BOXING

Unpopular Beginnings

While there have always been amateur fist fights in which contestants for recreation or in anger match skills in the "manly art of self-defense," the sport of boxing for money, or prizefighting, did not enjoy wide popularity for much of America's history. Until John L. Sullivan popularized the sport in the late nineteenth century by using boxing gloves, fights were staged with bare fists under London Prize Ring Rules. Such encounters, held in isolated spots and watched by small crowds, were illegal, and the police were constantly alert to trouble.

The Sport Looks Ahead

By the beginning of the century's second decade the sport had gained a measure of popularity and legality if not respectability. In 1910 Johnny Coulon defeated Jim Kendrick, the British bantamweight titlist, in nineteen rounds in New Orleans. Both weighed in at 116 pounds, and after their fight that became the official weight for the bantamweight class. That same year, Jimmy Clabby and Jimmy Gardner both claimed the welterweight title, but Clabby was recognized as champion when he defeated Dixie Kid in a ten-round no-decision bout in New York. On 22 February 1910, Ad Wolgast won the lightweight title from Oscar "Battling" Nelson when the referee stopped the match after forty rounds of a forty-five-round match in Port Richmond, California.

Violent Reactions

The events of October 1910 did little to allay claims of boxing opponents that the sport inspired violence beyond the rules. During the match between Abe Attell, the featherweight champion of the world, and Eddie Kelly in New York, the referee demanded more action from both men. When the referee continued his admonishments and was joined by the crowd, Attell "accidentally" punched the referee in the jaw. He then knocked out Kelly in the fourth round. That same month, Stanley Ketchel, one of the best and hardest-hitting middleweights of all time and the middleweight champion of the world, was murdered in Conway, Missouri, by farmhand Walter Dipley, the boyfriend of a woman to whom Ketchel allegedly made advances.

Jack Johnson

Because boxing is a sport of individuals and personalities, its champions often evoke intense feelings in fans. Boxers often became working-class heroes, and African American pugilists were especially powerful symbols of self-worth and inspiration to blacks in an era of deep-rooted prejudice and discrimination. Few black heroes were as well-known or gave African Americans more pride than Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion (1908-1915). After Johnson defeated Tommy Burns, the reigning champion, in Sydney, Australia, fight promoters and newspapermen launched a hunt for a "Great White Hope" to recapture the crown from Johnson. Whites were angered by a black man who defeated white fighters instead of "going down" as blacks were expected to do. Johnson also triggered strong feelings because of his flamboyant lifestyle, which included elegant clothes and relationships with white women, both of which violated racial taboos. Ultimately, Johnson represented an important threat to the entire superstructure of racial segregation.

Bitter Victory

On 4 July 1910 Johnson defended his world heavyweight title against James J. Jeffries, a popular former heavyweight champion who came out of retirement to rid boxing of the "black menace." A skilled boxer with fast, punishing fists and feints that confused his opponents, Johnson handily outclassed Jeffries, who had not fought for six years and was out of shape, verbally taunting him as he administered the beating. In the fifteenth round, Johnson floored Jeffries with a left to the jaw. After the match, Johnson's mother reportedly remarked, "He said he'd bring home the bacon, and the honey boy has gone and done it." Jeffries's humiliating defeat sparked black celebrations and white violence against blacks across the country, in which at least eight persons were killed. Fear of race riots led many cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Saint Louis, and Washington, D.C., to ban screenings of the Johnson-Jeffries fight films in local theaters.

Troubles Continue

In 1913 Johnson was charged with violating the Mann Act, a law passed 25 June 1910 to prohibit the interstate transportation of women for immoral purposes. Despite highly questionable testimony and strong concern that he was framed, he was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison. During an appeal of his sentence, Johnson jumped bail and fled to Canada and then to Europe, where he performed in vaudeville and fought second-rate challengers. In the aftermath of the Johnson-Jeffries bout, the New York State Athletic Commission banned "mixed" bouts between black and white boxers on 5 February 1913.

