Lithistman (talk | contribs) Reverted to revision 486004818 by 98.232.217.26: Unsourced commentary on Johnson's behavior, as well as an attempted "white"wash of his legacy.. (TW) |
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Johnson was born in [[Galveston, Texas]], the second child and first son of Henry and Tina "Tiny" Johnson, former slaves who worked at blue-collar jobs to raise six children and taught them how to read and write. Henry Johnson traced his ancestry back to the [[Coromantee people|Coromantees]] who came from modern-day [[Ghana]].<ref>{{cite book |last=West |first=Sandra L. |chapter=Johnson, Jack |title=Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance |location= |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=0-8160-4539-9 |page=177 }}</ref> Johnson dropped out of school after just five or six years of education to get a job as a dock worker in Galveston. |
Johnson was born in [[Galveston, Texas]], the second child and first son of Henry and Tina "Tiny" Johnson, former slaves who worked at blue-collar jobs to raise six children and taught them how to read and write. Henry Johnson traced his ancestry back to the [[Coromantee people|Coromantees]] who came from modern-day [[Ghana]].<ref>{{cite book |last=West |first=Sandra L. |chapter=Johnson, Jack |title=Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance |location= |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=0-8160-4539-9 |page=177 }}</ref> Johnson dropped out of school after just five or six years of education to get a job as a dock worker in Galveston. |
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On 25 February 1901, Johnson fought [[Joe Choynski]] in Galveston. Choynski, a popular and experienced heavyweight, knocked out Johnson in the third round. Because prizefighting was illegal at the time, they were both arrested. Bail was set at $5,000 which neither could afford. The sheriff permitted both fighters to go home at night so long as they returned to spar in the jail cell. Large crowds gathered to watch the sessions. After 25 days in jail, their bail was reduced to an affordable level and a grand jury refused to indict either man. However, Johnson later stated that he learned his boxing skills during that jail time. The two would remain friends.<ref>{{cite journal | title =The Making of Jack Johnson |last=Kroger |first=Bill |year=2012 |month=March |title= |journal=Texas Bar Journal |volume=75 |issue=9 |page=206 |location=Austin, TX |publisher=State Bar of Texas |editor1-first=Michelle |editor1-last=Hunter |accessdate=1 Apr 2012}}</ref> |
On 25 February 1901, Johnson fought [[Joe Choynski]] in Galveston. Choynski, a popular and experienced heavyweight, knocked out Johnson in the third round. Because prizefighting was illegal at the time, they were both arrested. Bail was set at $5,000 which neither could afford. The sheriff permitted both fighters to go home at night so long as they returned to spar in the jail cell. Large crowds gathered to watch the sessions. After 25 days in jail, their bail was reduced to an affordable level and a grand jury refused to indict either man. However, Johnson later stated that he learned his boxing skills during that jail time. The two would remain friends.<ref>{{cite journal | title =The Making of Jack Johnson while suckin a man up. |last=Kroger |first=Bill |year=2012 |month=March |title= |journal=Texas Bar Journal |volume=75 |issue=9 |page=206 |location=Austin, TX |publisher=State Bar of Texas |editor1-first=Michelle |editor1-last=Hunter |accessdate=1 Apr 2012}}</ref> |
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Johnson's boxing style was very distinctive. He developed a more patient approach than was customary in that day, basically playing with his opponents, often carrying on a conversation with ringsiders at the same time as he was fighting. Johnson would begin a bout cautiously, slowly building up over the rounds into a more aggressive fighter. When annoyed, he often fought to punish his opponents rather than knock them out, endlessly avoiding their blows and striking with swift counters. He always gave the impression of having much more to offer and, if pushed, he could punch powerfully. There are films of some of his fights in which he can be seen holding up his opponent, who otherwise might have fallen, until he recovered. |
Johnson's boxing style was very distinctive. He developed a more patient approach than was customary in that day, basically playing with his opponents, often carrying on a conversation with ringsiders at the same time as he was fighting. Johnson would begin a bout cautiously, slowly building up over the rounds into a more aggressive fighter. When annoyed, he often fought to punish his opponents rather than knock them out, endlessly avoiding their blows and striking with swift counters. He always gave the impression of having much more to offer and, if pushed, he could punch powerfully. There are films of some of his fights in which he can be seen holding up his opponent, who otherwise might have fallen, until he recovered. |
Revision as of 19:28, 16 April 2012
Jack Johnson | |
---|---|
Born | John Arthur Johnson March 31, 1878 |
Died | June 10, 1946 | (aged 68)
Nationality | American |
Other names | Galveston Giant |
Statistics | |
Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
Height | 6 ft 1⁄2 in (1.84 m) |
Reach | 74 in (188 cm) |
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 114 |
Wins | 80 |
Wins by KO | 45 |
Losses | 8 |
Draws | 12 |
No contests | 14 |
John Arthur ("Jack") Johnson (March 31, 1878 – June 10, 1946), nicknamed the “Galveston Giant,” was an American boxer. At the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion (1908–1915). In a documentary about his life, Ken Burns notes, "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African-American on Earth."[1] Johnson attests that his success in boxing came from the coaching he received from Joe Choynski, who became his cellmate after the pair were arrested for fighting in Texas, where boxing was illegal at the time.[2][3] The aging Choynski saw natural talent and determination in Johnson and taught him the nuances of defense, stating "A man who can move like you should never have to take a punch".[4] He is considered a boxing legend and was the first person ever to knock down James J. Jeffries in a professional boxing bout. Their fight is to this day considered a seminal moment in boxing history.
