Black History fact #23: Jack Johnson

What's going on, everybody. Welcome to another episode of a day with crime, black history fact edition. Of course I am your man, David. Let's jump in. 

All right. So today is fact is going to be on the first black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. 

Jack Johnson became the first African-American man to hold a world heavyweight champion boxing title in 19. He held onto the belt until 1915, [00:01:00] short and sweet, but there is a lot about Jack Johnson and we going to talk about it right now. So if you guys I'm inviting everybody, you know, of course, if you hear you're listening to it, but I've invited everybody on my Facebook that they really wanted to come listen to this episode today because there's a lot more to Jack, John.

John Arthur Johnson, who was born March 31st, 1978. And he died June 10th, 1946 was nicknamed the Galveston giant. He wasn't American boxer who at the height of the Jim Crow era became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion from 1908 to 1915, widely regarded as one of the most influential boxes of all time.

One of the periods, most dominant champions and as a boxing legend, his 1910 fight against James J Jeffries was dubbed the fight of the century. And according to filmmaker, Ken burns for more than 13 [00:02:00] years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African American on earth, transcending boxing.

He became part of the culture and history of racism in the United States. In 1912, Johnson opened a successful and luxurious black and tan desegregated restaurant and nightclub, which in part was run by his wife or white woman, major newspapers of the time. Soon claimed that Johnson was attacked by the government.

Only after he became famous as a black man, married to a white woman and was linked to other white women. Johnson was arrested on charges of violating the man. Forbidding one to transport a woman across state lines for immoral purposes or racially motivated, charge that in world, him and controversy for his relationships, including marriages with white women sit-ins to a year in prison.

Johnson fled the [00:03:00] country and fought boxing matches abroad for seven years until 1920. When he served his sentence at the federal penitentiary at. Johnson continued taking paying fights for many years and operated several other businesses, including lucrative endorsement deals. Johnson died in a car crash on June 10th, 1946 at the age of 68.

He is buried at Graceland cemetery in Chicago on May 24th, 2018. Johnson was formerly pardoned by us president Donald Trump. So let's talk a little bit about that. So. As you heard the, he didn't come up under attack until he was famous. And then he threw the man act on him, which said that he was bringing women across state lines for immoral purposes was mainly because he was married to them.

If you listen to the beginning, he said that he became the boxing champion in the height of the Jim Crow [00:04:00] era. So to be with a white woman back then was just, nah, not going to happen. It was a jailable offense, which you heard. He went to. I'm not trying to get all political, but this was one reason why, I guess Donald Trump's war, that he did more for black people than anybody, any other prison in the world, which I'm going to tell you that ain't true, but because he formally pardon Jack Johnson in 2018, which in my opinion, he asked you to happen long before Donald Trump was in office.

And he shouldn't have went to jail in the first place, but that is the way the times were then. So in his early life, he was the third child of nine born to Henry and Tina Johnson. They were former slaves who worked service jobs as a janitor in a dishwasher. His father had served as a civilian teamster of the union's 38 colored infantry.

He was described by his son as the most perfect physical specimen that he had ever seen. Although [00:05:00] Henry had been left within a trophy, right leg from his service and the. Growing up in Galveston, Texas Johnson attended five years of school as a young man, Justin was frail fell like all his siblings. He was expected to work.

Although Johnson grew up in the south, he said that segregation was not an issue in the somewhat secluded city of Galveston. As everyone living in the 12th ward was poor and went through the same street. Johnson remembers growing up with a gang of white boys in which he never felt victimized or excluded.

Remembering his childhood Johnson said, as I grew up, the white boys were my friends and my piles. I ate with them, played with them and slept at their homes. Their mothers gave me cookies and I ate at their tables. No one ever taught me that white men were superior to me. After Johnson quit school, he began a job working at the local.

He made several other attempts at working other jobs [00:06:00] around town until one day he made his way to Dallas finding work at the racetrack exercising horses, Jack stuck with this job until he found a new apprenticeship with a carriage painter by the name of Walter Lewis Lewis, enjoy watching friends, spar and Johnson began to learn how to box Johnson later declared that it was thanks to Louis that he became.

