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{{Short description|American boxer (1878–1946)}}{{about|the African-American boxing champion|other persons|Jack Johnson (disambiguation)}}{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}}

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|weight = Heavyweight60+1/2mabbr=on}}JACK JOHNSON THE "GALVESTON GIANT" >URL=HTTP://BOXINGHALLOFFAME.COM/JACK-JOHNSON-THE-GALVESTON-GIANT/ ACCESS-DATE=AUGUST 28, 2014 ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20140903102638/HTTP://BOXINGHALLOFFAME.COM/JACK-JOHNSON-THE-GALVESTON-GIANT/ TITLE=JACK JOHNSONACCESS-DATE=OCTOBER 27, 2021, 74cmabbr=on}}|birth_name = John Arthur Johnson187831|mf=y}}|birth_place = Galveston, Texas, U.S.19461003mf=y}}Franklinton, North Carolina, U.S.}}Orthodox stance>Orthodox|total = 95|wins = 72|KO = 38|losses = 11|draws = 11|no contests = 3}}John Arthur Johnson (March 31, 1878 – June 10, 1946), nicknamed the "Galveston Giant", was an American boxer who, at the height of the Jim Crow era, became the first black world heavyweight boxing champion (1908–1915). His 1910 fight against James J. Jeffries was dubbed the "fight of the century".John L. Sullivan, cited in: Christopher James Shelton, Historian for The Boxing Amusement Park, {{"'}}Fight of the Century' Johnson vs. Jeffries, the 100th anniversary" Johnson defeated Jeffries, who was white, triggering dozens of race riots across the U.S. According to filmmaker Ken Burns, "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African American on Earth".Ken Burns, Unforgivable Blackness {{explain|year, publisher, form of media?|date=October 2018}}WEB,weblink Unforgivable Blackness. Sparring. Johnson's Rise, PBS, September 30, 2014, He is widely regarded as one of the most influential boxers in history. 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, a 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.NEWS,weblink The short, sad story of Cafe de Champion – Jack Johnson's mixed-race nightclub on Chicago's South Side, Johnson, Charles J., Chicago Tribune, May 27, 2018, en-US, Johnson was arrested on charges of violating the Mann Act—forbidding one to transport a woman across state lines for "immoral purposes"—a racially motivated charge that embroiled him in controversy for his relationships, including marriages.BOOK,weblink What Comes Naturally: Miscegenation Law and the Making of Race in America, Pascoe, Peggy, Oxford University Press, 2009, 978-0-19-509463-3, Oxford, England, 164–165, 221155113, Sentenced to a year in prison, Johnson fled the country and fought boxing matches abroad for seven years until 1920, when he served his sentence at the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth.Johnson continued taking paying fights for many years, and operated several other businesses, including lucrative endorsement deals. He died in a car crash in 1946 at the age of 68.WEB,weblink U.S. News & World Report 'Two champs meet', Internet Archive, February 14, 2015, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131111070334weblink">weblink November 11, 2013, He is buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. In 2018 Johnson, with some instigation from actor Sylvester Stallone, was formally pardoned by U.S. president Donald Trump.NEWS, Eligon, John, Shear, Michael D., 2018-05-24, Trump Pardons Jack Johnson, Heavyweight Boxing Champion (Published 2018), en-US, The New York Times,weblink 2021-02-25, 0362-4331,