Early life
Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas, the second child and first son of Henry and Tina "Tiny" Johnson, former slaves who worked at blue-collar jobs to raise six children and taught them how to read and write. Henry Johnson traced his ancestry back to the Coromantees who came from modern-day Ghana.[5] Johnson dropped out of school after just five or six years of education to get a job as a dock worker in Galveston.
On 25 February 1901, Johnson fought Joe Choynski in Galveston. Choynski, a popular and experienced heavyweight, knocked out Johnson in the third round. Because prizefighting was illegal at the time, they were both arrested. Bail was set at $5,000 which neither could afford. The sheriff permitted both fighters to go home at night so long as they returned to spar in the jail cell. Large crowds gathered to watch the sessions. After 25 days in jail, their bail was reduced to an affordable level and a grand jury refused to indict either man. However, Johnson later stated that he learned his boxing skills during that jail time. The two would remain friends.[6]
Johnson's boxing style was very distinctive. He developed a more patient approach than was customary in that day, basically playing with his opponents, often carrying on a conversation with ringsiders at the same time as he was fighting. Johnson would begin a bout cautiously, slowly building up over the rounds into a more aggressive fighter. When annoyed, he often fought to punish his opponents rather than knock them out, endlessly avoiding their blows and striking with swift counters. He always gave the impression of having much more to offer and, if pushed, he could punch powerfully. There are films of some of his fights in which he can be seen holding up his opponent, who otherwise might have fallen, until he recovered. Those were the days when the (mostly white) patrons liked value for money, and it was a habit, especially for black boxers, to make the fight last a respectable time. With the many bouts a fighter engaged in, it was commonplace to have fought the same opponent as many as a dozen or even more times. So it is highly likely that the results of many of these fights were "pre-arranged," and also pre-determined to last a goodly number of rounds.
Johnson's style was very effective, but it was criticized in the press as being cowardly and devious. By contrast, world heavyweight champion "Gentleman" Jim Corbett had used many of the same techniques a decade earlier, and was praised by the press as "the cleverest man in boxing."[1]
By 1902, Johnson had won at least 50 fights against both white and black opponents. Johnson won his first title on February 3, 1903, beating "Denver" Ed Martin over 20 rounds for the World Colored Heavyweight Championship. His efforts to win the full title were thwarted, as world heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries refused to face him then. Black and white boxers could meet in other competitions, but the world heavyweight championship was off limits to them. However, Johnson did fight former champion Bob Fitzsimmons in July 1907, and knocked him out in two rounds.[1] There is a report that Johnson even fought and KO'd Jim Jeffries' brother Jack, and taunted him about it to force a fight, with no success.
Johnson finally won the world heavyweight title on December 26, 1908, a full six years after lightweight champion Joe Gans became the first African American boxing champion. Johnson's victory over the reigning world champion, Canadian Tommy Burns, in Sydney, Australia, came after stalking Burns around the world for two years and taunting him in the press for a match.[7] The fight lasted fourteen rounds[8] before being stopped by the police in front of over 20,000 spectators. The title was awarded to Johnson on a referee's decision as a knockout.
After Johnson's victory over Burns, racial animosity among whites ran so deep that it was called out for a "Great White Hope" to take the title away from Johnson.[9] As title holder, Johnson thus had to face a series of fighters each billed by boxing promoters as a "great white hope," often in exhibition matches. In 1909, he beat Frank Moran, Tony Ross, Al Kaufman, and the middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel. The match with Ketchel was originally thought to have been an exhibition, and in fact it was fought by both men that way, until the 12th round, when Ketchel threw a right to Johnson's head, knocking him down. Quickly regaining his feet, and very annoyed, Johnson immediately dashed straight at Ketchell and threw a single punch, an uppercut, a punch for which he was famous, to Ketchel's jaw, knocking him out. One of the most pervasive myths is that several of Ketchel's teeth stuck in Johnson's glove, because the filmed fight shows Johnson touching his wrist after having knocked Ketchell out. However, former lightweight champion Jimmy Britt swore that this did not happen, but that his brother Willus, who was Ketchell's manager at the time, found a tooth in a ring somewhere, and later had it mounted on his watchchain. When Willus unexpectedly died, he inherited the gold watch and chain, in a collection of his personal belongings, which shortly disappeared, and he never recovered it. Even a casual inspection of the saggy horsehair-filled 5 oz. gloves would show that it would be impossible for teeth to stick to a glove, apart from the fact that it would have been the only time in recorded boxing history that such a thing had occurred.
Johnson's fight 4 months earlier with Philadelphia Jack O'Brien had been a disappointing one for Johnson: though weighing 205 pounds (93 kg) to O'Brien's 161 pounds (73 kg), he could only achieve a six-round draw with the great middleweight.
The "Fight of the Century"
In 1910, former undefeated heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries came out of retirement to challenge Johnson. He had not fought in six years and had to lose well over 100 pounds to get back to his championship fighting weight. Initially Jeffries had no interest in the fight being quite happy as an alfalfa farmer. But those who wanted to see Johnson defeated badgered Jeffries unmercifully for months, and also offered him an unheard sum of money, reputed to be about $120,000 and he finally acquiesced.
Jeffries remained mostly hidden from media attention until the day of the fight, meanwhile Johnson was soaking up the spotlight. John L. Sullivan who made boxing championships a popular and esteemed spectacle stated that Johnson was in such good physical shape compared to Jeffries that he could only lose if he had a lack of skill on the day. Before the fight, Jeffries remarked It is my intention to go right after my opponent and knock him out as soon as possible while his wife added I'm not interested in prizefighting but I am interested in my husband's welfare, I do hope this will be his last fight. Johnson's words were May the best man win.
