Why was "Durable" Mike Malloy so called?

"The Durable" Michael Malloy (1873 – 23 February 1933), was a homeless Irish man who lived in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s. He is famous for surviving a number of murder attempts on his life by Tony Marino, Joseph Murphy, Francis Pasqua, Hershey Green and Daniel Kriesberg aka "the Murder Trust" who were trying to commit 'Life Insurance' fraud. They stood to gain over $3,500 ($66,000 by 2017's standards) if Malloy died an accidental death.

In January 1933 they tried to get him to drink himself to death having given him unlimited credit at Marino's bar. When alcohol didn't work they tried antifreeze, turpentine, horse liniment, rat poison, raw oysters, Malloy was fine.

One night the temperature was −26 °C. Malloy drank, passed out, was carried to a park, dumped in the snow hoping he would freeze. He appeared the next day for his drink.

They hit him with a taxi moving at 45mph. When Malloy was released from hospital he went to the bar.

On 23 February 1933, he passed out, they put a hose in his mouth that was connected to the gas jet, and turned it on. This finally killed Malloy.

Upon learning that Malloy had died the police had his body forensically examined.

The five men were put on trial and subsequently convicted. Green went to prison, while the other four members were sentenced to death and executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing in Ossining, New York. Kriesberg, Marino, and Pasqua on 7 June 1934 and Murphy on 5 July 1934.