Early life

Johnson was born on March 31, 1878, the third child of nine born to Henry and Tina Johnson, former slaves who worked service jobs as a janitor and a dishwasher.WEB, Johnson's Early Life,weblink Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson {{!, Ken Burns {{!}} PBS |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |access-date=21 February 2023 |language=en}} His father had served as a civilian teamster of the Union's 38th Colored Infantry. He was described by his son as the "most perfect physical specimen that he had ever seen", although Henry had been left with an atrophied right leg from his service in the American Civil War.Ward, Geoffrey C. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. New York:Growing up in Galveston, Texas, Johnson attended five years of school.Ward, Geoffrey C. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. New York: A.A. Knopf, 2004. Print.PG20. As a young man, Johnson was frail,Ward, Geoffrey C. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. New York: A.A. Knopf, 2004. Print.PG21 though, like all of 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 struggles.Ward, Geoffrey C. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. New York: A.A. Knopf, 2004. Print.PG.21 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 pals. 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."JOURNAL, Roberts, Randy, Galveston's Jack Johnson: Flourishing in the Dark., The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 1983, 87, 1, 42, 30241079,weblink September 26, 2023, Jack Johnson's mother, Tina was a huge influence in Jack's life. When Jack was younger, he was known as a coward and his sister, Lucy would protect him. After Jack came home bruised and crying, his mom warned him that if he were to get beat at school, then she would whip him worse at home. Her method was to scare him and for him to learn the lesson that he needs to protect himself. The lesson was received by Jack, as he never lost a fight to a schoolboy again.After Johnson quit school, he began a job working at the local docks. He made several other attempts at working other jobs around town until one day he made his way to Dallas, finding work at the race track exercising horses. Jack stuck with this job until he found a new apprenticeship with a carriage painter by the name of Walter Lewis. Lewis enjoyed watching friends spar, and Johnson began to learn how to box.Ward, Geoffrey C. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. New York: A.A. Knopf, 2004. Print.PG23 Johnson later declared that it was thanks to Lewis that he became a boxer.Ward, Geoffrey C. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. New York: A.A. Knopf, 2004. Print.PG24At 16, Johnson moved to New York City and found living arrangements with Barbados Joe Walcott, a welterweight fighter from the West Indies. Johnson 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 Bernau. Johnson eventually saved enough money to buy boxing gloves, sparring every chance he got.Ward, Geoffrey C. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. New York: A.A. Knopf, 2004. Print.PG26At one point,{{when|date=December 2020}} Johnson was arrested for brawling with a man named Davie Pearson, a "grown and toughened" man who accused Johnson of turning him in to the police over a game of craps. When both of them were released from jail, they met at the docks, and Johnson beat Pearson before a large crowd. Johnson then fought in a summer boxing league against a man named John "Must Have It" Lee. Because prizefighting was illegal in Texas, the fight was broken up and moved to the beach, where Johnson won his first fight and a prize of one dollar and fifty cents.Ward, Geoffrey C. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. New York: A.A. Knopf, 2004. Print.PG28

Boxing career

Johnson made his debut as a professional boxer on November 1, 1898, in Galveston, when he knocked out Charley Brooks in the second round of a 15-round bout, billed for "The Texas State Middleweight Title". In his third pro fight on May 8, 1899, he faced "Klondike" (John W. Haynes, or Haines), an African American heavyweight known as "The 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", won on a technical knockout (TKO) 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 a TKO when Klondike refused to come out for the 14th round. Johnson did not claim Klondike's unrecognized title.{{Citation needed|date = July 2019}}

Johnson vs. Choynski

(File:JohnsonChoy.jpg|thumb|Johnson standing behind Choynski in Chicago in 1909)On February 25, 1901, Johnson fought Joe Choynski in Galveston. Choynski, a popular and experienced heavyweight, knocked out Johnson in the third round. Prizefighting was illegal in Texas at the time and they were both arrested. Bail was set at $5,000, nearly $200,000 in 2023, which neither could afford. The sheriff permitted both fighters to go home at night so long as they agreed to spar in the jail cell. Large crowds gathered to watch the sessions. After 23 days in jail, their bail was reduced to an affordable level and a grand jury refused to indict either man. Johnson later stated that he learned his boxing skills during that jail time. The two would remain friends.JOURNAL, The Making of Jack Johnson, Kroger, Bill, March 2012, Texas Bar Journal, 75, 9, 206, Austin, TX, State Bar of Texas, Michelle, Hunter, Johnson attested that his success in boxing came from the coaching he received from Choynski.BOOK,weblink The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes, September 30, 2014, 9781561719075, Horvitz, Peter S., April 2007, SP Books, BOOK,weblink registration, 31, Boxing in San Francisco, Arcadia Publishing, September 30, 2014, 9780738528861, Daniel Somrack, F., October 2004, The aging Choynski saw natural talent and determination in Johnson and taught him the nuances of defense, stating: "A man who can move like you should never have to take a punch".