At 16 Johnson moved to New York city and found living arrangements with Barbados, Joe Walcott, a welterweight fighter from the west Indies Johnston. Again, found work exercising horses for the local stable until he was fired for exhausting a horse on his return to Galveston. He was hired as a janitor at a gym owned by German.

Born heavyweight fighter Herman burn-out Johnson. Eventually put away enough money to buy boxing gloves, sparring, every chance he got. At one point Johnson was arrested for brawling with the man named Davey Pearson, a grown and toughened man who accused Justin of turning [00:07:00] him in to the police over a game of craps, which both of them were released from jail.

They met at the docks and Johnson beat Pearson before large. Johnson then fought in a summer boxing league against a man named John must have it. Lee, because prize fighting was illegal in Texas. The fight was broken up and moved to the beach where Johnson won his first fight in a prize of a $1 and 50 cents.

Think about that. Prize fights today is worth millions back then his prize fighting prize was won. And 50 cents Johnson made his debut as a professional boxer on November 1st, 1898 in Galveston, when he knocked out Charlie Brooks in the second round of a 15 round bout for what was billed as the Texas state middleweight title and his third pro fight on May 8th, 1899.

He faced Klondike John W. Haynes and an African-American heavyweight known as the [00:08:00] black Hercules in Chicago. Klondike so-called as he was considered a rarity like the gold in the Klondike who had declared himself the black heavyweight champ, one on a technical knockout in the fifth round of a scheduled six rounder.

The two fighters met twice again in 1900 with the first rematch resulting in a draw as both fighters were on their feet. At the end of 20 rounds, Johnson won the third fight by TKO. When Klondike refused to come out for the 14th. And Johnson did not claim Klondike unrecognized title. So that was his, one of his fights.

I'll let you guys read the other two. We'll go down to where he became the world champion. So it says by 1903, though, Johnson's official record showed him with nine wins against three losses, five draws, and two no contest. He had won at least 50 fights against both white and black. Johnson won his first title on February 3rd, 1903, beating Denver [00:09:00] ed Martin on points in the 20 round match for the world colored heavyweight championship.

Justin held the title until it was vacated when he won the world heavyweight title from Tommy burns in Sydney, Australia on boxing day 19. His reign of 2,151 days was the third longest in the 60 year long history of the colored heavyweight title. Only Harry wills at 3,103 days. And Peter Jackson at 3041 days held the title longer.

A three time colored heavyweight champion wills held the title for a total of 3,351. Johnson defendant the colored heavyweight title 17 times, which was second only to the 26 times wills defended the title while colored champ. He defeated X colored champs, Denver at Martin and Frank Childs again [00:10:00] and beat future colored heavyweight champ, Sam McVeigh, three times.

And Sam Linkford once he beat Linkford on points and a 15 rounder and never gave him another shot of the title either when he was colored champ or the world heavyweights. Johnson's efforts to win the world. Heavyweight title were initially thoughted. As at the time world heavyweight champion, James J Jefferies refused to face him and retired and stay at whatever Johnson did fight former champion Bob Fitzsimmons in July, 1907 and knocked him out in two.

Johnson finally won the world heavyweight title on December 26th, 1908, a full six years after lightweight champion. Joe Gans became the first African-American boxing champion. Johnson's victory over the reigning world champion Canadian. Tommy burns at the Sydney stadium in Australia, came after following burns around the world for two years and talked to him in the press for him.

[00:11:00] Burns agreed to fight Johnson only out to promoters guaranteed him $30,000. The fight lasted 14 rounds before being stopped by the police in front of over 20,000 spectators and Johnson was named the winner after Johnson's victory over burns racial animosity among whites ran so deep that some call for a great white hope to take the title away from.

While Johnson was heavyweight champion. He was covered more in the press than all other notable black men combined. The lead up to the bout was peppered with racist press against Johnson. Even the New York times wrote of the event. If the black man wins thousands and thousands of his ignorant brothers will misinterpret his victory as justifying claims to much more than mere physical equality with their white neighbors.

As title holder Johnson, thug had to face a series of. Each build by boxing promoters as a great white hope. Often an exhibition matches in [00:12:00] 1909. He beat Tony Ross, Al Kauffman in the middleweight champion Stanley catch-all the match with catch-all was originally thought to have been an exhibition. And in fact, it was fought by both men that way until the 12th round, when Ketchel threw her right to Johnson's head knocking him.

