Difference between revisions of "Jack Johnson (boxer)" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
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|nickname=Galveston Giant
 
|nickname=Galveston Giant
 
|weight=[[Heavyweight]]
 
|weight=[[Heavyweight]]
|birth_date=March 31 1878
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|birth_date=March 31, 1878
|death_date=June 10 1946
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|death_date=June 10, 1946
 
|birth_place=[[Galveston, Texas]]
 
|birth_place=[[Galveston, Texas]]
 
|death_place=[[Raleigh, North Carolina]]
 
|death_place=[[Raleigh, North Carolina]]
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|no contests=14
 
|no contests=14
 
|}}
 
|}}
'''John Arthur Johnson''' (March 31 1878 – June 10 1946), better known as '''Jack Johnson''' and nicknamed the "Galveston Giant," was an [[United States|American]] [[boxing|boxer]] and arguably the best heavyweight of his generation. He was the first [[Black people|black]] [[List of Heavyweight Champions|Heavyweight Champion of the World]], 1908-1915. In a documentary about his life, [[Ken Burns]] said: "For more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous, and the most notorious African-American on Earth".<ref name=Burns>Ken Burns, ''Unforgivable Blackness''</ref>
+
'''John Arthur Johnson''' (March 31 1878 – June 10 1946), better known as '''Jack Johnson''' and nicknamed the "Galveston Giant," was an [[United States|American]] [[boxing|boxer]] and arguably the best heavyweight of his generation. He was the first [[Black people|black]] [[List of Heavyweight Champions|Heavyweight Champion of the World]], 1908-1915. In a documentary about his life, ''Unforgivable Blackness'', [[Ken Burns]] said: "For more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous, and the most notorious African-American on Earth."
  
 
==Early life==  
 
==Early life==  
Jack Johnson was born in [[Galveston, Texas]] as the second child and first son of Henry and Tina "Tiny" Johnson, former [[slave]]s and faithful [[Methodist]]s, who both worked [[blue-collar]] jobs to earn enough to raise six children (the Johnsons had nine children, five of whom lived to [[adulthood]], and an adopted son) and taught them how to read and write. Jack Johnson had five years of formal [[education]].<ref name=Burns/> He was later kicked out of church when he stated that [[God]] did not exist and that the church was a domination over people's lives.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}
+
Jack Johnson was born in [[Galveston, Texas]] on March 31, 1878, as the second child and first son of Henry and Tina "Tiny" Johnson, former [[slave]]s and faithful [[Methodist]]s, who both worked [[blue-collar]] jobs to earn enough to raise six children (the Johnsons had nine children, five of whom lived to [[adulthood]], and an adopted son) and taught them how to read and write. Jack Johnson had five years of formal [[education]]. He was later kicked out of church when he stated that [[God]] did not exist and that the church was a domination over people's lives.
  
Johnson fought his first bout, a 16-round victory, at age 15. He turned professional around 1897, fighting in private clubs and making more money then he had ever seen. In 1901, [[Joe Choynski]], the small Jewish heavyweight, came to Galveston to train Jack Johnson. Choynski, an experienced boxer, knocked Johnson out in round three, and the two were arrested for "engaging in an illegal contest" and put in jail for 23 days. (Although boxing was one of the three most popular sports in America at the time, along with [[baseball]] and [[horse-racing]], the practice was officially illegal in most states, including [[Texas]].) Choynski began training Johnson in jail but did not get arrested.<ref name=Burns/>
+
Johnson fought his first bout, a 16-round victory, at age 15. He turned professional around 1897, fighting in private clubs and making more money then he had ever seen. In 1901, [[Joe Choynski]], the small, Jewish heavyweight, came to Galveston to train Johnson. Choynski, an experienced boxer, knocked Johnson out in round three, and the two were arrested for "engaging in an illegal contest" and put in jail for 23 days. (Although boxing was one of the three most popular sports in America at the time, along with [[baseball]] and [[horse-racing]], the practice was officially illegal in most states, including [[Texas]].) Choynski began training Johnson in jail but did not get arrested.
  
