was born in Beatrice, Nebraska
Beatrice, Nebraska
Beatrice is a city in and the county seat of Gage County, Nebraska.Beatrice is located south of Lincoln on the Big Blue River. It is surrounded by agricultural country. The population was 12,459 at the 2010 census.-History:...
and died in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
Kirk is the only boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
in Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
to ever win two gold medals in two separate weight
Weight
In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force on the object due to gravity. Its magnitude , often denoted by an italic letter W, is the product of the mass m of the object and the magnitude of the local gravitational acceleration g; thus:...
divisions at the same Olympics. He won gold in the featherweight
Featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
and lost almost 10 pounds in under two weeks and also won gold in the bantamweight category. Kirk only had to win two fights to capture his two gold medals, in the bantamweight class only two boxers competed. In the featherweight class there were three boxers with Kirk earning the bye in the first round.