Emergence of Willard

On 5 April 1915 Jess Willard won the world heavyweight boxing championship when knocked out Jack Johnson in a bout in Havana, Cuba. Johnson had become fat and rusty while he enjoyed his popularity and world fame. The Kansan Willard, the "Pottawatomie Giant," was six feet seven inches tall and in superb fighting condition. In the twenty-sixth round, he knocked Johnson down although it was not clear whether a blow by Willard or the blazing sun caused Johnson's descent to the canvas, which was described as a slow sinking. Later Johnson claimed that he threw the fight for $50,000 and an exemption from his prison sentence, but few believed him.

Dempsey Triumph

Willard defended his title once in 1916 and did not fight again until 4 July 1919, when he was defeated by William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey. After the third round Willard's cheekbone was split, his nose smashed, and his body covered with welts from the power of Dempsey's unmerciful body attack. Willard did not come out for the fourth round, and the shortest heavy-weight title fight up to that time was over. Dempsey held the crown until he was defeated by Gene Tunney in 1926, and eventually became one of the most popular sports heroes of the 1920s, defending his title in million-dollar fights before enormous crowds.

New Popularity

The social status of prizefighting was helped by World War I, which softened the traditional public animosity toward the sport. During the war the army used boxing as part of the training of doughboys. After the war states dropped many legal barriers to boxing, often at the instigation of the American Legion, and it became an accepted sport. Secret fights on barges, in backrooms of saloons, or in isolated rural areas attended by slummers, roughnecks, and the "lower elements" of society were replaced by bouts in glittering arenas and in huge stadiums with the middle-class and "high society" turning out for the spectacle. Boxing matches were becoming big social events, and the audience often came to see attending celebrities as well as the fight.

The Rise of the Promoter

Another development in the 1910s was the rise of the boxing promoter. During John L. Sullivan's reign as heavyweight champion, fight promoters were practically unknown. Pugilists or their backers put up side bets, winner take all, and it was customary to pass the hat among spectators, the funds collected going to the winner or being split 50-50. During the 1910 Jackson-Jeffries fight, Edward "Tex" Rickard acted as both promoter and referee. In 1916 he staged a bout between the heavyweight champion Willard and Frank Moran. Willard won $30,000 from this match, then doubled it by betting on Woodrow Wilson to win the 1916 presidential election. In 1919 Rickard promoted the Dempsey-Willard match and became the nation's premier sports impresario. When Dempsey defeated Willard, boxing entered its Golden Age.

THE GREAT WHITE HOPE

The career of heavyweight champion Jack Johnson inspired Howard Sackler's Pulitzer-winning play, The Great White Hope, a thinly veiled depiction of Johnson's life (he was called Jack Jefferson in the drama). Although Sackler took some liberties with Johnson's story, all of its major events were depicted: his 1910 victory in Reno, his conviction under the Mann Act and flight from the United States, and his loss of the heavyweight title in Havana. In both the play and a subsequent motion picture, the leading roles were played by James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander. Premiering at the Arena Stage in Washington on 12 December 1967, the play's exploration of the prevailing racial attitudes of Johnson's era resonated with audiences then struggling with the ramifications of the Civil Rights movement. The Great White Hope was subsequently performed on Broadway, where it opened on 3 October 1968 at the Alvin Theatre and ran for 556 performances until 31 January 1970. Later that year Twentieth Century Fox made it into a motion picture.

Sources:

Graeme Kent, Boxing's Strangest Fights (London: Robson, 1991);

Douglas A. Noverr and Lawrence E. Ziewacz, The Games They Played: Sports in American History, 1865-1980 (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1983);

Gilbert Odd, Encyclopedia of Boxing (New York: Crescent, 1983);

Benjamin G. Rader, American Sports: From the Age of Folk Games to the Age of Televised Sports, second edition (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1990);

Bert R. Sugar, The Great Fights: A Pictorial History of Boxings Greatest Bouts (New York: Gallery, 1981).