 
==Professional boxing career==
 
==Professional boxing career==
 
Johnson's fighting style was very distinctive. He developed a more patient approach than was customary in that day: playing defensively, waiting for a mistake, and then capitalizing on it. Johnson always began a bout cautiously, slowly building up over the rounds into a more aggressive fighter. 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 quite powerfully.
 
Johnson's fighting style was very distinctive. He developed a more patient approach than was customary in that day: playing defensively, waiting for a mistake, and then capitalizing on it. Johnson always began a bout cautiously, slowly building up over the rounds into a more aggressive fighter. 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 quite powerfully.
  
Johnson's style was very effective, but it was criticized in the white press as being cowardly and devious. In contrast, World Heavyweight Champion "Gentleman" [[James J. Corbett|Jim Corbett]], who was white, had used many of the same techniques a decade earlier, and was praised by the white press as "the cleverest man in boxing."<ref name=Burns/>
+
Johnson's style was very effective, but it was criticized in the white press as being cowardly and devious. In contrast, World Heavyweight Champion "Gentleman" [[James J. Corbett|Jim Corbett]], who was white, had used many of the same techniques a decade earlier, and was praised by the white press as "the cleverest man in boxing."
  
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 "Colored Heavyweight Championship." His efforts to win the full title were thwarted as World Heavyweight Champion [[James J. Jeffries]] refused to face him. Blacks could box whites in other arenas, but the heavyweight championship was such a respected and coveted position in America that blacks were not deemed worthy to compete for it. Johnson was, however, able to fight former champion [[Bob Fitzsimmons]] in July 1907, and knocked him out in two rounds.<ref name=Burns/>
+
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 "Colored Heavyweight Championship." His efforts to win the full title were thwarted as World Heavyweight Champion [[James J. Jeffries]] refused to face him. Blacks could box whites in other arenas, but the heavyweight championship was such a respected and coveted position in America that blacks were not deemed worthy to compete for it. Johnson was, however, able to fight former champion [[Bob Fitzsimmons]] in July 1907, and knocked him out in two rounds.
  
He eventually won the [[List of Heavyweight Champions|World Heavyweight Title]] on December 26, 1908, when he fought the Canadian world champion [[Tommy Burns (boxer)|Tommy Burns]] in [[Sydney, Australia]], after following him all over the world, taunting him in the press for a match. The fight lasted fourteen rounds before being stopped by the police. The title was awarded to Johnson on a referee's decision as a [[knockout|T.K.O]], but he had severely beaten the champion. During the fight, Johnson had mocked both Burns and his ringside crew. Every time Burns was about to go down, Johnson would hold him up again, punishing him more. The camera was stopped just as Johnson was finishing off Burns, so as not to show Burns' defeat.<ref name=Burns/>
+
He eventually won the [[List of Heavyweight Champions|World Heavyweight Title]] on December 26, 1908, when he fought the Canadian world champion [[Tommy Burns (boxer)|Tommy Burns]] in [[Sydney, Australia]], after following him all over the world, taunting him in the press for a match. The fight lasted 14 rounds before being stopped by the police. The title was awarded to Johnson on a referee's decision as a [[knockout|T.K.O]], but he had severely beaten the champion. During the fight, Johnson had mocked both Burns and his ringside crew. Every time Burns was about to go down, Johnson would hold him up again, punishing him more. The camera was stopped just as Johnson was finishing off Burns, so as not to show Burns' defeat.
  