Top contender

Johnson beat former black heavyweight champion Frank Childs on October 21, 1902. Childs had twice won the black heavyweight title and continued to claim that he was the true black champion despite having lost his title in a bout with George Byers and then, after retaking the title from Byers, losing it again to Denver Ed Martin. He also claimed the unrecognized black heavyweight title as well.{{Citation needed|date = July 2019}} Johnson won by a TKO in the 12th round of the scheduled 20-rounder, when Childs's seconds signaled he could not go on, claiming a dislocated elbow. The defeat by Johnson forever ended Childs's pretensions to the black heavyweight crown.{{Citation needed|date = July 2019}}

World colored heavyweight champ

(File:Jack Johnson Boxer Sydney c 1908.jpg|thumb|Jack Johnson, Sydney, c. 1908)File:Jack Johnson cph.3b19117 (edit).jpg|thumb|Johnson in 1908 (photograph by Otto SaronyOtto SaronyBy 1903, though Johnson's official record showed him with nine wins against three losses, five draws and two no contests, he 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 on points in a 20-round match for the World Colored Heavyweight Championship. Johnson held the title until it was vacated when he won the world heavyweight title from Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia on Boxing Day 1908. 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 3,041 days held the title longer. A three-time colored heavyweight champion, Wills held the title for a total of 3,351 days.Johnson defended the colored heavyweight title 12 times, which was second only to the 26 times Wills defended the title. While colored champ, he defeated colored ex-champs Denver Ed Martin and Frank Childs again and beat future colored heavyweight champs Sam McVey three times and Sam Langford once. He beat Langford on points in a 15-rounder and never gave him another shot at the title, when he was either colored champ or the world heavyweight champ.

Johnson vs. Jeanette & Langford

Johnson fought Joe Jeanette a total of seven times, all during his reign as colored champion before he became the world's heavyweight champion, winning four times and drawing twice (three of the victories and one draw were newspaper decisions). In their first match in 1905, they had fought to a draw, but in their second match on November 25, 1905, Johnson lost as he was disqualified in the second round of a scheduled six-round fight. Johnson continued to claim the title because of the disqualification.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}After Johnson became the first African-American Heavyweight Champion of the World on December 26, 1908, his World Colored Heavyweight Championship was vacated. Jeanette fought Sam McVey for the title in Paris on February 20, 1909, and was beaten, but he later took the title from McVey in a 49-round bout on April 17 of that year in Paris for a $6,000 purse. Sam Langford subsequently claimed the title during Jeanette's reign after Johnson refused to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against him. Eighteen months later, Jeanette lost the title to Langford.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}During his reign as world champion, Johnson never again fought Jeanette, despite numerous challenges, and avoided Langford, who won the colored title a record five times. In 1906 Jack Johnson fought Sam Langford. Langford took severe punishment and was knocked down 3 times; however, he lasted the 15-round distance."LANGFORD LOSES IN GAME FIGHT" The Boston Journal, April 27, 1906, page 9On November 27, 1945, Johnson finally stepped back into the ring with Joe Jeanette. The 67-year-old Johnson squared off against the 66-year-old Jeanette in an exhibition held at a New York City rally to sell war bonds. Fellow former colored heavyweight champ Harry Wills also participated in the exhibition.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}