Quickly gaining his feet and very annoyed Johnson, immediately dash straight at ketchup, and threw a single punch, an uppercut, a punch for which he was famous to catch those jaw, knocking him out the punch knocked out catcher's front teeth. Johnson can be seen on film, removing them from his glove, where they had been embedded the 1910 former undefeated heavyweight champion.

James J Jeff. Came out of retirement to challenge Johnson saying, I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro. He had not fought in six years and he also had to lose well over 100 pounds in order to [00:13:00] get back to his championship, fighting weight.

Initially Jeffries had no interest in the fight being quite happy as an alfalfa farmer, but those who wanted to see Johnson defeated Badger Jeffries, mercilessly from. And offered him an unheard sum of money reputed to be about $120,000. What is the equivalent to 3.3 million in 2019, which he finally accepted?

Jeffrey's mostly, we made that hidden from media attention until the day of the fight. While Justin soaked up the spot. John L. Sullivan who made boxing championships a popular and esteem. Spectacle stated that Johnson was in such good physical shape compared to Jeffrey's that he would only lose. If he had a lack of skill on the day of the fight before the fight Jeffery marked, it is my intention to go right after my opponent and knock him out as soon as possible while his wife added, I'm not interested in prize fighting, but I am interested in my [00:14:00] husband's.

Well, I do hope this will be his last fight. Johnson's words were made the best man win. Rachel tension was brewing in the lead up to the fight and in order to prevent any harm from coming to either boxer, guns were prohibited within the arena, along with the sale of alcohol and anyone who was under the effects of alcohol apples were also banned as well as any weapon whatsoever.

Behind their racial attitudes, which were being instigated by the media was a major investment in gambling for the fight with 10 to seven odds in favor of Jeffries. The first took place on July 4th, 1910 in front of 20,000 people at a ring, which was built just for the occasion and downtown Reno, Nevada Jeffrey's proved unable to impose his will on the younger champion and Johnson dumbly.

By the 15th round of the Jeffries had been knocked down twice for the first time in his career Jeffrey's corner, threw in the towel to end the fight [00:15:00] and prevent Jeffries from having a knockout on his record Johnson later remarked, he knew the fight was over in the fourth round. When he landed an uppercut and saw the look on Jeffrey's face stating I knew what that looked meant.

The old ship was sinking. Afterwards Jeffries was humbled by the laws and what he'd seen of Johnson and their match. I could never have whipped Johnson at my best. Jeffrey said I couldn't have hit him. No, I couldn't have reached him in 1000 years. The fighter of the century earned Johnson, $65,000, which would be over $1.8 million in 2019 and silence.

The critics who had belittled Johnson's previous victory over Tommy burns as. Claiming that burns was a false champion since Jeffery's had retired undefeated, John L. Sullivan commented after the fight that Johnson won deservedly fairly and convincingly, the fight of the century is over. And a black man [00:16:00] is the undisputed champion of the world.

It was a poor fight as fights go this less than 15 round affair between James J Jeffries and Jack Johnson. Scarcely, has there ever been a championship contest? That was so. All of Jeffrey's much vaulted condition amounted to nothing. He wasn't in it from the first bill tap to the last, the Negro had few friends, but there was little demonstration against him.

Spectators could not help, but admire Johnson because he is the type of prize fighter that is admired by sportsman. He played fairly at all times and fought fairly what a crafty powerful cutting left-hand Johnson. He is one of the crafty is cutting his boxers that ever stepped into the ring. They both fought closely all during the 15 rounds.

It was just a sort of fight that Jeffrey's wanted. There was no running or ducking, like Corbett dead with me in new Orleans in 1892. Jeffrey did [00:17:00] not miss so many blows because he hardly started any Johnson was on top of him all the time. Johnson didn't get gay at all with Jeffries in the beginning. And it was always the white man who clenched, but Johnson was very careful and he backed away and took no chances and was good nature with it all the best man won.

