Manassa not ready to forget Dempsey
Houston TX Chronicle 1Aug99 C7
By W.H. Stickney Jr.

MANASA, COLORADO -- Former heavyweight champion William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey is being honored posthumously in Manassa, Colorado with a bronze statue that will be dedicated in front of the Jack Dempsey Museum. Dempsey died in 1983. Jack chose his fighting name saying that he wasn't a very faithful Mormon. The term "Jack Mormon" has been used in a derogatory sense to describe a member who eschews the standard practices.

Dempsey was born in Manassa Colorado. It is currently a small mining town with a population of 988 and is located in southern Colorado near the New Mexico border. The Jack Dempsey museum located there was the Dempsey family home where he was raised with his 10 siblings. Dempsey donated the log cabin to the town in 1963

Resident, art teacher and sculpture Bob Booth is credited with the design of the statue. Booth studied Dempsey for two years before finalizing the design. He feels he has captured the strength as well as the gentlemanly aspect of Dempsy. Jack Dempsey was champion from 1919 to 1926 and was known to extend his hand to his defeated opponent.