Richard Toner: Difference between revisions
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{{SHORTDESC:19th-century New York underworld performer}} | {{SHORTDESC:19th-century New York underworld performer}} | ||
{{Infobox criminal | {{Infobox criminal | ||
| name = | | name = Richard Toner | ||
| image = A Dog Fight at Kit Burns.jpg | | image = A Dog Fight at Kit Burns.jpg | ||
| caption = A dog fight at Kit Burns's Sportsmen's Hall in 1868; no authenticated portrait of Toner is known | | caption = A dog fight at Kit Burns's Sportsmen's Hall in 1868; no authenticated portrait of Toner is known | ||
| other_names = Jack the Rat<br>Dick the Rat<br>Jack | |||
| other_names = Dick the Rat | | occupation = Saloon worker<br>Underworld performer | ||
| occupation = Saloon worker | |||
| criminal_status = Later fate unknown | | criminal_status = Later fate unknown | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Richard Toner''', known as '''Jack the Rat''' or '''Dick the Rat''', was a 19th-century New York underworld figure and the son-in-law of | '''Richard Toner''', known as '''Jack the Rat''' or '''Dick the Rat''', was a 19th-century New York underworld figure and the son-in-law of [[Christopher Keyburn|Kit Burns]]. Accounts of Burns's Sportsmen's Hall say Toner performed for customers by biting the heads from mice and rats.<ref>Michael Batterberry, ''On the Town in New York'' (Routledge, 1998), p. 104.</ref><ref>Gerald R. Gems, Linda J. Borish and Gertrud Pfister, [https://books.google.com/books?id=sp7b2C68xFAC&pg=PA156 ''Sports in American History''] (Human Kinetics, 2008), pp. 156–157.</ref> | ||
Toner later helped operate the Water Street premises after Burns died in 1870.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1871/01/02/80311385.pdf “The ‘Band-Box’ of the Late Kit Burns”], ''The New York Times'', January 2, 1871.</ref> | Toner later helped operate the Water Street premises after Burns died in 1870.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1871/01/02/80311385.pdf “The ‘Band-Box’ of the Late Kit Burns”], ''The New York Times'', January 2, 1871.</ref> His connection to the [[Dead Rabbits]] is through later underworld histories; formal membership has not been established. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Latest revision as of 23:00, 18 August 2026
Richard Toner | |
|---|---|
 A dog fight at Kit Burns's Sportsmen's Hall in 1868; no authenticated portrait of Toner is known | |
| Other names | Jack the Rat Dick the Rat Jack |
| Occupations | Saloon worker Underworld performer |
Criminal status | Later fate unknown |
Richard Toner, known as Jack the Rat or Dick the Rat, was a 19th-century New York underworld figure and the son-in-law of Kit Burns. Accounts of Burns's Sportsmen's Hall say Toner performed for customers by biting the heads from mice and rats.[1][2]
Toner later helped operate the Water Street premises after Burns died in 1870.[3] His connection to the Dead Rabbits is through later underworld histories; formal membership has not been established.
References
[edit]- ↑ Michael Batterberry, On the Town in New York (Routledge, 1998), p. 104.
- ↑ Gerald R. Gems, Linda J. Borish and Gertrud Pfister, Sports in American History (Human Kinetics, 2008), pp. 156–157.
- ↑ “The ‘Band-Box’ of the Late Kit Burns”, The New York Times, January 2, 1871.