After Johnson's victory over Burns, racial animosity among whites ran so deep that even a socialist like [[Jack London]] called out for a "[[Great White Hope]]" to take the title away from Johnson — who was crudely caricatured as a subhuman "ape" — and return it to where it supposedly belonged, with the "superior" white race. As title holder, Johnson thus had to face a series of fighters billed by boxing promoters as "great white hopes," often in [[Exhibition game|exhibition matches]]. In 1909 he beat [[Victor McLaglen]], Frank Moran, Tony Ross, Al Kaufman, and the middleweight champion [[Stanley Ketchel]]. The match with Ketchel was keenly fought by both men until the 12th and last round, when Ketchel threw a right to Johnson's head, knocking him down. Slowly regaining his feet, Johnson threw a straight to Ketchel's jaw, knocking him out, along with several of his teeth. His fight with "Philadelphia" Jack O'Brien was a disappointing one for Johnson: though scaling 205 pounds to O'Brien's 161, he could only achieve a six-round draw with the great middleweight.
+
After Johnson's victory over Burns, racial animosity among whites ran so deep that even a socialist like [[Jack London]] called out for a "[[Great White Hope]]" to take the title away from Johnson — who was crudely caricatured as a subhuman "ape" — and return it to where it supposedly belonged, with the "superior" white race. As title holder, Johnson thus had to face a series of fighters billed by boxing promoters as "great white hopes," often in [[Exhibition game|exhibition matches]]. In 1909 he beat [[Victor McLaglen]], Frank Moran, Tony Ross, Al Kaufman, and the middleweight champion, [[Stanley Ketchel]].  
 +
 
 +
The match with Ketchel was keenly fought by both men until the twelfth and last round, when Ketchel threw a right to Johnson's head, knocking him down. Slowly regaining his feet, Johnson threw a straight to Ketchel's jaw, knocking him out, along with several of his teeth. His fight with "Philadelphia" Jack O'Brien was a disappointing one for Johnson: though scaling 205 pounds to O'Brien's 161, he could only achieve a six-round draw with the great middleweight.
  
 
==The "Fight of the Century"==
 
==The "Fight of the Century"==
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[[Image:Johnson jeff.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Johnson's fight against Jeffries, 1910.]]
 
[[Image:Johnson jeff.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Johnson's fight against Jeffries, 1910.]]
  
In 1910 former heavyweight champion [[James J. Jeffries]] came out of retirement and said, "I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro."<ref>Remnick, David "[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1072750,00.html Struggle for his soul]," ''The Observer'', 2003-11-02. Retrieved on November 02, 2003</ref> Jeffries had not fought in 6 years and had to lose around 100 pounds to try to get back to his championship fighting weight.
+
In 1910, former, heavyweight champion [[James J. Jeffries]] came out of retirement and said, "I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro." Jeffries had not fought in six years, and had to lose around 100 pounds to try to get back to his championship fighting weight.
  
At the fight, which took place on July 4, 1910 in front of 22,000 people, at a ring built just for the occasion in downtown [[Reno, Nevada]], the ringside band played, "All [[wikt:coon|coons]] look alike to me." The fight had become a hotbed of racial tension, and the promoters incited the all-white crowd to chant "kill the nigger".<ref>Zinn, Dave "[http://www.edgeofsports.com/2004-01-15-37/index.html The Hidden History of Muhammad Ali]," ''Edge of Sports''</ref> Johnson, however, proved stronger and more nimble than Jeffries. In the 15th round, after he had been knocked down twice for the first time in his career, Jeffries' people called it quits to prevent Johnson from knocking him out.
+
At the fight, which took place on July 4, 1910 in front of 22,000 people, at a ring built just for the occasion in downtown [[Reno, Nevada]], the ringside band played, "All [[wikt:coon|coons]] look alike to me." The fight had become a hotbed of racial tension, and the promoters incited the all-white crowd to chant "kill the nigger." Johnson, however, proved stronger and more nimble than Jeffries. In the fifteenth round, after he had been knocked down twice for the first time in his career, Jeffries' people called it quits to prevent Johnson from knocking him out.
  
 
The "Fight of the Century" earned Johnson $225,000 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.  
 
