Jack Sharkey, born as Joseph Paul Zukauskas in Binghamton's first ward, once owned the most coveted title in sports.

But his story almost happened accidentally.

Joseph joined the Navy and when stationed in Boston in 1923, heard a promoter was looking for fighters. Zukauskas lied, saying he'd fought dozens of times in the Navy and was given 100 dollars for his first fight.

That's when Joseph Paul Zukauskas became Jack Sharkey, a combination of the names Jack Dempsey and Tom Sharkey, two pro boxers at the time.

Jack went 8-1 to begin his career and eventually worked his way up the ranks and by 1926, Sharkey was fighting and beating big names in the sport like George Godfrey, Garry Wills and former heavyweight champion of the world Mike McTigue.

In 1927, Sharkey took on Jack Dempsey, the man who he named himself after, for a chance to fight Gene Tenney for the title.

According to newspapers of the day, Sharkey was in control until round seven when Dempsey allegedly began to hit low. When Jack Sharkey went to complain to a referee about it, Dempsey knocked him out cold.

Three years later, Jack Sharkey got another chance at the belt against Max Schmeling. However, Jack was disqualified when his opponent claimed he was hit below the belt, marking the only time the belt has been won on a foul.

Finally, in 1932, Jack Sharkey got his day in the sun, winning a split decision against Schmeling...A 15-round bout gave Jack Sharkey the title of heavyweight champion of the world, at the time the biggest title in sports.

Sharkey failed to defend the belt one year later, falling to Primo Carnera in a KO after winning the first five rounds of the fight. 

From 1927 to 1933, Sharkey never ranked below number four on the Ring magazine's annual heavyweight rankings. Jack fought until 1936, getting knocked out by Joe Louis, one of the greatest boxers of all time, a man who won 25 consecutive title defenses and was world heavyweight champion from 1937 to 1949. Far after his retirement, in 1974, Sharkey told Press & Sun-Bulletin, "You can sit here and recite all the records that are broke, but never forget who did it first."

From 1924 to 1936, Joseph Paul Zukauskas, a man born in a Lithuanian-speaking household in Binghamton, was one of the greatest names in sports and at one time, the heavyweight champion of the world, a man who bridged the gap between Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis, still gave flowers to boxers before and after him. Jack Sharkey, an International Boxing Hall of Famer and Binghamton first warder, comes in at number three on Fox 40's Top 40.