Racial tension was brewing leading up to the fight and to prevent any harm to either boxer, guns were prohibited within the arena as was the sale of alcohol or anyone under the effects of alcohol. Behind the racial attitudes being instigated by the media was a major investment in gambling for the fight with 10-7 odds in favor of Jeffries.
The fight took place on July 4, 1910 in front of 20,000 people, at a ring built just for the occasion in downtown Reno, Nevada. Jeffries proved unable to impose his will on the younger champion and Johnson dominated the fight. By the 15th round, after Jeffries had been knocked down twice for the first time in his career, Jeffries corner threw in the towel to end the fight and prevent Jeffries from having a knock out on his record. Johnson later remarked he knew the fight was over in the 4th round when he landed an uppercut and saw the look on Jeffries face, stating I knew what that look meant, the old ship was sinking..
The "Fight of the Century" earned Johnson $65,000 and silenced the critics, who had belittled Johnson's previous victory over Tommy Burns as "empty," claiming that Burns was a false champion since Jeffries had retired undefeated. John L. Sullivan commented after the fight that never had a fight been one-sided and that Johnson fought fairly at all times.
Riots and aftermath
The outcome of the fight triggered race riots that evening—the Fourth of July—all across the United States, from Texas and Colorado to New York and Washington, D.C. Johnson's victory over Jeffries had dashed white dreams of finding a "great white hope" to defeat him. Many whites felt humiliated by the defeat of Jeffries.[1]
Blacks, on the other hand, were jubilant, and celebrated Johnson's great victory as a victory for racial advancement. Black poet William Waring Cuney later highlighted the black reaction to the fight in his poem "My Lord, What a Morning." Around the country, blacks held spontaneous parades and gathered in prayer meetings.
Some "riots" were simply blacks celebrating in the streets. In certain cities, like Chicago, the police did not disturb the celebrations. But in other cities, the police and angry white citizens tried to subdue the revelers. Police interrupted several attempted lynchings. In all, "riots" occurred in more than 25 states and 50 cities. About 23 blacks and two whites died in the riots, and hundreds more were injured.[10]
Film of the bout
A number of leading American film companies joined forces to shoot footage of the Jeffries-Johnson fight and turn it into a feature-length documentary film, at the cost of $250,000. The film, known as Jeffries-Johnson World's Championship Boxing Contest, was distributed widely in the U.S. and was exhibited internationally as well. As a result, Congress banned prizefight films from being distributed across state lines in 1912; the ban was lifted in 1940. In 2005, the film of the Jeffries-Johnson "Fight of the Century" was entered into the United States National Film Registry as being worthy of preservation.[11]
In the United States, many states and cities banned the exhibition of the Johnson-Jeffries film. The movement to censor Johnson's victory took over the country within three days after the fight.[12] It was a spontaneous movement. Two weeks after the match former President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid boxer and fan, wrote an article for The Outlook in which he supported banning not just moving pictures of boxing matches, but a complete ban on all prize fights in America. He cited the "crookedness" and gambling that surrounded such contests and that moving pictures have "introduced a new method of money getting and of demoralization."[12]
Loss of the title
On April 5, 1915, Johnson lost his title to Jess Willard, a working cowboy from Kansas who started boxing when he was twenty-seven years old. With a crowd of 25,000 at Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba, Johnson was knocked out in the 26th round of the scheduled 45 round fight. Johnson, although having won almost every round, began to tire after the 20th round, and was visibly hurt by heavy body punches from Willard in rounds preceding the 26th round knockout. Johnson is said by many to have spread rumors that he took a dive,[13] but Willard is widely regarded as having won the fight outright. Willard said, "If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he'd done it sooner. It was hotter than hell out there."
Personal life
Johnson was an early example of the celebrity athlete in the modern era, appearing regularly in the press and later on radio and in motion pictures. He earned considerable sums endorsing various products, including patent medicines, and indulged several expensive hobbies such as automobile racing and tailored clothing, as well as purchasing jewelry and furs for his wives.[14] He even challenged champion racer Barney Oldfield to a match auto race at the Sheepshead Bay, New York one mile (1.6 km) dirt track. Oldfield, far more experienced, easily out-distanced Johnson, ending any thoughts the boxer might have had about becoming a professional driver.[15] Once, when he was pulled over for a $50 speeding ticket (a large sum at the time), he gave the officer a $100 bill; when the officer protested that he couldn't make change for that much, Johnson told him to keep the change, as he was going to make his return trip at the same speed.[1] Johnson was also interested in opera (his favorite being Il Trovatore) and in history — he was an admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte, believing him to have risen from a similar origin to his own. In 1920, Johnson opened a night club in Harlem; he sold it three years later to a gangster, Owney Madden, who renamed it the Cotton Club.