The "Fight of the Century" earned Johnson $225,000 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.  
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===Riots and Aftermath===
 
===Riots and Aftermath===
  
The outcome of the fight triggered [[Mass racial violence in the United States|race riots]] that evening — the [[Independence Day (United States)|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 a finding a "great white hope" to defeat him. Many whites felt humiliated by the defeat of Jeffries and were incensed by Johnson's comments.<ref name=Burns/>
+
The outcome of the fight triggered [[Mass racial violence in the United States|race riots]] that evening — the [[Independence Day (United States)|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 a finding a "great white hope" to defeat him. Many whites felt humiliated by the defeat of Jeffries and were incensed by Johnson's comments.  
  
 
Blacks, on the other hand, were jubilant, and celebrated Johnson's great victory as a victory for their entire long-suffering race. Black poet [[William Waring Cuney]] later highlighted the African American reaction to the fight in his poem, "My Lord, What a Morning."
 
Blacks, on the other hand, were jubilant, and celebrated Johnson's great victory as a victory for their entire long-suffering race. Black poet [[William Waring Cuney]] later highlighted the African American reaction to the fight in his poem, "My Lord, What a Morning."
  
Around the country, blacks organized spontaneous parades, gathered in prayer meetings, and purchased goods with their newly-won gambling earnings. These celebrations often drew a violent response from white people. Some "riots" were simply African Americans celebrating in the streets. In certain cities, like Chicago, the police allowed them to continue their festivities. But in other cities the police and angry white citizens tried to subdue the celebrations. Innocent black people were often attacked on the streets, and in some cases, gangs of whites entered black neighborhoods and tried to burn down apartment buildings. Police interrupted several attempted [[lynching]]s. In all, riots occurred in more than twenty-five states and fifty cities. At least 23 blacks and 2 whites died in the riots, and hundreds more were injured. A few white people were injured when they tried to intervene in a crowd's beating of a black man.<ref name=Burns/>
+
Around the country, blacks organized spontaneous parades, gathered in prayer meetings, and purchased goods with their newly won, gambling earnings. These celebrations often drew a violent response from white people. Some "riots" were simply African Americans celebrating in the streets. In certain cities, like Chicago, the police allowed them to continue their festivities. But in other cities, the police and angry white citizens tried to subdue the celebrations. Innocent black people were often attacked on the streets, and in some cases, gangs of whites entered black neighborhoods and tried to burn down apartment buildings. Police interrupted several attempted [[lynching]]s. In all, riots occurred in more than 25 states and 50 cities. At least 23 blacks and two whites died in the riots, and hundreds more were injured. A few white people were injured when they tried to intervene in a crowd's beating of a black man.
  
Certain states responded by banning the filming of Johnson's victories over white fighters. African American newspapers stated that white people were afraid to circulate images of black superiority, and argued that the white press was hypocritical by condemning fight films while allowing lynchings to occur without criticism.<ref name=Burns/> The ''Washington Bee'' wrote, "The white man cannot expect always to be in the front rank without competition, and we all should look at things this way."  
+
Certain states responded by banning the filming of Johnson's victories over white fighters. African-American newspapers stated that white people were afraid to circulate images of black superiority, and argued that the white press was hypocritical by condemning fight films while allowing lynchings to occur without criticism. The ''Washington Bee'' wrote, "The white man cannot expect always to be in the front rank without competition, and we all should look at things this way."  
  
On April 5, 1915 Johnson lost his title to [[Jess Willard]], a working cowboy who did not start boxing until he was almost thirty years old. With a crowd of 25,000 at the Vedado Racetrack in [[Havana, Cuba]], Johnson was K.O.'d in the 26th round of the scheduled 45-round fight, which was co-promoted by [[Roderick James "Jess" McMahon]] and a partner. Johnson found that he could not knock out the giant Willard, who fought as a counterpuncher, making Johnson do all the leading. Johnson 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 to have spread rumors that he took a dive,{{Fact|date=May 2007}} but Willard is widely regarded as winning fairly. Willard said, "If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he'd done it sooner. It was 105 degrees out."
+
On April 5, 1915, Johnson lost his title to [[Jess Willard]], a working cowboy who did not start boxing until he was almost 30 years old. With a crowd of 25,000 at the Vedado Racetrack in [[Havana, Cuba]], Johnson was K.O.'d in the twenty-sixth round of the scheduled 45-round fight, which was co-promoted by [[Roderick James "Jess" McMahon]] and a partner. Johnson found that he could not knock out the giant Willard, who fought as a counterpuncher, making Johnson do all the leading. Johnson began to tire after the twentieth round, and was visibly hurt by heavy body punches from Willard in rounds preceding the twenth-sixth-round knockout. Johnson is said to have spread rumors that he took a dive, but Willard is widely regarded as winning fairly. Willard said, "If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he'd done it sooner. It was 105 degrees out."
  
