SNIPPET: The image of the Irish boxer was so powerful in late 19th century America that many aspiring non-Irish pugilists took Irish "ring" names. They believed, quite correctly, that their chances of getting better bouts and higher placement on fight cards depended on their appearing Irish! In 1905, The Ancient Order of Hibernians (who had launched a successful campaign to rid American theater of the "stage Irishman" character) announced a campaign against what they described as "the nefarious custom of criminals, pugilists, and the abandoned and submerged tenth of society adopting Irish names, both Christian and surnames." Still, it was the 1930s before Italian and Jewish fighters ceased the practice.