Country McCleester

George "Country McCloskey" McCheester or John McCleester (fl. 1841-1850) was an American bare-knuckle boxer and sportsman involved in the early history of pugilism and prize fighting in Old New York. A contender for the American heavyweight championship in 1849, he was an enforcer for the Irish Tammany Hall politicians, and a member of Isaiah Rynders non-partisan Empire Club, that opposed the policies of New York Mayor James Harper.

John McCleester
NationalityAmerican
Other namesCountry McCloskey, most frequently used
George McCheester
Country McCleester
OccupationSportsman and pugilist
EmployerTammany Hall
Known forlieutenant of Colonel Isaiah Rynders; cornerman of Yankee Sullivan.
Home townNew York City, New York, United States
Political partyDemocratic Party

References
Notes
  1. Siler, George. Inside Facts on Pugilism. Chicago: Laird & Lee Publishers, 1907. (pg. 144)
  2. Hearst, W.H., ed. The American Almanac, Year-book, Cyclopaedia and Atlas. New York American and Journal, Hearst's Chicago American and San Francisco Examiner, 1903. (pg. 665)
  3. Wignall, Trevor C. The Story of Boxing. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1923. (pg. 211)
  4. Details of the fight from The National Police Gazette, New York, New York, June 12, 1880, page 15
  5. McClosky's face beaten badly in Corbett James, "Tom Hyer the First American Champ", The Brooklyn Citizen, Brooklyn, New York, pg. 5, 14 October 1905
  6. Timony, Patrick. The American Fistiana: Containing a History of Prize Fighting in the United States, with All the Principal Battles for the Last Forty Years, and a Full and Precise Account of All the Particulars of the Great $10,000 Match Between Sullivan and Hyer, with Their Method of Training for the Fight. New York: H. Johnson, 1849. (pg. 1-29)
  7. Adelman, Melvin L. A Sporting Time: New York City and the Rise of Modern Athletics, 1820-70. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990. (pg. 231, 237)
  8. Anbinder, Tyler. Five Points: The 19th-century New York City Neighborhood that Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World's Most Notorious Slum. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001. (pg. 203, 205) ISBN 0-684-85995-5
  9. Isenberg, Michael T. John L. Sullivan and His America. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994. (pg. 77) ISBN 0-252-06434-8
  10. Downey, Fairex. Our Lusty Forefathers. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1947, pg. 310.
  11. New York Daily News, New York, New York, pg. 1, 6 February 1845
  12. Moss, Frank. The American Metropolis from Knickerbocker Days to the Present Time. London: The Authors' Syndicate, 1897. (pg. 379)
  13. Myers, Gustavus. The History of Tammany Hall. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1917. (pg. 137)
  14. Terrett, Courtenay. Only Saps Work: A Ballyhoo for Racketeering. New York: Vanguard Press, 1930. (pg. 43)
  15. Burgess, Anthony. New York. New York: Time-Life Books, 1970. (pg. 1134)
  16. Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. (pg. 39-40) ISBN 1-56025-275-8
  17. Callow, Alexander B. The Tweed Ring: Corruption in New York politics, 1866 to 1871. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969. (pg. 58)
  18. Kernan, J. Frank. Reminiscences of the Old Fire Laddies and Volunteer Fire Departments of New York and Brooklyn: Together with a Complete History of the Paid Departments of Both Cities. New York: M. Crane, 1885. (pg. 54)
  19. Kenny, Kevin. New Directions in Irish-American History. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2003. (pg. 114) ISBN 0-299-18714-4
Further reading
  • Harlow, Alvin F. Old Bowery Days: The Chronicles of a Famous Street. New York and London: D. Appleton & Company, 1931.
Achievements
Preceded by
Vacant		 American Heavyweight
Bare-knuckle Boxing Championship Contender
Vacant– September 9, 1841		 Succeeded by
Tom Hyer


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