 
==Personal life==
 
==Personal life==
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==Legacy==
 
==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 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 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.
+
*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.
  
Johnson's skill as a fighter and the money that it brought made it impossible for him to be ignored by the white establishment. In a time in which African-Americans enjoyed few civil rights and in which lynching was an accepted extra-legal means of social coercion in many parts of the United States, his success and defiant behavior were a serious threat to the racist status quo. In the short term, the boxing world reacted against Johnson's legacy. [[Joe Louis]], later, was not able to box for the heavyweight title until he proved he could "act white," and was warned against gloating over fallen opponents or having his picture taken with a white woman.<ref name=Burns/> But Johnson foreshadowed, in many ways, perhaps the most famous boxer of all time, [[Muhammad Ali]]. In fact, Ali often spoke of how he was influenced by Jack Johnson. He identified with him because he felt white America ostracized him in the same manner because of his opposition to the [[Vietnam War|war in Vietnam]]. In his autobiography, Ali relates how he and [[Joe Frazier]] agreed that Johnson and Joe Louis were the greatest boxers of old.
+
*Johnson's skill as a fighter and the money that it brought made it impossible for him to be ignored by the white establishment. In a time in which African-Americans enjoyed few civil rights and in which lynching was an accepted extra-legal means of social coercion in many parts of the United States, his success and defiant behavior were a serious threat to the racist status quo. In the short term, the boxing world reacted against Johnson's legacy. [[Joe Louis]], later, was not able to box for the heavyweight title until he proved he could "act white," and was warned against gloating over fallen opponents or having his picture taken with a white woman.<ref name=Burns/> But Johnson foreshadowed, in many ways, perhaps the most famous boxer of all time, [[Muhammad Ali]]. In fact, Ali often spoke of how he was influenced by Jack Johnson. He identified with him because he felt white America ostracized him in the same manner because of his opposition to the [[Vietnam War|war in Vietnam]]. In his autobiography, Ali relates how he and [[Joe Frazier]] agreed that Johnson and Joe Louis were the greatest boxers of old.
  
41st street in [[Galveston]], Texas is named "Jack Johnson Blvd." after the Galveston Giant himself!
+
*41st street in [[Galveston]], Texas is named "Jack Johnson Blvd."  
  
 
===Popular culture===
 
===Popular culture===
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41st street in [[Galveston]], Texas is named "Jack Johnson Blvd." after the Galveston Giant himself
 
41st street in [[Galveston]], Texas is named "Jack Johnson Blvd." after the Galveston Giant himself
  
==References==
+
==Notes==
 
<div class="references-small">
 
<div class="references-small">
 
<references />
 
<references />
 
</div>
 
</div>
 
''Washington Bee'', ''New York Times'', ''Chicago Tribune'', all July 5, 1910
 
''Washington Bee'', ''New York Times'', ''Chicago Tribune'', all July 5, 1910
 +
 +
 +
==References==
 +
*Marsalis, Wynton. ''Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson'' (Soundtrack), Blue Note Records, 2004. B00069YEIV
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6125607 Jack Johnson's Gravesite]
 
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6125607 Jack Johnson's Gravesite]
  
{{start box}}
 
{{succession box |
 
  before= [[Tommy Burns (boxer)|Tommy Burns]] |
 
  title= [[List of heavyweight boxing champions|WBA World Heavyweight boxing champion]] |
 
  years= 1908&ndash;1915 |
 
  after= [[Jess Willard]]
 
