Jimmy Kirkpatrick is the father of Mike Tyson who was from Grier Town, North Carolina, (a predominantly black neighborhood that was annexed by the city of Charlotte) where he was one of the neighborhood’s top baseball players. Mike Tyson’s biological father is listed as “Purcell Tyson”, a “humble cab driver” who was from Jamaica on his birth certificate.
Who Is Jimmy Kirkpatrick?
The man Mike Tyson had known as his father was a pimp named Jimmy Kirkpatrick who married and had a son, Tyson’s half-brother Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick, who would help to integrate Charlotte high school football in 1965. Jimmy Kirkpatrick left his family and moved to Brooklyn, in 1959, where he met Tyson’s mother, Lorna Mae (Smith) Tyson. Kirkpatrick frequented pool halls, gambled and hung out on the streets. Tyson said and we quote,
“My father was just a regular street guy caught up in the street world”
Jimmy Kirkpatrick left the Tyson family around the time Mike was born, leaving Tyson’s mother to care for the children on her own. In 1992, Kirkpatrick took his last breathe.
| Jimmy Kirkpatrick | Quick Information |
|---|---|
| Died | 1992 |
| Wife | Lorna Smith |
| Children | Mike Tyson, Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick, Rodney Tyson, Denise Tyson |
| Grandchildren | Amir Tyson, Miguel Leon Tyson, Ramsey Tyson, Exodus Tyson, Mikey Lorna Tyson |
| Born | North Carolina, United States |
After The Death Of Jimmy Kirkpatrick
Jimmy Kirkpatrick’s family lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant until their financial burdens necessitated a move to Brownsville when Tyson was 10 years old. Tyson spent his early years in and among risky areas where the crime rated was very high.
An interview with Tyson published in Details claimed that his first fight was with a larger youth who had stolen one of Tyson’s pigeons and removed its head. Over and over again, Tyson was caught breaking the law and fighting back against those who made fun of his lisp and high-pitched voice. He had already been arrested 38 times by the time he was 13.
Who Was Jimmy Kirkpatrick Wife?
Jimmy Kirkpatrick’s wife died when Mike Tyson was 16-years-old, leaving him in the care of D’Amato, who would become his legal guardian. In an interview Mike said,
“I never saw my mother happy with me and proud of me for doing something: she only knew me as being a wild kid running the streets, coming home with new clothes that she knew I didn’t pay for. I never got a chance to talk to her or know about her. Professionally, it has no effect, but it’s crushing emotionally and personally.”