Johnson constantly flouted conventions regarding the social and economic "place" of blacks in American society. As a black man, he broke a powerful taboo in consorting with white women, and would constantly and arrogantly verbally taunt men (both white and black) inside and outside the ring. Johnson was pompous about his affection for white women, and imperious about his physical prowess, both in and out of the ring. Asked the secret of his staying power by a reporter who had watched a succession of women parade into, and out of, the champion's hotel room, Johnson supposedly said "Eat jellied eels and think distant thoughts".[16]
Johnson was married three times. All of his wives were white, a fact that caused considerable controversy at the time. In January 1911, Johnson married Etta Terry Duryea. A Brooklyn socialite and former wife of businessman Charles Duryea, she met Johnson at a car race in 1909. Their romantic involvement was very turbulent. Beaten many times by Johnson and suffering from severe depression, she committed suicide in September 1912, shooting herself with a revolver.[17]
Less than three months later, on December 4, 1912, Johnson married Lucille Cameron. After Johnson married Cameron, two ministers in the South recommended that Johnson be lynched. Cameron divorced him in 1924 because of infidelity.
The next year, Johnson married Irene Pineau. When asked by a reporter at Johnson's funeral what she had loved about him, she replied, "I loved him because of his courage. He faced the world unafraid. There wasn't anybody or anything he feared."[17]
Johnson had no children.
Prison sentence
On October 18, 1912, Johnson was arrested on the grounds that his relationship with Lucille Cameron violated the Mann Act against "transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes" due to her being an alleged prostitute and due to Johnson being black. Cameron, soon to become his second wife, refused to cooperate and the case fell apart. Less than a month later, Johnson was arrested again on similar charges. This time, the woman, another alleged prostitute named Belle Schreiber, with whom he had been involved in 1909 and 1910, testified against him. In the courtroom of Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the future Commissioner of Baseball who perpetuated the baseball color line until his death, Johnson was convicted by an all-white jury in June 1913,[18] despite the fact that the incidents used to convict him took place prior to passage of the Mann Act.[1] He was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.
Johnson skipped bail and left the country, joining Lucille in Montreal on June 25, before fleeing to France. For the next seven years, they lived in exile in Europe, South America and Mexico. Johnson returned to the U.S. on July 20, 1920. He surrendered to Federal agents at the Mexican border and was sent to the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth to serve his sentence September 1920 as Inmate #15461.[19]
While incarcerated, Johnson found need for a tool that would help tighten loosened fastening devices, and modified a wrench for the task. He patented his improvements on April 18, 1922, as US Patent 1,413,121.[20][21] He was released on July 9, 1921.[1]
There have been recurring proposals to grant Johnson a posthumous presidential pardon. A bill requesting President George W. Bush to pardon Johnson in 2008, passed the House,[22] but failed to pass in the Senate.[23] In April 2009, Senator John McCain, along with Representative Peter King, filmmaker Ken Burns and Johnson's great-niece, Linda Haywood, requested a presidential pardon for Johnson from President Barack Obama.[24] On July 29, 2009, Congress passed a resolution calling on President Obama to issue a pardon.[25]
Later life
Johnson continued fighting, but age was catching up with him. He fought professionally until 1938 at age 60 when he lost 7 of his last 9 bouts, losing his final fight to Walter Price by a 7th-round TKO. It is often suggested that any bouts after the age of 40 -which was a very venerable age for boxing in those days- be not counted on his actual record, since he was basically performing to make a living, for money. He also indulged in what was known as "cellar" fighting, where the bouts, unadvertised, were fought for private audiences, usually in cellars, or other unrecognised places. There are photographs existing of one of these fights. Johnson made his final ring appearance at age 67 on November 27, 1945, fighting three one minute exhibition rounds against two opponents, Joe Jeanette and John Ballcort, in a benefit fight card for U.S. War Bonds.[26][27]
On June 10, 1946, Johnson died in a car crash on U.S. Highway 1 near Franklinton, North Carolina, a small town near Raleigh, after racing angrily from a diner that refused to serve him.[28] He was taken to the closest black hospital, Saint Agnes Hospital in Raleigh. He was 68 years old at the time of his death. He was buried next to Etta Duryea Johnson at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.[29] His grave was initially unmarked, but a stone that bears only the name "Johnson" now stands above the plots of Jack, Etta, and Irene Pineau.[29]
Legacy
Johnson was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1954, and is on the roster of both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. In 2005, the United States National Film Preservation Board deemed the film of the 1910 Johnson-Jeffries fight "historically significant" and put it in the National Film Registry.
Johnson's skill as a fighter and the money that it brought made it impossible for him to be ignored by the establishment. In the short term, the boxing world reacted against Johnson's legacy. But Johnson foreshadowed one of the most famous boxers of all time, Muhammad Ali. In fact, Ali often spoke of how he was influenced by Jack Johnson. Ali identified with Johnson because he felt America ostracized him in the same manner because of his opposition to the Vietnam War and affiliation with the Nation of Islam.[30]
In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Jack Johnson on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.[31]
Popular culture
Johnson's story is the basis of the play and subsequent 1970 movie The Great White Hope, starring James Earl Jones as Johnson (known as Jack Jefferson in the movie), and Jane Alexander as his love interest.
In 2005, filmmaker Ken Burns produced a 2-part documentary about Johnson's life, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, based on the 2004 nonfiction book of the same name by Geoffrey C. Ward.
Folksinger and blues musician Leadbelly references Johnson in a song about the Titanic: “Jack Johnson wanna get on board, Captain said I ain't hauling no coal. Fare thee, Titanic, fare thee well. When Jack Johnson heard that mighty shock, mighta seen the man do the Eagle rock. Fare thee, Titanic, fare thee well” (The Eagle Rock was a popular dance at the time). In 1969, American folk singer Jamie Brockett reworked the Leadbelly song into a satirical talking blues called "The Legend of the U.S.S. Titanic." It should be noted there is no convincing evidence that Johnson was in fact refused passage on the Titanic because of his race, as these songs allege.