}}
 
{{end box}}
 
  
 
{{Persondata
 
{{Persondata

Revision as of 20:59, 17 July 2007


Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson boxer.jpg
Statistics
Real name John Arthur Johnson
Nickname Galveston Giant
Rated at Heavyweight
Nationality American
Birth date March 31, 1878
Birth place Galveston, Texas
Death date June 10, 1946
Death place Raleigh, North Carolina
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 113 (14 No Decisions)
Wins 79
Wins by KO 44
Losses 8
Draws 12
No contests 14

John Arthur Johnson (March 31 1878 – June 10 1946), better known as Jack Johnson and nicknamed the "Galveston Giant," was an American boxer and arguably the best heavyweight of his generation. He was the first black Heavyweight Champion of the World, 1908-1915. In a documentary about his life, Unforgivable Blackness, Ken Burns said: "For more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous, and the most notorious African-American on Earth."

Early life

Jack Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas on March 31, 1878, as the second child and first son of Henry and Tina "Tiny" Johnson, former slaves and faithful Methodists, who both worked blue-collar jobs to earn enough to raise six children (the Johnsons had nine children, five of whom lived to adulthood, and an adopted son) and taught them how to read and write. Jack Johnson had five years of formal education. He was later kicked out of church when he stated that God did not exist and that the church was a domination over people's lives.

Johnson fought his first bout, a 16-round victory, at age 15. He turned professional around 1897, fighting in private clubs and making more money then he had ever seen. In 1901, Joe Choynski, the small, Jewish heavyweight, came to Galveston to train Johnson. Choynski, an experienced boxer, knocked Johnson out in round three, and the two were arrested for "engaging in an illegal contest" and put in jail for 23 days. (Although boxing was one of the three most popular sports in America at the time, along with baseball and horse-racing, the practice was officially illegal in most states, including Texas.) Choynski began training Johnson in jail but did not get arrested.

Professional boxing career

Johnson's fighting style was very distinctive. He developed a more patient approach than was customary in that day: playing defensively, waiting for a mistake, and then capitalizing on it. Johnson always began a bout cautiously, slowly building up over the rounds into a more aggressive fighter. 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 quite powerfully.

Johnson's style was very effective, but it was criticized in the white press as being cowardly and devious. In contrast, World Heavyweight Champion "Gentleman" Jim Corbett, who was white, had used many of the same techniques a decade earlier, and was praised by the white press as "the cleverest man in boxing."

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 "Colored Heavyweight Championship." His efforts to win the full title were thwarted as World Heavyweight Champion James J. Jeffries refused to face him. Blacks could box whites in other arenas, but the heavyweight championship was such a respected and coveted position in America that blacks were not deemed worthy to compete for it. Johnson was, however, able to fight former champion Bob Fitzsimmons in July 1907, and knocked him out in two rounds.

He eventually won the World Heavyweight Title on December 26, 1908, when he fought the Canadian world champion Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia, after following him all over the world, taunting him in the press for a match. The fight lasted 14 rounds before being stopped by the police. The title was awarded to Johnson on a referee's decision as a T.K.O, but he had severely beaten the champion. During the fight, Johnson had mocked both Burns and his ringside crew. Every time Burns was about to go down, Johnson would hold him up again, punishing him more. The camera was stopped just as Johnson was finishing off Burns, so as not to show Burns' defeat.

After Johnson's victory over Burns, racial animosity among whites ran so deep that even a socialist like Jack London called out for a "Great White Hope" to take the title away from Johnson — who was crudely caricatured as a subhuman "ape" — and return it to where it supposedly belonged, with the "superior" white race. As title holder, Johnson thus had to face a series of fighters billed by boxing promoters as "great white hopes," often in exhibition matches. In 1909 he beat Victor McLaglen, Frank Moran, Tony Ross, Al Kaufman, and the middleweight champion, Stanley Ketchel.