DEMPSEY, WILLIAM "JACK" HARRISON 1895-1983

Heavyweight champion

Accomplishments

In 1950 Jack Dempsey, a member of the Boxing Hall of Fame, was selected, in a nationwide Associated Press poll, as the Fighter of the Half Century. Dempsey had come to stand for the poor, small man's triumphant battle against giant opponents and gigantic adversities; as such he was an embodiment of the 1920s pursuit of and admiration for success. After winning the heavy-weight championship in 1919, Dempsey in 1921 attracted the first $1-million boxing gate on 21 July 1921 and drew four more million-dollar-plus bouts in the course of the decade. He fought six championship bouts in seven years, losing only to Gene Tunney, who defeated him twice. His career as a fighter over, Dempsey became an icon of American boxing and, as a restaurant owner in New York City, remained a favorite with literary, movie, and political celebrities.

Early Life

Dempsey developed his fighting style from his early years of riding the rails and living in hobo jungles after leaving, at age sixteen, his Manassa, Colorado, home where he worked with his father in various western copper-mining camps. His early hobo years taught him that a young man alone needed to protect himself quickly and decisively; thus, he threw brutal punches that ended bouts in early rounds, frequently in one round, and that later inspired his nickname "the Manassa Mauler." Between 1911 and 1914 Dempsey fought in saloon bouts as "Kid Blackie," earning the standard fee of $2.50 a bout.

Kearns and Rickard

During this period of all-comers bouts, Dempsey formed an alliance with Jack "Doc" Kearns, a flamboyant fight manager who helped Dempsey advance rapidly from barroom brawls to major matches. When they traveled to New York for bouts, Dempsey and Kearns teamed with George L. "Tex" Rickard, who later promoted Dempsey's $5-million gates for major matches. Though fortunes were made in these bouts, Dempsey realized only a small portion of the earnings, since Kearns squandered both his and Dempsey's shares of the gate. After cutting his ties with Kearns in 1925, Dempsey received and kept a large portion of the money his bouts earned.

Dempsey-Fulton

Throughout his early career before Dempsey gained real prominence, big-time boxers and promoters were somewhat reluctant to schedule matches with the young slugger, thinking him inexperienced as a fighter and lacking in crowd appeal with his rough-hewn, scowling appearance. Rickard agreed to arrange a match with the world heavyweight champion Jess Willard only if Dempsey could beat veteran Fred Fulton, After Dempsey knocked Fulton out in 18.6 seconds of the first round of a 27 July 1918 bout, Rickard arranged for Dempsey to fight for the heavyweight crown.

Dempsey—Willard

Jess Willard was one of several boxers to be called the "White Hope"; he earned this nickname during the promotion for his 5 April 1915 bout with black champion Jack Johnson, whom he defeated with a controversial knockout in the twenty-sixth round of their Havana, Cuba, title fight. When he met Dempsey some four years later, Willard was thirty-seven, six feet six inches tall, and an out-of-shape 245 pounds. Before the bout Willard made the six-feet-tall, 190-pound Dempsey sign an agreement that if Dempsey were severely injured or killed, Willard would not be held responsible. Fighting in 103- to 110-degree heat on 4 July 1919 in Toledo, Ohio, Dempsey knocked Willard to the canvas seven times in the first round. Referee Ollie Record counted to ten after the seventh knockdown and signaled that Dempsey had won; however, the timekeeper indicated that the bell had rung before the count was complete, and the ring had to be cleared of the crowd I and Dempsey retrieved from the locker room to continue the fight. Willard could not answer the bell after round three, and Dempsey became the new world heavyweight champion.

Outside the Ring

After winning the title Dempsey spent much of his time making movies in Hollywood, appearing on stage, fighting exhibition bouts, and in general making a great deal of money from these activities and enjoying the life of the celebrity. However, the first of his four wives, Maxine Cates, a former dance-hall prostitute, in a 23 January 1920 letter to the San Francisco Chronicle accused her exhusband of draft evasion during World War I; though acquitted of these charges by the San Francisco U.S. District Court in June 1920, Dempsey found his popularity waning. Such organizations as the American Legion voiced animosity toward the now-wealthy champion who lived in luxury while war veterans struggled to make a living.

