In the 1850s, a barroom brawler named John Morrissey took on and defeated some of the leading boxers of the time. Nicknamed “Old Smoke,” the Irish immigrant who grew up in Troy, NY, would go on to mastermind a gambling empire, found the famed Saratoga horse racing track and win a seat in the US House of Representatives. But Morrissey is also known for popularizing one enduring phrase.
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