The match with Ketchel was keenly fought by both men until the twelfth and last round, when Ketchel threw a right to Johnson's head, knocking him down. Slowly regaining his feet, Johnson threw a straight to Ketchel's jaw, knocking him out, along with several of his teeth. His fight with "Philadelphia" Jack O'Brien was a disappointing one for Johnson: though scaling 205 pounds to O'Brien's 161, he could only achieve a six-round draw with the great middleweight.

The "Fight of the Century"

Johnson's fight against Jeffries, 1910.

In 1910, former, heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries came out of retirement and said, "I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro." Jeffries had not fought in six years, and had to lose around 100 pounds to try to get back to his championship fighting weight.

At the fight, which took place on July 4, 1910 in front of 22,000 people, at a ring built just for the occasion in downtown Reno, Nevada, the ringside band played, "All coons look alike to me." The fight had become a hotbed of racial tension, and the promoters incited the all-white crowd to chant "kill the nigger." Johnson, however, proved stronger and more nimble than Jeffries. In the fifteenth round, after he had been knocked down twice for the first time in his career, Jeffries' people called it quits to prevent Johnson from knocking him out.

The "Fight of the Century" earned Johnson $225,000 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.

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 a finding a "great white hope" to defeat him. Many whites felt humiliated by the defeat of Jeffries and were incensed by Johnson's comments.

Blacks, on the other hand, were jubilant, and celebrated Johnson's great victory as a victory for their entire long-suffering race. Black poet William Waring Cuney later highlighted the African American reaction to the fight in his poem, "My Lord, What a Morning."

Around the country, blacks organized spontaneous parades, gathered in prayer meetings, and purchased goods with their newly won, gambling earnings. These celebrations often drew a violent response from white people. Some "riots" were simply African Americans celebrating in the streets. In certain cities, like Chicago, the police allowed them to continue their festivities. But in other cities, the police and angry white citizens tried to subdue the celebrations. Innocent black people were often attacked on the streets, and in some cases, gangs of whites entered black neighborhoods and tried to burn down apartment buildings. Police interrupted several attempted lynchings. In all, riots occurred in more than 25 states and 50 cities. At least 23 blacks and two whites died in the riots, and hundreds more were injured. A few white people were injured when they tried to intervene in a crowd's beating of a black man.

Certain states responded by banning the filming of Johnson's victories over white fighters. African-American newspapers stated that white people were afraid to circulate images of black superiority, and argued that the white press was hypocritical by condemning fight films while allowing lynchings to occur without criticism. The Washington Bee wrote, "The white man cannot expect always to be in the front rank without competition, and we all should look at things this way."

On April 5, 1915, Johnson lost his title to Jess Willard, a working cowboy who did not start boxing until he was almost 30 years old. With a crowd of 25,000 at the Vedado Racetrack in Havana, Cuba, Johnson was K.O.'d in the twenty-sixth round of the scheduled 45-round fight, which was co-promoted by Roderick James "Jess" McMahon and a partner. Johnson found that he could not knock out the giant Willard, who fought as a counterpuncher, making Johnson do all the leading. Johnson began to tire after the twentieth round, and was visibly hurt by heavy body punches from Willard in rounds preceding the twenth-sixth-round knockout. Johnson is said to have spread rumors that he took a dive, but Willard is widely regarded as winning fairly. Willard said, "If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he'd done it sooner. It was 105 degrees out."

Personal life

Jack Johnson, March 1915
(Library of Congress)

Johnson was an early example of the celebrity athlete, 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.[citation needed] Once, when he was pulled over for a $50 speeding ticket (a large sum at the time), he gave the officer a $100 bill, telling 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 as himself.

Johnson flouted conventions regarding the social and economic "place" of African Americans in American society. As a black man, he broke a powerful taboo in consorting with white women, and would verbally taunt men (both white and black) inside and outside the ring. Johnson was not shy about his affection for white women, nor modest 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."[2]

Johnson married Etta Duryea in late 1910 or early 1911. She committed suicide in September of 1911, and Johnson quickly remarried, to Lucille Cameron. Both women were white, a fact that caused considerable controversy at the time. After Johnson married Cameron, two ministers in the South recommended that Johnson be lynched. The couple fled via Canada to France soon after their marriage to escape criminal charges in the U.S.[1]

Prison sentence

In 1920, Johnson opened a night club in Harlem; he sold it three years later to a white gangster, Owney Madden, who renamed it the Cotton Club.

