The Deaf Boxer Who Died After Jumping Out Of A Plane To Try And Regain His Hearing

Fred Mahan met an early end in a 1930 parachuting accident after trying something unorthodox to cure his deafness

When afflicted with various maladies, we can often become obsessed with trying anything possible to find relief or a cure. Even when these methods are nonsensical or unproven, there can still be a strong desire to at least give them a try. Unfortunately, the worst of these situations can be met with downright tragedy, as was the case with Prohibition-era boxer Fred “Dummy” Mahan, who was deaf and leapt to his death from an airplane in the hopes that parachuting was going to help him regain his hearing.

Born in Brackettville, Texas on an unknown date in 1906, Federico Mesa was of Mexican descent. His father died when he was a young child, so he assumed the last name of the man his mother remarried, William Mahan, becoming Fred Mahan.

Mahan suffered a horrible accident at an early age. A fall from his high chair when he was only eight months old left him deaf from the ensuing shock. Because this occurred when he was so young, he never developed the full ability to talk. As he grew up, he assumed the nickname of “Dummy,” the boorish but common monniker bestowed upon many who were deaf and or mute at the time.

As a young man, Mahan became enamored by boxing. It’s easy to imagine that his skill set may have been enhanced from defending himself against bullies and unfairness during his young life. He initially encountered resistance from boxing commissions who didn’t want to let him fight on cards due to his handicap. Ultimately, his manager, Fred Winsor, was able to successfully argue that Mahan’s intelligence far exceeded that of most fighters, and he was allowed to be in the ring.

Mahan’s initial organized fights were in the bootleg amateur clubs of Los Angeles, before he transitioned to professional boxing in 1923, primarily competing in the Texas area. He also fought in places like Ohio and then California.

Mahan experienced success in the ring as a welterweight. He earned victories over noted fighters like Johnny Priston, and boxed the likes of Nobe Cervantes, Jackie Fields, Gorilla Jones, Mushy Callahan, Young Corbett III, and Meyer Grace.

Sadly, his burgeoning career and life came to a shocking and sudden end on February 24, 1930. In a desperate attempt to reverse his deafness, Mahan had been seeking treatments that might effect such a permanent change. One he hit upon was parachuting, with the belief that jumping out of an airplane would create such force of air pressure that it might bring back his hearing. He had supposedly done jumps before and found that his hearing had been restored temporarily on occasion.

Taking to the skies, he arranged for a parachute jump at Mills Field near San Francisco. Hoping that another foray into the still relatively new world of airplanes and parachuting would grant him hearing, the 23-year-old was full of hope. Unfortunately, it was to be the last thing he ever did.

When his parachutes failed to fully open, Mahan fell approximately 5,000 feet into a meadow by the mudflats below and was killed instantly. Conflicting reports quickly emerged regarding the circumstances of the tragic death. While some suggested that the parachute’s shroud lines had malfunctioned or become wrapped around his foot, others claimed the boxer hadn’t follow specific instructions to not jump from Colonel Harry Abbott, the pilot and inventor of the “fool proof” parachute, who was leading that day’s endeavor and noticed issues that needed correcting.

Although Mahan had been planning this jump for months leading up to the fateful day, his manager, Winsor, had been actively trying to convince him to not go through with it. Perhaps not trusting the dangerous element of this hoped for homeopathic cure, he even tried to stop his boxer from getting on the plane moments before it took off.

In death, the story of Mahan became mysterious. His demise created widespread headlines, where some reported his name as Frederico Mesa, and others Fred Mahan. His inability to speak also left behind an incomplete record, from even his family and loved ones, about who he truly was. One thing there was no doubt about was that he was an impressive fighter, claiming 100 career bouts and an eye-catching 54 knockouts.