Jerry Quarry, American heavyweight boxer nicknamed “Irish” or “The Bellflower Bomber,” dies on January 3, 1999, in Templeton, California. He is the most visible member of a significant Irish American boxing family, which includes three other pro boxers, his father and two brothers.

Quarry is born on May 15, 1945, in Bakersfield, California and first puts on a pair of boxing gloves when he is three years old. By the time he is eight, he has won the Junior Golden Gloves at the 45 lb. class. He continues to fight as an amateur until 1964 when he culminates a great amateur career by winning the National Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship and is the tournament’s most outstanding fighter. He sets a record that is still standing today. He wins the title by knocking out all five opponents over a three-day span.

Under the watchful eyes of his co-managers, his dad and veteran fight manager Johnnie Flores, Quarry turns professional in May 1965. He runs off twelve wins in a row before running into Tony Doyle and is held to his first draw. He also has two draws with Tony Alongi. His first loss comes in his 21st pro bout, against the tough veteran Eddie Machen. His loss is attributed to poor conditioning and at the time Jerry promises that poor conditioning will never cost him another bout. He defeats Joey Orbillo, Alex Miteff, Billy Daniels, Floyd Patterson, Buster Mathis, Brian London, Jack Bodell, Mac Foster, Ron Lyle, and Thad Spencer just to name a few.

Quarry loses a disputed 15-round decision to Jimmy Ellis for the World Boxing Association version of the Heavyweight title that had been stripped away from Muhammad Ali.

Boxing Illustrated names Quarry the most popular professional boxer in the world in 1968, 1969 and in 1970 is tied with Muhammad Ali to share the honor. He fights Muhammad Ali in what is billed as the return of the champ. Quarry gets cut early in the fight and receives eighteen stitches as a result of the loss.

Quarry comes along in a boxing era that many consider to be the best of all time. In the middle 1970’s he manages himself and is trained by Gil Clancy. He continues to fight on occasion until 1992. His record over his 28-year career is 53-9-4 with 32 knockouts. He is inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.

Within a few years of his final bout, Quarry is diagnosed with dementia and is soon unable to feed or dress himself and has to be cared for by relatives, primarily his brother James, the only one of the four Quarry brothers not to box professionally. He is hospitalized with pneumonia on December 28, 1998, and then suffers cardiac arrest. He never regains consciousness and dies on January 3, 1999. He is interred at Shafter Cemetery in Shafter, California. A foundation is established in his honor to battle boxing-related dementia, a condition that has afflicted many boxers and brought Quarry’s life to an early end.