After fighting a number of bouts in Mexico, Johnson returned to the U.S. on 20 July, 1920 and surrendered to Federal agents for allegedly violating the Mann Act against "transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes" by sending his white girlfriend, Belle Schreiber, a railroad ticket to travel from Pittsburgh to Chicago. This prosecution is generally considered an intentional misuse of the Act, which was intended to stop interstate traffic in prostitutes. He was sent to the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth to serve his sentence of one year, and was released on 9 July, 1921.[1] There have been recurring proposals to grant Johnson a posthumous Presidential pardon.

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.

Cameron divorced him in 1924 on the grounds of infidelity. Johnson then married an old friend, Irene Pineau, in 1925; she outlived him. Johnson had no children.

Later life

Johnson continued fighting, but age was catching up with him. After two losses in 1928 he participated only in exhibition bouts.

Johnson died in a car crash near Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1946, aged 68, just one year before Jackie Robinson broke the "color line" in Major League Baseball. He was buried next to Etta Duryea at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. His grave is unmarked, but a stone that bears only the name "Johnson" stands above the plots of he and two of his wives.

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 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.
  • Johnson's skill as a fighter and the money that it brought made it impossible for him to be ignored by the white establishment. In a time in which African-Americans enjoyed few civil rights and in which lynching was an accepted extra-legal means of social coercion in many parts of the United States, his success and defiant behavior were a serious threat to the racist status quo. In the short term, the boxing world reacted against Johnson's legacy. Joe Louis, later, was not able to box for the heavyweight title until he proved he could "act white," and was warned against gloating over fallen opponents or having his picture taken with a white woman.[1] But Johnson foreshadowed, in many ways, perhaps the most famous boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali. In fact, Ali often spoke of how he was influenced by Jack Johnson. He identified with him because he felt white America ostracized him in the same manner because of his opposition to the war in Vietnam. In his autobiography, Ali relates how he and Joe Frazier agreed that Johnson and Joe Louis were the greatest boxers of old.
  • 41st street in Galveston, Texas is named "Jack Johnson Blvd."

Popular culture

Southern punk rock band This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb has a song about Jack Johnson. It appears on both their Three Way Tie for a Fifth CD and split seven inch with Carrie Nations. Several hip-hop artists have also reflected on Johnson's legacy, most notably in the album New Danger, by Mos Def, in which songs like "Zimzallabim" and "Blue Black Jack" are devoted to the artist's pugilistic hero. Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis both have done soundtracks for documentaries about Jack Johnson. There are also several references to Jack Johnson, made by the main character Ron Burgundy, in the movie Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

Miles Davis's 1970 (see 1970 in music) album "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!

Folksinger and blues musician Lead Belly references Jack 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.

Alt-country performer Tom Russell wrote a song entitled Jack Johnson and it was recorded in 1993, with Barrence Whitfield singing lead vocals, on the album Hillbilly Voodoo. It is both a tribute to Johnson and a biting indictment of the racism he 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."

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.[3]

Ray Emery of the Ottawa Senators of the NHL sported a mask with a picture of Jack Johnson on it as a tribute to his love for boxing.

41st street in Galveston, Texas is named "Jack Johnson Blvd." after the Galveston Giant himself

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Burns
  2. Stump, Al. 'The rowdy reign of the Black avenger'. True: The Men's Magazine January 1963.
  3. Horowitz, Adam, et al. "101 Dumbest Moments in Business," CNN.com, 2007-01-23. Retrieved on January 23, 2007

Washington Bee, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, all July 5, 1910


References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Marsalis, Wynton. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (Soundtrack), Blue Note Records, 2004. B00069YEIV

External links


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