Dempsey-Carpentier

Public sentiment against Dempsey rose and fell until his bout against the French war hero Georges Carpentier on 21 July 1921. Promoted by Tex Rickard, this bout became the first "million-dollar gate" in boxing history and, perhaps equally important to Dempsey, helped gloss over his reputation as a wartime slacker. Bringing the French contender and the American champion together created a surge of nationalistic support for Dempsey, especially after he won in the fourth round by a knockout.

Dempsey-Gibbons and Shelby, Montana

Perhaps the prospects of another million-dollar gate caused the newly rich ranchers of tiny Shelby, Montana—population 500—to bid for a championship bout between Dempsey and Tommy Gibbons, an accomplished light heavy-weight. Oil had been recently discovered in Shelby, and in 1921 bankers and town boosters guaranteed Dempsey $300,000 for the match. The town expected to gain a fortune that never materialized, since only 7,000 rather than the expected 40,000 spectators paid to see the 4 July 1923 fight. Dempsey easily won a fifteen-round decision, collected $200,000 of his $300,000 prize money, and left town. The town fathers and businesses went into bankruptcy.

Dempsey-Firpo

On 14 September 1923 Dempsey successfully defended his title against Argentinean Luis Angel Firpo, the Wild Bull of the Pampas. The Dempsey-Firpo bout earned an even bigger gate receipt than had the Dempsey—Carpentier match, but it also stirred controversy. In the first round Firpo knocked Dempsey through the ropes and onto the typewriter of New York Tribune reporter Jack Lawrence. Lawrence and a Western Union employee, Perry Grogan, pushed the fighter back into the ring. In the process they created a noisy postmatch argument that Dempsey had received aid and therefore should have been disqualified. Such arguments were defused by the fact that in the second round Dempsey knocked Firpo down seven times before finally knocking him out.

Dempsey-Tunney I

Although Dempsey was criticized for not fighting such black boxers as Harry Wills, Rickard believed that a racially mixed bout would not draw as successfully as a Dempsey-Gene Tunney bout. Tunney was light heavyweight champion, a decorated World War I Marine, and a handsome man. He was also in superb condition, whereas the older Dempsey was not. On 23 September 1926, as part of Philadelphia's sesquicentennial celebration, Dempsey the slugger fought the boxer-strategist. The match, which took place in a driving rainstorm, went the full ten rounds, which Tunney won by a unanimous decision.

Dempsey-Tunney II

After losing the crown Dempsey considered retirement, but Rickard quickly made plans for a 21 July 1927 bout with Jack Sharkey, which Dempsey won in the seventh round and which rekindled his interest in a second match with Tunney, clearly Rickard's strategy. After losing his title to Tunney, Dempsey found his popularity increasing. When he faced Tunney in "The Second Battle of the Century," he became the favorite. In the seventh round of their 22 September 1927 bout in Chicago's Soldier Field, Tunney came close to knocking out Dempsey; however, Dempsey rallied and floored Tunney. But rather than going immediately to a neutral corner as rules dictated, Dempsey stood over his opponent. This action added at least four extra seconds to the normal ten-second count, resulting in the now-famous "long count" that saved Tunney from defeat. Tunney won in a unanimous decision as the match went its scheduled ten rounds.

Retirement

After his second loss to Tunney, Dempsey retired from major boxing events. Though he participated in a variety of exhibition bouts from 1931 to 1940, his active boxing career was essentially over. Though he started life working for four dollars a day, Dempsey earned a fortune through boxing. He estimated that his total income from his fights, the movie rights to bouts, refereeing, lectures, and radio appearances amounted to more than $10 million. He had risen from grinding poverty to become one of the extravagantly colorful and successful figures that so epitomized the 1920s.

Sources:

Nat Fleischer, Jack Dempsey (New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, 1972);

Randy Roberts, Jack Dempsey: The Manassa Mauler (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1979).