World heavyweight champion

Johnson's efforts to win the world heavyweight title were initially thwarted, as at the time world heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries refused to face him, and retired instead.WEB,weblink A True Champion Vs. The 'Great White Hope', NPR.org, en, 2019-07-05, However, Johnson did fight former champion Bob Fitzsimmons in July 1907, and knocked him out in two rounds.Johnson finally won the world heavyweight title on December 26, 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 taunting him in the press for a match.WEB,weblink Boxing Classics Jack Johnson v Tommy Burns December 26, 1908, Saddoboxing.com, September 30, 2014, Burns agreed to fight Johnson only after promoters guaranteed him $30,000.WEB, Jack Johnson Biography,weblink November 8, 2013, The fight lasted fourteen rounds before being stopped by the police in front of over 20,000 spectators, and Johnson was named the winner.WEB,weblink 100 years since Jack Johnson made history, December 28, 2008, Ring TV,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120121154558weblink">weblink 2012-01-21, September 30, 2014, (File:Jack Johnson March 1909 Vancouver.jpg|thumb|Johnson arriving in Vancouver on March 9, 1909, as the World Heavyweight Champion)After Johnson's victory over Burns, racial animosity among whites ran so deep that some, including renowned American author Jack London,NEWS, A True Champion Vs. The 'Great White Hope', en, NPR.org,weblink 2021-12-16, called for a "Great White Hope" to take the title away from Johnson.WEB,weblink ESPN.com: Johnson boxed, lived on own terms, Espn.go.com, November 27, 2014, While Johnson was heavyweight champion, he was covered more in the press than all other notable black men combined.WEB,weblink Unforgivable Blackness . Jack Johnson: Rebel of the Progressive Era – PBS, Pbs.org, November 27, 2014, WEB, Brown, Eric, New push to pardon boxing legend Jack Johnson,weblink April 6, 2013, International Business Times, August 12, 2016, 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 thus had to face a series of fighters each billed by boxing promoters as a "great white hope", often in exhibition matches. In 1909, he beat Tony Ross, Al Kaufman, and the middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel.Ketchel and Johnson were friends. The match with Ketchel 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 a right to Johnson's head, knocking him down. Quickly regaining his feet, and very annoyed, Johnson immediately dashed straight at Ketchell and threw a single punch, an uppercut, a punch for which he was famous, to Ketchel's jaw, knocking him out. The punch knocked out Ketchell's front teeth; Johnson can be seen on film removing them from his glove, where they had been embedded.WEB,weblink October 16, 1909, Jack Johnson 205½ lbs beat Stanley Ketchel 170¼ lbs by KO in round 12 of 20, August 12, 2016,

"Fight of the Century"

In 1910, former undefeated heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries 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".Remnick, David "Struggle for his soul", The Observer, 2003-11-02. Retrieved on November 2, 2003 He had not fought in six years and he also had to lose well over 100 pounds to get back to his championship fighting weight. Efforts to persuade Jeffries to "retrieve the honor of the white race" began immediately after the Burns–Johnson fight.Orbach, Barak "The Fight of the Century: On the Exploitation of Social Divides", NYU Journal of Law & Liberty (2020) Initially Jeffries had no interest in the fight, being quite happy as an alfalfa farmer.WEB, The Jeffries Barn,weblink 2022-03-13, wesclark.com, On October 29, 1909, Johnson and Jeffries signed an agreement to "box for the heavyweight championship of the world" and called promoters to bid for the right to orchestrate the event.In early December 1909, Johnson and Jeffries selected a bid from the nation's top boxing promoters—Tex Rickard and John Gleason. The bid guaranteed a purse of $101,000 to be divided 75 percent to the winner and 25 percent to the loser, as well as two-thirds of the revenues collected from the sales of the right to film the fight (each boxer received one third of the equity rights). Although it was well understood that a victory for Jeffries was likely to be more profitable than a victory for Johnson, there were no doubts that the event would produce record profits. Legal historian Barak Orbach argues that in "an industry that promoted events through the dramatization of rivalries, a championship contest between an iconic representative of the white race and the most notorious [black fighter] was a gold mine".File:Johnson jeff.jpg|thumb|James J. JeffriesJames J. JeffriesJeffries mostly remained hidden from media attention until the day of the fight, while Johnson soaked up the spotlight. John L. Sullivan, who made boxing championships a popular and esteemed spectacle, stated that Johnson was in such good physical shape compared to Jeffries that he would only lose if he had a lack of skill on the day of the fight. Before the fight, Jeffries remarked, "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 prizefighting but I am interested in my husband's welfare, I do hope this will be his last fight". Johnson's words were "May the best man win".WEB, Jack Johnson vs James Jeffries Race Riots, July 4, 1910,weblink Able2know.org, November 27, 2014, Racial tension was brewing in the lead up to the fight and 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 and all other potential weapons were barred. Behind the racial attitudes which were being instigated by the media was a major investment in gambling for the fight, with 10–7 odds in favor of Jeffries. An editorial in The New York Times written two months before the fight stated,{{blockquote|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.}}The fight took place on July 4, 1910, in front of 20,000 people, at a ring which was built just for the occasion in downtown Reno, Nevada. Jeffries proved unable to impose his will on the younger champion and Johnson dominated the fight. By the 15th round, after Jeffries had been knocked down twice for the first time in his career, Jeffries' corner threw in the towel to end the fight and prevent Jeffries from having a knockout on his record.Johnson later remarked he knew the fight was over in the 4th round when he landed an uppercut and saw the look on Jeffries face, stating, "I knew what that look meant. The old ship was sinking". Afterwards, Jeffries was humbled by the loss and what he had seen of Johnson in their match. "I could never have whipped Johnson at my best", Jeffries said. "I couldn't have hit him. No, I couldn't have reached him in 1,000 years".The "Fight of the Century" earned Johnson $65,000 (over ${{Inflation|US|0.065|1910|r=1|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) and silenced the critics, who had belittled Johnson's previous victory over Tommy Burns as "empty", claiming that Burns was a false champion since Jeffries had retired undefeated. John L. Sullivan commented after the fight that Johnson won deservedly, fairly and convincingly,{{blockquote|The fight of the century is over and a black man 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 one-sided. All of Jeffries much-vaunted condition amounted to nothing. He wasn't in it from the first bell 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 prizefighter that is admired by sportsmen. He played fairly at all times and fought fairly. ... What a crafty, powerful, cunning left hand (Johnson) has. He is one of the craftiest, cunningest boxers that ever stepped into the ring. ... They both fought closely all during the 15 rounds. It was just the sort of fight that Jeffries wanted. There was no running or ducking like Corbett did with me in New Orleans (1892). Jeffries did 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 clinched, but Johnson was very careful, and he backed away and took no chances, and was good-natured 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 heartfelt sympathy to the beaten man.}}

