THE MASSES CALLED HIM “NIGGER JACK
San Francisco, CA– Coinciding with the inauguration of the nation’s first black, OK half black President of the United States Barrack Obama, I’ve decided to look at the heavyweight championship from a black perspective. Jack Johnson, the first black universally recognized heavyweight champion was crowned in 1908 and held onto to the title until 1915. For those of us that recall the social reverberations of Muhammad Ali in the 60s, the hatred of the champion by many, you might find it hard to believe the reign of Jack Johnson was far more tumultuous.
WHO WAS JACK JOHNSON ANYWAY? From everything that I’ve read or seen, Jack Johnson was nothing short of an asshole! But remember my paraphrasing Winston Churchill when taking that judgment into account. “The winners write history, not the losers.” Johnson, born in Galveston, TX in March 1878, turned pro in 1897 and won the “colored” world heavyweight title in 1903 with a UD 20 over Denver Ed Martin. Jack would defend the black world heavyweight title nine times before losing in 1907 via DQ 2 to Joe Jeanette. This was the only time Johnson lost to Jeanette whom he faced eight times.
TALK ABOUT “PENIS ENVY”
By several accounts the 6’1 Johnson had a sexual appendage so large he would tie it to his thigh while training publicly. In addition, Jack would travel about the country with more than one white woman. He was partying, having sex, Jack Johnson was flaunting his intimate relationships with white women in the press. Insecure white men, not to mention their being jealous and prejudiced, all across this country they wanted JJ dead. In his lifetime there were many death threats put forth, and besides being the best fighter in the world, Johnson packed a gun at times.
JEFFRIES WAS FIRST “GREAT WHITE HOPE”
In 1910, former champ James J. Jeffries came back after six years to among other things display white supremacy over “colored” men. With the promoters blessing, the Reno, NV Ricky Hatton-esque crowd was chanting, “Kill the nigger.” Jeffies was stopped in the 15th round of a 45 round fight that was about as one-sided as they come. In his zenith at 32, Johnson got $225,000 and weighed 208 lbs. For their part, white men all across the United States rioted.
WHITE WOMEN & FIGHT VIDEOS MADE ILLEGAL
With President William Taft’s disdain for Johnson at a fevered pitch, there were two laws created because of Johnson’s antics. The first was making it illegal to send fight films over state lines. That’s right, the government was so threatened by a black man beating on whites that they conjured up such ridiculous legislation. Another law that was formed because of Johnson made it illegal to transport women across state lines.
“WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC ACT” AKA “MANN ACT”
A conviction under “The Mann Act” was what drove Johnson into exile for bringing his white girlfriend (Taft’s people labeled her a prostitute) across state lines in 1913. Sentenced to a year and a day, Jack left the country instead of going to the slammer. He would fight abroad, losing the title to Jess Willard in 1915 in Havana, Cuba. Scheduled for 45 rounds, Johnson was out of gas and was stopped in the 26th.
FOUGHT A COUPLE OF TIMES A YEAR
After going unbeaten 21 times in the 11 years since Willard, Johnson would drop seven of his last nine fights before retiring in 1938 at 73-13-9 with 40 KOs at the age of 60. When he died in 1946 at 68, the result of driving his car too fast in the rain, Johnson was again labeled the devil. Devil or not, it maybe that Johnson was the greatest heavyweight in boxing history. Although it’s tough to compare eras, Johnson might have ran every heavyweight in history out of the ring!
Pedro Fernandez
Note: Mr. Fernandez is an award-winning writer, TV commentator, radio talk show host, former San Francisco Policeman and four-time Golden Gloves champion. Comments regarding this submission can be left below.