Jimmy Haggerty

Who was Jimmy Haggerty?

James "Wild Jimmy" Haggerty was an American criminal and well-known underworld figure in Philadelphia and later in New York during the mid-to late 19th century. Haggerty was the leader of the Schuylkill Rangers, a predominantly Irish-American street gang, which terrorized the South Philadelphia waterfront, specifically its local wharves and coal yards, for over 25 years.

Haggerty ruled over the Schuylkill Rangers throughout the 1850s and was the gang's last leader until its breakup by an undercover police lieutenant. He remained one of the city's most notorious bank robbers during the post-Civil War era and later resided in New York where he spent his last years before being murdered by Reddy the Blacksmith during a bar brawl in January 1871.