“Irish” Teddy Mann may be a name forgotten to boxing history, but his friends haven’t forgotten about him.

Mann thrilled his local fans in South Jersey and Philadelphia during his professional fighting days from 1977 to 1984, earning a top-10 ranking as a middleweight while fighting on major networks like NBC.

Today, Mann rests in a potter’s field in Fountain Lawn Memorial Park in Ewing, New Jersey, with just a blue stake bearing his legal name, Ted Mannschreck, to mark the location of his body. Mann, who compiled a pro record of 27-15 (14 KOs), died as a “John Doe” on December 10, 2024, after landing in a hospital while suffering from dementia. He was 73 years old and had no identification, having dropped his wallet in the woods some time before. With no information about how to contact his next of kin, Mann was buried in a cardboard box.

Now a few of Mann’s friends and supporters are holding a wake for the late boxer on September 6, with proceeds to go toward offsetting the $3,900 cost of a granite gravestone. Entrance is set at $25, and the ceremony will take place at the Charles A. Smith Community Center in Forked River, New Jersey, from 5-9 p.m., with a buffet and bagpipe player on hand while some of Mann’s fights are screened.

Joe Court, who is organizing the event, says it was the least that could be done for someone who brought such pride to the area during his fighting days.

“We just want to have a headstone, because everybody deserves a headstone,” said Court, a long-time friend of Mann’s who fronted the money for the marker. Court had lost touch with Mann, but he tracked him down to the Trenton hospital where he was being treated after receiving word that he would be inducted into the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025. That ceremony will take place from September 26-28 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Mann, then managed by Carmen Graziano, got off to a hot start in his pro career, building a record of 18-1 while becoming a favorite at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. He suffered his first significant defeat in 1979 at that same building, dropping a unanimous decision to the more experienced Bennie Briscoe over 10 rounds. Briscoe, though 36 at the time, was able to use his jab to outbox Mann. “I think I gave him too much respect,” Mann told The News of Cumberland County afterwards. “It wasn’t until the last round that I thought to myself, ‘Hey, I can beat this guy.’”

The loss sent Mann into a downward spiral for a while, as he lost seven out of his next 10 bouts – though many of them against stiff competition, including title challenger Vinnie Curto and Bobby Czyz. It wasn’t until late 1981 that Mann was able to get his career back on track, winning five straight – including a dominant victory in Atlantic City in March 1982 over world-rated Robbie Epps, who entered the fight with a 30-1 record. In a fight aired live on NBC, Mann overcame a nasty cut – “probably the worst cut I have ever seen,” Graziano told the Atlantic City Press – to score the unanimous decision win.

“I guess Epps’ people didn’t think I would be much of a fighter, being 26-8,” Mann told the Press afterwards.

Instead of letting the cut heal properly, Mann was back in the ring less than two months later. At this point in his career, his luck had run out, as he became a stepping stool after losing fights to rising contenders such as James “Hard Rock” Green, Doug DeWitt, Juan Roldan and Robbie Sims (whom Mann dropped twice in a split decision loss), and lost seven of his last eight bouts.

Through the ups and downs, Court says, Mann remained the fighting pride of the Jersey Shore.

“He was an icon,” Court said. “People would acknowledge him. And it was an honor to do road work with him, because everybody would be cheering and stuff like that. We didn't have an athlete at that time that was living in Lacey [Township].

“You can probably put Teddy up there with fighting the best. He didn't back down. He took every fight. He could take a punch. For someone his caliber, he was no punk.”

Matters took a turn for the worse for Mann in the years after boxing. In 2001, he was sentenced to five years in prison for aiding in a bank robbery. An Asbury Park Press story on the case stated that Mann had been living in motels and boarding houses in Seaside Heights in years prior.

As the damage he accumulated during his ring days began to take its toll, Mann began to alienate those around him, Court says.

“A couple years ago, he started going off the edge on a lot of things, accusing people of doing a lot of things and accusing me of doing things,” he said. “‘Are you out of your mind?’ But he was in the drug stage, and he was living in a drug-infested house, and they stole his Golden Gloves.

“I understand now, because that's what dementia does. It can really make you angry.”

Boxing rarely provides sentimental farewells for its participants. For those who remember “Irish Teddy,” the hope is to give him one final send-off.

The Charles A. Smith Community Center is located at 15 E Lacey Road in Forked River, New Jersey. Tickets can be purchased by calling Court at 732-674-4718 or emailing John Martin at jmartin.acbhof@gmail.com.

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.