And I was one of the first to congratulate him and also one of the first to extend my heart feels sympathy to the beaten man. All right. So there you have that part of Jack Johnson, uh, how he was, you know, just a great boxer. Even the man that retired because he refused to fight him even came back because I guess he had to find out was he that good?

And everybody wanting to be beat, he felt like he could beat him. And we saw what happened to that. So what happened to Jack Johnson? When did he lose his title? Says on April 5th, 1915 Johnson lost his title to just. Uh, working [00:18:00] cowboy from Kansas who started boxing when he was 27 years old with a crowd of 25,000, our oil park racetrack in Havana.

Cuba Johnson was knocked out in the 26th round of the scheduled 45 round fight Johnson. All though having won almost every round began to tire after the 20th round and was visibly hurt by heavy body punches from Willard and rounds proceeding the 26th round. Johnson has said by many, a year after the fight to have spread rumors that he took a dive, but Woodard is widely regarded as having won the fight outright.

Meaning people thought Johnson purposely threw the fight because Willard was white in an effort to have his man act charges dropped. What are running ugly responded. If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he had done it sooner. It was hotter than hell off. So after losing this world, heavyweight championship Johnson, never again, fought for the color heavyweight crown.

His popularity remained strong enough that he recorded for [00:19:00] his Rutgers in the 1920. Johnson continued fighting, but age was catching up with him. He fought professionally until 1938 at age 60, when he lost seven of his last nine bouts losing his final fight to Walter Price by seventh round TKO. It is often suggested that any bouts after the age of 40, which was a very vulnerable age for boxing in these days.

Not to be counted on his actual record since he was performing in order to make a living. He also indulged in what was known as seller fighty, where the belts on advertise were fall for private audiences, usually in sellers or other unrecognized places. There are photographs existing of one of these fights Johnson made his final ringer periods at age 67 on November 27th, 1945 fighting three, one minute exhibition rounds against two opponents, John.

And John Belcourt and a bit of a fight card for us war bonds. I don't think today [00:20:00] you can get any boxers. It'd be fighting at 67 years of age, uh, all in prison. I know that it's about that old, that is still doing anything like that is probably the nature boy, Ric flair of world wrestling, entertainment, wrestling fame.

All right. So I think I told you guys at the beginning that he was arrested for the man. Uh, because he was married to a white woman now that he was famous, I guess they decided to go after him. So briefly what happened with that was on October 18th, 1912, Johnson was arrested on the grounds that his relationship with Lucille Cameron violated the Mann act against transporting women across state lines for more purposes, due to her being an alleged prostitute.

Her mother also swore that her daughter was in. And Cameron soon to become his second wife, refuse to cooperate in the case fell apart less than a month later, Johnson was arrested again on similar charges this time, the woman, another alleged [00:21:00] prostitute named bill Schreiber with whom he had been involved in 1909 in 1910, testified against him in the courtroom.

Kennesaw mountain land is the future commissioner of baseball who perpetrated the baseball color line until his. Johnson was convicted by an all white jury in June, 1913. Despite the fact that the incidents used to convict him, took place before passage of the Mann act. He was sitting as two a year in a day in prison Johnson, skipped bail, and left the country joining Lucille and Montreal on June 25th, before fleeing to France, to flee to Canada Johnson poses a member of a black baseball team for the next seven years.

They lived in exile and yeah. South America and Mexico Johnson returned to the us on July 20th, 1920. He surrendered to federal agents at the Mexican border and was sent to the United States penitentiary 11 worth to serve his sentence in September of 1920, he was released on [00:22:00] July 9th, 1921. Alright, so then after that, I told you that he was actually pardoned in 2018 by Donald Trump.

There have been reoccurring proposals to grant Johnson or path, most presidential party. Uh, bill with requested that president George W. Bush pardoned Johnson passed the house in 2008, but failed to pass the Senate in April, 2009 to Senator John McCain, along with a representative Peter King filmmaker, Ken burns, and Johnson's great niece, Linda Heywood.

We requested a presidential pardon for Johnson from president Barack Obama. In July of that year, Congress passed a resolution calling on president Obama to issue. 2016, another petition for Johnson's. Pardon was issued by McCain king, Senator Harry Reid and Congressman Gregory Meeks to president Obama marking the seventh anniversary since the boxer's death.

