Athletes - Jack Johnson

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	Athletes - Jack Johnson

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.

Biography

Early life

Jack Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas to Henry and Tiny Johnson, former slaves, who both worked blue-collar jobs to earn enough to raise six children and teach them all how to read and write. Jack Johnson had only five years of formal schooling.

Personal life

Johnson was a renowned womaniser and had many relationships, a number of them with prostitutes and brothel-keepers. He was married three times. His first wife, Etta Duryea, committed suicide in September 1911, nine months after their wedding. Johnson quickly remarried, to Lucille Cameron; the speed of the courtship caused a scandal and their premarital relationship led to his indictment under the Mann Act and caused the couple to flee to France soon after their marriage. Lucille sued for divorce in 1924, citing her husband's adultery; he did not contest her suit. Johnson married his third wife, Irene Pineau, in 1925; she outlived him. All three of Johnson's wives were white, a fact that caused considerable controversy at the time. He had no children.

On his return to the United States in 1920, the boxer served a year in prison for his earlier violation of the Mann Act.

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, including automobile racing and the purchase of jewellery and furs for his wives.

Boxing career

Johnson fought his first bout, a 16-round victory, at age 15. He turned professional around 1897, fighting in private clubs, and by age 18 was earning more in one night than his father earned in an entire week.

In 1901, Joe Choynski came to Galveston to train Jack Johnson. Choynski, an experienced boxer, knocked Johnson out, 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.

Johnson developed a more patient style than was customary in that day: playing defensively, waiting for a mistake, and then capitalizing on it. It was very effective, but it was criticized in the press as being cowardly and devious. By 1902, Johnson had won at least 27 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 only 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 World Heavyweight Champion, Canadian 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 that nobody could actually see Johnson becoming the champion.

As title holder, Johnson had to face a series of fighters billed by boxing promoters as "great white hopes", often as exhibition matches. In 1909 he fought Victor McLaglen (who later became a Hollywood star) in a six-round no-contest bout. That same year he beat Frank Moran, Jack O'Brien, Tony Ross and Al Kaufman.

He also fought the middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel. As the story goes, Ketchell agreed to try not to win, and the two agreed to try to make the fight go as long as possible, to get more money from selling films of the fight. However, at one point Ketchell saw an opening, and threw a big right hand, trying to knock Johnson out. Johnson went down, but held himself up on one arm, then arose almost immediately, threw his own big right, and knocked Ketchell out. It was said that Ketchell's teeth became embedded in Johnson's glove.

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Athletes - Jack Johnson

Biography

Early life

Personal life

Boxing career

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