Born in Manassa, Colorado on June 24, 1895, William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey rose to sports stardom in the 1920s. His iron strength and killer left hooks allowed Dempsey to beat Jess Willard in 1919, leaving the giant bewildered and shattered. This victory awarded Dempsey both the heavyweight title and the nickname of the "Manassa Mauler. Dempsey became a ring warrior through his tough defense of his title six times in just seven years. In most of his matches, there were no survivors. A day of disbelief for Dempsey occurred on September 23, 1926 when he was defeated by Gene Tunney and lost his heavyweight title. Tunney and Dempsey went head to head and fist to fist again in 1927 in hopes that Dempsey would reclaim his title. Dempsey lost this rematch, which was coined "The Battle of the Long Count" because of a call by the referee that Dempsey did not return to a neutral corner after Tunney had fallen. Tunney won the match three rounds later.