Boxing: Who Was The Great White Hope?

He was called the Galveston Giant, a heavyweight champion who was the most widely known black man in the world. But he was hated and despised for his swaggering manner. Jack Johnson, son of former slaves, would walk down the street showing his gold-toothed grin, a gold-studded walking cane, and a blonde on each arm. He loved history (Napoleon was a hero) and was an opera fan; he astonished all with his mastery of the cello. Johnson often taunted his opponents and all the whites sitting at ringside, His boxing style was confusing to many. He often fought defensively in the early rounds, waiting patiently for an opening. Once given an opening, he finished the fight with a flurry of staggering blows to the head, all the time smiling at the crowd.

By 1904, he had defeated all the top black heavyweights and challenged champion Jim Jeffries for a title shot. Jeffries refused to fight him. When Jeffries retired, Tommy Burns was the new heavyweight champion and accepted a title fight with Johnson. Johnson stopped Burns in the 14^th round and then the search for a Great White Hope was on. Sportswriters of the day pleaded for anyone--any white man--to take the title away from the black man.

It would be billed as the Fight of the Century. Jim Jeffries was coaxed out of retirement for one more big fight--the biggest of his career. In 1910, the city of Reno, Nevada was host to the most anticipated sporting event of the day. Jeffries went down in the 15^th round after taking a sound beating. There were racial riots in many cities when the word got out. It’s estimated 23 blacks and 2 whites were killed in the uproar that followed

Among those who took up the mantle of the white man was a middleweight called the Michigan Assassin. It would be known as a David verses Goliath match. Stanley Ketchel had one of the deadliest right hands in boxing. He dearly loved his mother and would work himself into a rage by pretending the guy he was fighting had, in some way, made fun of his mother. This brought him roaring out of his corner, the powerful right hand cocked. Many think his fight with Johnson was fixed. They claim the two boxers had made a deal. Both supposedly vowed not to draw blood and to make the fight go the full 20 rounds. This would bring in more money for the fight films, which were new and very popular. However, Johnson did give Ketchel a bloody nose and the lighter man retaliated by knocking Johnson to the canvas. A surprised Johnson staggered to his feet. In the 12^th round he caught Ketchel a number of times taking out several teeth. Ketchel went down and the fight was over.

Ketchel traveled to a friend’s ranch to prepare for his next fight. It was a fight that would never happen. Walter Dipley, a ranch hand, shot and killed the fighter as he sat eating breakfast. Dipley claimed Ketchel had forced himself on the cook, Goldie Smith. It was later proven the killing was a botched robbery attempt. Both Dipley and Smith were sent to prison. Stanley Ketchel’s last words were: “I’m so tired. Take me home to Mother.”

The Great white Hope turned out to be Jess Willard who knocked out Johnson in the 26^th round of a scheduled 45-round fight. It was a controversial bout as Johnson is seen holding his arm over his eyes while being counted out. Is it possible to be unconscious and able to pull off such a feat? Willard, however, said, “If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he’d done it sooner. It was 105 degrees out.”

Jack Johnson had three wives and all were white. His first wife, a socialite, killed herself. Johnson was prosecuted on what some say were trumped-up charges based on the Mann Act. The act was intended to guard against transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes. Johnson had taken many of his girlfriends across state lines but was never involved in prostitution. It’s believed he gave a white girlfriend a railroad ticket from Pittsburgh to Chicago and that was taken as a violation of the law. Johnson took off for Canada and later made his way to France. He spent time there appearing in exhibition matches and doing vaudeville stunts. He got tired of being on the run and surrendered to federal authorities and was sentenced to a year in prison. In 1924, he married Irene Pineau. This marriage would be his last. Jack Johnson was killed in a car crash in 1946 at the age of 68.

There was a Great White Hope of sorts who did defeat Johnson but not in boxing. Johnson loved racing cars and challenged Barney Oldfield to a race. Barney, the champion racer of the day, was the winner. Because of the furor Johnson created, the next black heavyweight king, Joe Louis, was told to live clean and keep his mouth shut. He was never to have his picture taken with a white woman. Many years later, another champ, Muhammad Ali would be his own man and was accepted as a great fighter and a decent human being--the times had definitely changed.

Trivia Question: In 1920, Jack Johnson opened a night club in Harlem. He sold it to a gangster who renamed it the------ ----

Answer below the comments

 Trivia Question Answer: The Cotton Club