horses at the track before his retirement from boxing. He purchased a race horse and attempted to have one of his brothers ride as a jockey. He showed increasingly poor judgement in his betting as he slipped into mental illness. McGovern spent much of his later life in mental institutions, though he was able to intermittently work odd jobs. He was working as a ticket taker at the Grand Opera House in Brooklyn near the end of his life. Two months prior to his death he was visiting Camp Upton, a WW I military port of embarkation on Long Island when he took ill. He died of pneumonia and Bright's disease, a kidney ailment in the charity ward of King's County Hospital, Brooklyn, New York, on February 22, 1918, at the age of 37. He died relatively poor, considering his lifetime earnings. In his final years, he lived on a pension given to him by his manager and promoter Sam Harris. Harris had been managing some of McGovern's remaining wealth as a trust fund, and was able to give a complete estate of $10,000 to McGovern's widow, which included the home they had been living in when McGovern died. Harris looked after McGovern in his waning years, as did his friend Joe Humphries. McGovern was married and left one son, Joe, of 19 years, and had two surviving brothers, Philip and Hugh. His final service was at the Church of St. John the Evangelist, and he was subsequently buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn. Professional boxing record All information in this section is derived from BoxRec, unless otherwise stated. Official record All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as “no decision” bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column. Unofficial record Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column. See also List of bantamweight boxing champions References External links Terry McGovern - CBZ Profile Terry McGovern at Find a Grave 1880 births 1918 deaths Bantamweight boxers Irish male boxers Featherweight boxers World bantamweight boxing champions World featherweight boxing champions Vaudeville performers American people of Irish descent Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Deaths from nephritis