Miles Davis's 1971 album entitled A Tribute to Jack Johnson was inspired by Johnson. The end of the record features the actor Brock Peters (as Johnson) saying:
I'm Jack Johnson. Heavyweight champion of the world. I'm black. They never let me forget it. I'm black all right! I'll never let them forget it!
Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis both have done soundtracks for documentaries about Johnson. Several hip-hop activists have also reflected on Johnson's legacy, most notably in the album The New Danger, by Mos Def, in which songs like "Zimzallabim" and "Blue Black Jack" are devoted to the artist's pugilistic hero. Additionally, both Southern punk rock band This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb and alternative country performer Tom Russell have songs dedicated to Johnson. Russell's piece is both a tribute and a biting indictment of the racism Johnson faced: “here comes Jack Johnson, like he owns the town, there's a lot of white Americans like to see a man go down… like to see a black man drown.”
Atlanta based "flower punk" rock band the Black Lips recorded a song on their 2009 album 200 Million Thousand called "Big Black Baby Jesus of Today" which features the lyric "You can't be the Jack Johnson of Today/Big Black Baby Jesus on the way."
Johnson was referenced in the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and he is mentioned in the 1940 book Native Son by author Richard Wright. Furthermore, 41st street in Galveston is named Jack Johnson Blvd.
Wal-Mart created a controversy in 2006 when DVD shoppers were directed from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Planet of the Apes to the "similar item" Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.[32]
Ray Emery of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL sported a mask with a picture of Johnson on it as a tribute to his love for boxing.
In the trenches of World War One, Johnson's name was used by British troops to describe the impact of German 150 mm heavy artillery shells which had a black colour.[33] In his letters home to his wife, Rupert Edward Inglis (1863–1916), who was a former rugby international and now a Forces Chaplain, describes passing through the town of Albert:
We went through the place today (2 October 1915) where the Virgin Statue at the top of the Church was hit by a shell in January. The statue was knocked over, but has never fallen, I sent you a picture of it. It really is a wonderful sight. It is incomprehensible how it can have stayed there, but I think it is now lower than when the photograph was taken, and no doubt will come down with the next gale. The Church and village are wrecked, there’s a huge hole made by a Jack Johnson just outside the west door of the Church.[34]
Jack Johnson was painted several times by Raymond Saunders.
In Joe R. Lansdale's short story The Big Blow, Johnson is featured fighting a white boxer brought in by Galveston, Texas's boxing fans to defeat the African American fighter during the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. The story won a Bram Stoker Award and was expanded into a novel.[35]
Johnson is the subject of the biographical comic book The Original Johnson, by writer/artist Trevor Von Eeden.[36]
In 2011, Jack Johnson was featured on EA Sports Fight Night Champion as downloadable content on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Johnson was part of the "Legends Pack" with Jack Dempsey, Floyd Patterson, Joe Louis, and Rocky Marciano.[37]
Johnson is a major character in the novel The Killings of Stanley Ketchel (2005), by James Carlos Blake.
Professional boxing record
73 Wins (40 knockouts, 30 decisions, 3 disqualifications), 13 Losses (7 knockouts, 5 decisions, 1 disqualification), 10 Draws, 5 No Contests [38] | |||||||
Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Exhibition | 73-13-10 | John Ballcort | Exh | 3 (10) | November 27, 1945 | New York City, NY | |
Exhibition | 73-13-10 | Joe Jeanette | Exh | 3 (10) | November 27, 1945 | New York City, NY | |
Loss | 73-13-10 | Walter Price | KO | 7 (10) | September 1, 1938 | Boston, MA | |
Win | 73-12-10 | Dick Anderson | KO | 3 | November 29, 1932 | Chicago, IL | |
Win | 72-12-10 | Brad Simmons | KO | 2 | April 28, 1931 | Wichita, KS | |
Loss | 71-12-10 | Brad Simmons | Decision | 10 | March 4, 1931 | Tulsa, OK | |
Loss | 71-11-10 | Bill Hartwell | TKO | 6 (10) | May 15, 1928 | Kansas City, MO | Johnson did not continue after the sixth round. |
Loss | 71-10-10 | Bearcat Wright | KO | 5 (10) | April 16, 1928 | Topeka, KS | Wright's real name was Ed Wright. |
Loss | 71-9-10 | Brad Simmons | Decision | 10 | September 6, 1926 | Ponca City, OK | |
Loss | 71-8-10 | Battling Norfolk | Decision | 10 | July 1, 1926 | Unknown | |
Loss | 71-7-10 | Bob Lawson | TKO | 7 (12) | May 30, 1926 | Juárez, MEX | Johnson did not continue after the seventh round. |
Win | 71-6-10 | Pat Lester | Decision | 15 | May 2, 1926 | Nogales, MEX | |
Win | 70-6-10 | Homer Smith | Decision | 10 | February 22, 1924 | Montreal, CAN | |
Win | 69-6-10 | Jack Thompson | Decision | 12 | May 20, 1923 | Havana, CUB | |
Win | 68-6-10 | Farmer Lodge | KO | 4 | May 6, 1923 | Havana, CUB | Lodge's real name was Walter Fakeskie. |
