Jack Ring (1858 – September 9, 1919) was born in Ireland but came to St. Joseph when he was only four years old.   

Jack Ring was a household name in St. Joseph for many years. Ring didn’t know the meaning of fear. He performed more heroics, made more rescues from the Missouri River and performed many daredevil stunts. He knew the Missouri River more than anyone who ever lived!

He received a Carnegie Metal for heroism. He received many other metals too, but they were stolen from the novel little home he lived in. He performed many heroic acts for over 50 years, mostly in the area of the Missouri River which he loved. It has been said that he saved over 300 lives from the turbulent waters of the Missouri River. He was fearless in battling the currents or floods. Among those saved were several persons who were planning to take their own life by drowning.

In Jack Ring’s later life, several grateful citizens built Jack a little house close to the river near the Grand Island Bridge. Over the door was painted a large circle with his name JACK in it. The home washed away in the 1927 flood several years after Jack was gone.

Ring performed many truly amazing stunts over his lifetime to entertain people. He was the first man in St. Joseph to make a parachute jump. Jack made numerous accents in hot air balloons, performing from attached trapezes hundreds of feet in the air. These are just a couple of examples of what he did.

On Sept 9th, 1919, he climbed to the top of a silo at the Veterans Hospital in Leavenworth, Kansas to repair it. He fell to the ground as his hands slipped. He passed away that day.

Jack Ring is a St. Joseph legend.