This time citing a provision of the, every student succeeds. Signed by the president, [00:23:00] December, 2015, in which Congress expressed that this boxing grade should be sieved, a path mousse, pardon, and a vote by the United States commission of civil rights pass unanimously a week earlier in June, 2016 to fight this century old.

Mike Tyson, Harry Reed and John McCain lent their support to the campaign. Starting a change.org, potentially asking president Obama to pause muesli. Pardon the world's first African-American boxing champion for his racially motivated 1913 felony. After various attempts by the former WBC president, Jose Sulaiman, who reached out to different presidents, who administrations, which date back to Ronald Reagan's in April of 2018, president Donald Trump announced that he was considering granting a full part into Johnson.

After speaking with a world boxing council committee, along with actors, Sylvester, Stallone. Trump part and Johnson on May 24th, 2018, [00:24:00] 105 years after his conviction, during a ceremony, which included special guests, Maricio Suleiman, who was the WBC president, Hector Mon who's the president of the board of advisors of scholars oriented, Sylvester Stallone, who of course is an actor, Deontay Wilder, then current WBC champion and Lennox Lewis WBC, former champ.

So on June 10th, 1946, unfortunately he died in a car crash on us highway one, near Franklin, North Carolina, after racing angrily from a diner that forced him to eat in the rear area, allocated to blacks. His friend survived the high-speed collision with a Telegraph pole. He was taken to the closest black hospital St.

Agnes hospital. He was 68 years old at the time of his death. He was buried next to his first wife. Johnson who committed suicide in 1912 at Graceland cemetery in Chicago. His grave was initially unmarked, but [00:25:00] later it was marked with the large stone, which only bore the name Johnson. This marker was replaced with a new marker.

After Ken burns released a film about Johnson's life in 2005. Johnson's new, smaller gravestone reads. Jack John H. Johnson, 1878 to 1946, first black heavyweight champion of the world Johnson signatures on the back of a stone. All right. And the last part, this is what became of his legacy. So Johnson was a narc road, 1954, inductee to the ring magazines, boxing hall of fame, which was disbanded in 1987.

It was inducted to the international boxing hall of fame in 1990s. In 2005, the United States national film perseveration board deemed the film of the 1910 Johnson. Jeffrey's fight historically significant and put it in the national film registry. During his Boston career, Jack Johnson fought 114 fights winning 80 [00:26:00] matches 45 by nine.

Box wreck ranked him among the world's 10 best heavyweights, 12 times, and placed him at number one from 1905 to 1909. In the short term, the boxing world reacted against Johnson's legacy, but Johnson foreshadowed one of the most famous boxes of all time. Muhammad Ali, in fact, Ali often spoke of how he was influenced by Jack.

Ali identify with Johnson because he felt America ostracized Tim in the same manner because of his opposition to the Vietnam war and affiliation with the nation of Islam in 2002 scholar. Molefi Katie Asante, this, the Jack Justin on his list of 100 greatest African-Americans and in 2012, the city of Galveston dedicated a park and Johnson's memory as Galveston Ireland's most famous native.

The park called Jack Johnson park includes a life-sized bronze statue of Johnson. [00:27:00] All right, guys, there, you have it. I think we old Jack Johnson a lot, especially if you are a boxing fan without him, we would have no Muhammad Ali. We didn't had no Lennox Lewis. We would have had no Mike Tyson. We would have had none of the famous black heavyweights that we've had George Foreman.

I mean, the list goes on and on and on. He was the first. And because that he sparked a lot of interest in that sport and they, and now today's world, you know, we still have it going on. And like I just said, we wouldn't have a lot of those great heavyweights if it was not for him. And then on top of that, to do it in an area where he was not liked because of the color of his skin and was still able to persevere, it says a lot about the man that Jack Johnson was.

 all right, guys that does with this. And I thank you for tuning in to yet another black history fact here. Join me tomorrow, I have another [00:28:00] one for you. 

As always need to get ahold of us, feel free to drop a line. At a day with crime@gmail.com. Also, don't forget to visit the website, www.adaywithcrime.com. It is your one stop shop for everything that is a day with crime. Alright guys, as always be safe all there and be good to yourself. and each other. And I'm going to catch you guys on the next one.