More Evidence on "The Real McCoy"

[Dave Wilton]

> I have now found still earlier evidence linking "the real
> McCoy" to Kid
> McCoy:
>
> 1904 _Los Angeles Times_ 19 Sept. 6  If "Kid" McCoy's real
> name is Selby,
> then he is not "the real McCoy," after all.
>
> It still appears most likely that "the real McCoy" is simply
> a variant of
> the Scottish phrase "the real Mackay," and Jonathon Green's
> 1901 citation
> for "real McCoy" without reference to the boxer still precedes any
> documented Kid McCoy linkage, but the Kid McCoy theory (that
> at least the
> boxer contributed to the Mackay-to-McCoy shift) is looking
> more plausible
> all the time.

Again like the quote posted earlier, as I read this quote the Kid McCoy
connection is definitely *not* the origin. Both the writer and (presumably)
the readers of this are familiar with the expression "the real McCoy." It
even casts doubt on Kid McCoy contributing to the shift from Mackay.

What it does show is that the phrase was clearly linked to the boxer in the
first decade of his rather long career. Which is not at all surprising.