Win | 67-6-10 | Joe Boykin | KO | 5 | May 28, 1921 | Leavenworth, KS | |
Win | 66-6-10 | Jack Townsend | KO | 6 | April 15, 1921 | Leavenworth, KS | |
Win | 65-6-10 | Jack Johnson | Decision | 4 | November 25, 1920 | Leavenworth, KS | |
Win | 64-6-10 | Frank Owens | KO | 6 (6) | November 25, 1920 | Leavenworth, KS | |
Win | 63-6-10 | George Roberts | KO | 3 | September 28, 1920 | Tijuana, MEX | |
Win | 62-6-10 | Bob Wilson | KO | 3 | April 18, 1920 | Mexicali, MEX | |
Win | 61-6-10 | Marty Cutler | KO | 6 (25) | September 28, 1919 | Mexico City, MEX | |
Win | 60-6-10 | Tom Cowler | KO | 15 (15) | August 10, 1919 | Nuevo Laredo, MEX | |
Win | 59-6-10 | Bob Roper | Decision | 10 | June 22, 1919 | Mexico City, MEX | |
Win | 58-6-10 | Bill Flint | KO | 2 | February 12, 1919 | Madrid, ESP | |
Win | 57-6-10 | Blink McCloskey | Decision | 4 | April 3, 1918 | Madrid, ESP | |
Win | 56-6-10 | Arthur Cravan | KO | 6 (20) | April 23, 1916 | Barcelona, ESP | |
Win | 55-6-10 | Frank Crozier | TKO | Unknown | March 23, 1916 | Madrid, ESP | |
Loss | 54-6-10 | Jess Willard | KO | 26 (45), 1:26 | April 5, 1915 | Havana, CUB | Lost World Heavyweight title. |
Win | 54-5-10 | Jack Murray | KO | 3 (10) | December 15, 1914 | Buenos Aires, ARG | |
Win | 53-5-10 | Frank Moran | Decision | 20 | June 27, 1914 | Paris, FRA | Retained World Heavyweight title. |
Draw | 52-5-10 | Jim Johnson | Draw | 10 | December 19, 1913 | Paris, FRA | Retained World Heavyweight title. |
Win | 52–5–9 | Jim Flynn | TKO | 9 (45) | July 4, 1912 | Las Vegas, NM | Retained World Heavyweight title. |
Win | 51–5–9 | James J. Jeffries | TKO | 15 (45), 2:20 | July 4, 1910 | Reno, NV | Retained World Heavyweight title. |
Win | 50–5–9 | Stanley Ketchel | KO | 12 (15) | October 16, 1909 | Colma, CA | Retained World Heavyweight title. |
Win | 49–5–9 | Al Kaufmann | Decision | 10 | September 9, 1909 | San Francisco, CA | Retained World Heavyweight title. Decision given in an Associated Press report. |
Win | 48–5–9 | Tony Ross | Decision | 6 | June 30, 1909 | Pittsburgh, PA | Retained World Heavyweight title. Decision given by The Washington Post. |
Draw | 47–5–9 | Jack O'Brien | Draw | 6 | May 19, 1909 | Philadelphia, PA | Retained World Heavyweight title. Newspapers reported differing results. |
Win | 47–5–8 | Tommy Burns | Decision | 14 | December 26, 1908 | Sydney, AUS | Won World Heavyweight title. |
Win | 46–5–8 | Ben Taylor | TKO | 8 (20) | July 31, 1908 | Plymouth, ENG | |
Win | 45–5–8 | Jim Flynn | KO | 11 (45), 1:30 | November 6, 1907 | San Francisco, CA | |
Win | 44–5–8 | Sailor Burke | Decision | 6 | September 12, 1907 | Bridgeport, CT | Decision given by the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. |
Win | 43–5–8 | Kid Cutler | KO | 1 | August 28, 1907 | Reading, PA | |
Win | 42–5–8 | Bob Fitzsimmons | KO | 2 (6) | July 17, 1907 | Philadelphia, PA | |
Win | 41–5–8 | Bill Lang | TKO | 9 (20) | March 4, 1907 | Melbourne, AUS | |
Win | 40–5–8 | Peter Felix | KO | 1 (20) | February 19, 1907 | Sydney, AUS | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Draw | 39–5–8 | Joe Jeanette | Decision | 10 | November 26, 1906 | Portland, ME | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Win | 39–5–7 | Jim Jeffords | Decision | 6 | November 8, 1906 | Lancaster, PA | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. Decision given by the Philadelphia Item. |
Win | 38–5–7 | Joe Jeanette | Decision | 6 | September 20, 1906 | Philadelphia, PA | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. Decision given by the Kennebec Journal. |
Draw | 37–5–7 | Billy Dunning | Draw | 10 | September 3, 1906 | Millinocket, ME | |
Win | 37–5–6 | Charlie Haghey | KO | 2 (12) | June 18, 1906 | Gloucester, MA | |
Win | 36–5–6 | Sam Langford | Decision | 15 | April 26, 1906 | Chelsea, MA | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Win | 35–5–6 | Black Bill | KO | 7 (10) | April 16, 1906 | Wilkes-Barre, PA | Black Bill's real name was Claude Brooks. |
Win | 34–5–6 | Joe Jeanette | Decision | 15 | March 14, 1906 | Baltimore, MD | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Win | 33–5–6 | Bob Kerns | KO | 1 (10) | January 26, 1906 | Topeka, KS | |
Win | 32–5–6 | Joe Jeanette | Decision | 3 | January 16, 1906 | New York City, NY | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. Decision given by the Boston Globe. |
NC | 31–5–6 | Joe Jeanette | No decision | 6 | December 2, 1905 | Philadelphia, PA | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Win | 31–5–6 | Young Peter Jackson | Decision | 12 | December 1, 1905 | Baltimore, MD | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. Decision given by the Durango Democrat and New York World. |
Loss | 30–5–6 | Joe Jeanette | Disqualification | 2 | November 25, 1905 | Philadelphia, PA | World Colored Heavyweight title was on the line. Johnson continued to claim the title due to losing by disqualification. |
Win | 30–4–6 | Joe Grim | Decision | 6 | July 24, 1905 | Philadelphia, PA | Decision given by the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. |
Win | 29–4–6 | Sandy Ferguson | Disqualification | 7 (15) | July 18, 1905 | Chelsea, MA | Ferguson was disqualified for delivering a knee twice to Johnson's groin. |
