Jeffries, James J.

views updated

James J. Jeffries, 1875–1953, American boxer, b. Carroll, Fairfield co., Ohio. He began boxing in 1896, and in 1899 he won the heavyweight championship from Robert Fitzsimmons at Coney Island in New York City. He retired undefeated in 1905, but returned to the ring in 1910, when he was defeated by Jack Johnson at Reno, Nev.