John Patrick Kilbane (April 9, 1889 – May 31, 1957) was an American featherweight boxer in the early part of the 20th century. He held the World Featherweight title from 1912 to 1923, the longest period in the division's history, having defended the title against four contenders during the reign.^[1][2][3] Statistical boxing website BoxRec lists Kilbane as the No. 2 ranked featherweight of all-time, while The Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer placed him at No. 5.^[4][5] The International Boxing Research Organization rates Kilbane as the 8th best featherweight ever.^[6] He was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1960 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995.^[4]

Kilbane was born to John and Mary (Gallagher) Kilbane in Cleveland, Ohio on April 9, 1889. His mother died when he was 3 years old and his father went blind when he was 6. He attended school until the sixth grade when he dropped out to help support his family.

Kilbane's first professional fight was in 1907, for which he earned around $25.

Kilbane would referee boxing matches after retiring from boxing, as well as operating a gym, serving in the Ohio Senate and acting as Clerk of the Cleveland Municipal Court.

Kilbane was such a popular prizefighter in his day that his name appeared in print as a verb. An unsigned commentary in the sports pages of the New York Times on May 16, 1912, reported on an episode involving Detroit baseball player Ty Cobb, who the day before, in a game between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees, had gone into the stands after a heckler. The commentary said, "The famous baseball player from Detroit, Ty Cobb chased after a heckler during a game with the New York Yankees and 'Johnny Kilbaned' him right where he stood...and in so doing stopped the profane and intolerable language dead in its tracks, along with the heckler himself". Kilbane was a distant relative of the Irish boxer John Joe Nevin, the footballer Darren Fletcher, the wrestler Giant Haystacks and the Irish footballer Kevin Kilbane. His family was originally from Achill, County Mayo, Ireland.

He died on May 31, 1957, in Cleveland, Ohio.^[3]

• 12-year reign as World Featherweight Champion
• 1995: International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee
• 2012: Street where Kilbane grew up in Cleveland (Herman Avenue) was renamed Kilbane Town^[10]
• 2012: Statue on Achill Island, County Mayo, Ireland from where his parents emigrated.^[11]
• 2014: Statue in Cleveland's Battery Park neighborhood.^[12]

All information in this section is derived from BoxRec,^[13] unless otherwise stated.