Win | 28–4–6 | Morris Harris | Decision | 3 | July 13, 1905 | Philadelphia, PA | |
Win | 27–4–6 | Black Bill | KO | 1 (3) | July 13, 1905 | Philadelphia, PA | |
Win | 26–4–6 | Jack Munroe | Decision | 6 | June 26, 1905 | Philadelphia, PA | Decision given by the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. |
NC | 25–4–6 | Joe Jeanette | No decision | 6 | May 19, 1905 | Philadelphia, PA | |
Win | 25–4–6 | Walter Johnson | KO | 3 | May 9, 1904 | Philadelphia, PA | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Draw | 24–4–6 | Joe Jeanette | Draw | 3 | May 9, 1904 | Philadelphia, PA | The fight was declared even by both the New York World and Washington Times. |
Win | 24–4–5 | Black Bill | KO | 4 (6) | May 2, 1904 | Philadelphia, PA | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Win | 23–4–5 | Jim Jeffords | KO | 4 (6) | April 25, 1905 | Philadelphia, PA | |
Loss | 22–4–5 | Marvin Hart | Decision | 20 | March 28, 1905 | San Francisco, CA | |
Win | 22–3–5 | Ed Martin | KO | 2 (20) | October 18, 1904 | Los Angeles, CA | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Win | 21–3–5 | Frank Childs | Decision | 6 | June 2, 1904 | Chicago, IL | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Win | 20–3–5 | Sam McVey | KO | 20 (20) | April 22, 1904 | San Francisco, CA | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Win | 19–3–5 | Black Bill | Decision | 6 | February 15, 1904 | Philadelphia, PA | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. Decision given by the Philadelphia Item. |
NC | 18–3–5 | Sandy Ferguson | No contest | 5 | February 6, 1904 | Philadelphia, PA | The referee left the ring claiming the fighters were "faking". |
Win | 18–3–5 | Sandy Ferguson | Decision | 20 | December 11, 1903 | Colma, CA | |
Win | 17–3–5 | Sam McVey | Decision | 20 | October 27, 1903 | Los Angeles, CA | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Win | 16–3–5 | Sandy Ferguson | Decision | 6 | July 31, 1903 | Philadelphia, PA | Decision given by the New York World. |
Win | 15–3–5 | Joe Butler | KO | 3 | May 11, 1903 | Philadelphia, PA | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Win | 14–3–5 | Sandy Ferguson | Decision | 10 | April 16, 1903 | Boston, MA | |
Win | 13–3–5 | Sam McVey | Decision | 20 | February 26, 1903 | Los Angeles, CA | Retained World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Win | 12–3–5 | Ed Martin | Decision | 20 | February 5, 1903 | Los Angeles, CA | Won World Colored Heavyweight title. |
Win | 11–3–5 | Fred Russell | Disqualification | 8 | December 4, 1902 | Los Angeles, CA | Russell was disqualified for several low blows. |
Win | 10–3–5 | George Gardiner | Decision | 20 | October 31, 1902 | San Francisco, CA | |
Win | 9–3–5 | Frank Childs | TKO | 12 | October 21, 1902 | Los Angeles, CA | |
Win | 8–3–5 | Pete Everett | Decision | 20 | September 3, 1902 | Victor, CO | |
Draw | 7–3–5 | Hank Griffin | Draw | 20 | June 20, 1902 | Los Angeles, CA | |
Win | 7–3–4 | Jack Jeffries | KO | 5 | May 16, 1902 | Los Angeles, CA | |
Win | 6–3–4 | Joe Kennedy | KO | 4 (15) | March 7, 1902 | Oakland, CA | |
Win | 5–3–4 | Dan Murphy | KO | 10 | February 7, 1902 | Waterbury, CT | |
Draw | 4–3–4 | Hank Griffin | Draw | 15 | December 27, 1901 | Oakland, CA | |
Loss | 4–3–3 | Hank Griffin | Decision | 20 | November 4, 1901 | Bakersfield, CA | |
Draw | 4–2–3 | Billy Stift | Draw | 10 | April 26, 1901 | Denver, CO | |
Loss | 4–2–2 | Joe Choynski | KO | 3 (20) | May 25, 1901 | Galveston, TX | |
Draw | 4–1–2 | Jim Scanlon | Draw | 7 | January 14, 1901 | Galveston, TX | |
Win | 4–1–1 | Klondike | TKO | 14 (20) | December 27, 1900 | Memphis, TN | Klondike's real name was Harry Roscoe "Tim" Moore. |
Draw | 3–1–1 | Klondike | Draw | 20 | June 25, 1900 | Galveston, TX | |
Win | 3–1 | Jim McCormick | Disqualification | 6 (20) | April 20, 1900 | Galveston, TX | |
NC | 2–1 | William McNeill | No decision | 4 | April 9, 1900 | Galveston, TX | |
NC | 2–1 | Jim McCormick | No decision | 15 | March 21, 1900 | Galveston, TX | |
Loss | 2–1 | Klondike | TKO | 5 (6) | May 8, 1899 | Chicago, IL | |
Win | 2–0 | Ed Johnson | KO | 5 | November 20, 1897 | Galveston, TX | Retained Texas State Middleweight title. |
Win | 1–0 | Charley Brooks | KO | 2 (15) | November 1, 1897 | Galveston, TX | Won Texas State Middleweight title. |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Ken Burns, Unforgivable Blackness Cite error: The named reference "Burns" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Xcfef_d2es4C&pg=PA148&dq=Joe+Choynski+big+book+jewish+sports&hl=en&ei=F6XRTtjpOo_QmAXjm73EDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
- ^ http://books.google.com.au/books?id=l0Tp3W1PWkAC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=Joe+Choynski+taught+johnson&source=bl&ots=LTOO6VrC4n&sig=vWRkwzBO4eEZnwDjHaZvsgHYdjw&hl=en&ei=WqPRTrO9B-aUiAfolZjIDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CF4Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=Joe%20Choynski%20taught%20johnson&f=false
- ^ http://www.pbs.org/unforgivableblackness/sparring/rise.html
- ^ West, Sandra L. (2003). "Johnson, Jack". Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. Infobase Publishing. p. 177. ISBN 0-8160-4539-9.
