Jack Johnson.

Jack Johnson :(1878-1946)

The First African American Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World.

Real name: Arthur John Johnson.
Nickname(s) - Galveston Giant
Rated at Heavyweight
Height - 6 ft 1.5 in (187 cm)
Reach - 74 in (190 cm)
Nationality - American
Birth date - March 31, 1878(1878-03-31)
Birth place - Galveston, Texas
Death date June 10, 1946 (aged 68)
Death place - Raleigh, North Carolina.
Stance - Orthodox.

Boxing record:
Total fights 124
Wins 89
Wins by KO 49
Losses 2
Draws 12
No contests 9

Jack Johnson was the first African American, and first Texan, to win the heavyweight boxing championship of the world.

Born in Galveston on March 31, 1878, he was the second of six children of Henry and Tiny Johnson. Henry was a former slave and his family was poor. After leaving school in the fifth grade, Johnson worked odd jobs around South Texas. He started boxing as a sparring partner and fought in the "battles royal," matches in which young blacks entertained white spectators who threw money to the winner.

Johnson turned professional in 1897 following a period with private clubs in Galveston. His family's home was destroyed by the great hurricane of 1900. A year later he was arrested and jailed because boxing was a criminal profession in Texas. He soon left Galveston for good. Johnson first became the heavyweight champion of Negro boxing. Jim Jeffries, the white champ at the time, refused to fight Johnson because he was black. Then, in 1908, Johnson knocked out Tommy Burns in Australia to become world champion, although he was not officially given the title until 1910 when he finally fought and beat Jeffries in Las Vegas. Jeffries had come out of retirement to become the first of many so-called "great white hopes."

Johnson's boxing 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. By 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 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 World 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 world 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.

Sydney Stadium during the Johnson-Burns match on December 26, 1908.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 fourteen rounds 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 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 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 some of his teeth, several of which were embedded in Johnson's glove. His fight with "Philadelphia" Jack O'Brien was a disappointing one for Johnson: though scaling 205 pounds (93 kg) to O'Brien's 161 pounds (73 kg) , he could only achieve a six-round draw with the great middleweight.

Race rioting was sparked after the Johnson - Jeffries fight. The Texas Legislature banned films of his victories over whites for fear of more riots. In 1913, Johnson fled because of trumped up charges of violating the Mann Act's stipulations against transporting white women across state lines for prostitution.

During his exile from the U.S., Johnson lost his championship to a white man, Jess Willard, in Cuba in 1915. He returned to the U.S. on July 20, 1920 and was arrested. Sentenced to Leavenworth in Kansas, Johnson was appointed athletic director of the prison. Upon his release, he returned to boxing, but only participated in exhibition fights after 1928.

Although married three times to white women, Johnson never had children. He died in a car crash June 10, 1946, near Raleigh, North Carolina.

Jeffries, Burns and Johnson 1900s

This trio of fighters ruled the heavyweights during the first ten years of the century. James J Jeffries retired as undefeated champion in 1905, after which Tommy Burns, a diminutive Canadian took charge. Burns tenure was doomed the moment he was forced to face Jack Johnson (left), a man destined to become the first black heavyweight champion ever.
During a shameful period in American history, a great white hope was sought, with Jeffries brought out of retirement to take on Johnson. He was stopped in 15 rounds and Johnson ruled until 1915.

Jack Johnson, heavyweight boxing champion, entrepreneur in 1903 match with Sam McVey

Jack Johnson patented a wrench (U.S.patent# 1,413,121) on April the 18th, 1922.

Congress Seeks Pardon for Boxing Champion Jack Johnson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thu Apr 7, 2005 - U.S. lawmakers are seeking a presidential pardon for Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, convicted more than 90 years ago in a racially motivated morals case.

At the height of his career in 1913, the boxer was convicted and sent to federal prison for one year and one day for violating the Mann Act by transporting a white woman across state lines for immoral purposes.

"No one should be punished for choosing to go their own way," said Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, the leader of the congressional effort for a pardon.

"A pardon "would be a strong and necessary symbol to the world of America's continuing resolve to live up to the noble ideals of freedom, opportunity and equal justice for all," McCain said on Wednesday as lawmakers joined professional boxers and other supporters to press their appeal.

The Mann Act of 1910 outlawed the transport of women across state lines for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for "any other immoral purpose."

"Mr. Johnson's conviction was motivated by nothing more than the color of his skin, as such it injured not only Mr. Johnson, but also our nation as a whole," McCain wrote in a letter to President Bush last month.

A pardon would help relieve the nation from the weight of racism and bigotry, the letter said.

Five other senators - Republicans Orrin Hatch of Utah and Ted Stevens of Alaska and Democrats Harry Reid of Nevada and Edward Kennedy and John Kerryof Massachusetts -- signed the letter urging a full posthumous presidential pardon.

Johnson died in an automobile accident in 1946.

U.S. lawmakers are seeking a presidential pardon for Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, convicted more than 90 years ago in a racially motivated morals case. At the height of his career in 1913, the boxer was convicted and sent to federal prison for one year and one day for violating the Mann Act by transporting a white woman across state lines for immoral purposes. Johnson is seen in this undated archival photo. Photo by Library of Congress/Reuters