- ^ Kroger, Bill (2012). Hunter, Michelle (ed.). Texas Bar Journal. 75 (9). Austin, TX: State Bar of Texas: 206.
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ignored (help) - ^ http://www.saddoboxing.com/boxing-article/Jack-Johnson-v-Tommy-Burns.html
- ^ http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/120099-100-years-since-Jack-johnson-made-history
- ^ Flatter, Ron "Johnson boxed, lived on own terms"
- ^ New York tribune .p.2 July 5, 1910 for accounts of post fighting riots
- ^ Library of Congress "National Film Registry 2005"
- ^ a b Broach, Barak "The Johnson-Jeffries Fight and Censorship of Black Supremacy"
- ^ As fugitive, loser, prisoner and failure, Jack Johnson - 06.22.59 com (1959-06-22). Retrieved on 2010-10-26.
- ^ Papa Jack, Jack Johnson and the Era of the White Hopes, Randy Roberts, Macmillan, 1983, page 132.
- ^ Barney Oldfield, The Life and Times of America's Speed King, William Nolan, Brown Fox Books, 2002.
- ^ Stump, Al. 'The rowdy reign of the Black avenger'. True: The Men's Magazine January 1963.
- ^ a b Jack's women
- ^ ESPN.com: Johnson boxed, lived on own terms
- ^ Cleveland Advocate October 2, 1920
- ^ Jack Johnson - Patent Drawing For A Wrench. Inventors.about.com (2010-06-29). Retrieved on 2010-10-26.
- ^ U.S. Patent no. 1,413,121, John Arthur Johnson, Wrench, April 18, 1922
- ^ "House seeks presidential pardon for boxing champ". The Argus-Press. Associated Press. 2008-09-27. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
- ^ "Senate urges Obama to pardon former champ". Lodi News-Sentinel. Associated Press. 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
- ^ McCain calls for pardon for first black heavyweight champion Retrieved on 2009-04-01.
- ^ Congress Passes Jack Johnson Resolution
- ^ http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/jjohn.htm
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqod-seL8gw
- ^ "Two champs meet", U.S.News & World Report, L.P., 2005-01-09. Retrieved on August 30, 2008
- ^ a b Jack Johnson at Find a Grave
- ^ Muhammad Ali Biography. Biographyonline.net. Retrieved on 2010-10-26.
- ^ Asante, Molefi Kete (2002). 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Amherst, New York. Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-57392-963-8.
- ^ Horowitz, Adam, et al. "101 Dumbest Moments in Business", CNN.com, 2007-01-23. Retrieved on January 23, 2007
- ^ Firstworldwar.com: Jack Johnson
- ^ "Rupert Edward Inglis". www.inglis.uk.com. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
- ^ "1997 Bram Stoker Awards"
- ^ Glenn Hauman. "Helping out Peter David and Bob Greenberger" glennhauman.com; April 17, 2009
- ^ [1]
- ^ Jack Johnson - Boxer. Boxrec.com. Retrieved on 2010-10-26.
Further reading
- Chalk, Ocania (1975). Pioneers of Black Sport. New York: Dodd, Mead. ISBN 0-396-06868-5.
- Gates, Henry Louis; West, Cornel (2000). The African-American Century: How Black Americans have shaped our Country. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-684-86414-2.
External links
- Boxing record for Jack Johnson from BoxRec (registration required)
- Jack Johnson at Flickr Commons
- Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, a 2 part film by Ken Burns and PBS 2005.
- Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, A Review on Ken Burns' Documentary.
- Extended biography of Jack Johnson
- "The Johnson-Jeffries Fight and Censorship of Black Supremacy", by Barak Orbach.
- Famous Texans - Jack Johnson
- John (Jack) Arthur Johnson
- Harlem 1900-1940: Schomburg Exhibit Jack Johnson
- ESPN.com: Jack Johnson
- Cyber Boxing Zone - Jack Johnson
- Interview with Jack Johnson biographer Geoffery C. Ward
- CBS News - A Pardon for Jack Johnson
- http://www.johnsonjeffries2010.com/index.php
- Jack Johnson at Find a Grave
- Jack Johnson and wife Lucille Cameron