Riots and aftermath

(File:LA Times, 7 July 1910.png|thumb|The LA Times noted the explosive nature of Johnson's victory by featuring this cartoon in which a stick of dynamite suggests that it would not have caused as much violence as the fight did.)The outcome of the fight triggered race riots that evening—the Fourth of July—all across the United States, from Texas and Colorado to New York and Washington, D.C.NEWS, A Black Champion's Biggest Fight,weblink March 29, 2023, Saturday Evening Post, Johnson's victory over Jeffries had dashed white dreams of finding a "great white hope" to defeat him. Many whites felt humiliated by the defeat of Jeffries.Black Americans, on the other hand, were jubilant and celebrated Johnson's great victory as a victory for racial advancement. Black poet William Waring Cuney later highlighted the black reaction to the fight in his poem "My Lord, What a Morning".BOOK, Pool, Rosey E., Beyond the blues: new poems by American Negroes, Hand and Flower Press, 81,weblink en, 1962, Race riots, initiated by whites and blacks, erupted in New York, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Atlanta, St. Louis, Little Rock and Houston. In all, riots occurred in more than 25 states and 50 cities. At least twenty people were killed in the riots and hundreds more were injured.ENCYCLOPEDIA,weblink Contributors: Jack Johnson (American boxer), Encyclopædia Britannica, November 27, 2014, WEB,weblink Los Angeles herald [microform]. (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900–1911, 5 July 1910, Image 1, July 5, 1910, Chronicilingamerica.loc.gov, November 27, 2014, WEB,weblink New-York tribune. (New York [N.Y.]) 1866–1924, July 06, 1910, Page 4, Image 4, July 6, 1910, 4, Chronicilingamerica.loc.gov, November 27, 2014, "Deaths Result From Race Riots". The Washington Herald. July 6, 1910. p. 3. Chronicling America, United States Library of Congress."Fight News is Followed by Race Riots in Many Parts of Country". Los Angeles Herald. July 5, 1910. p. 1. Chronicling America, United States Library of Congress."Whites and Blacks Riot". New York Tribune July 5, 1910, p. 2. Chronicling America, United States Library of Congress.

Film of the bout

The Johnson–Jeffries Fight film received more public attention in the United States than any other film to date and for the next five years, until the release of The Birth of a Nation.BOOK,weblink August 1, 2004, Encyclopedia of Early Cinema, 9780415234405, Abel, Richard, Taylor & Francis, In the United States, many states and cities banned the exhibition of the Johnson–Jeffries film. The movement to censor Johnson's victory took over the country within three days after the fight.SSRN, 1563863, The Johnson–Jeffries Fight and Censorship of Black Supremacy, Two weeks after the match former President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid boxer and fan, wrote an article for The Outlook in which he supported banning not just moving pictures of boxing matches, but a complete ban on all prize fights in the US. He cited the "crookedness" and gambling that surrounded such contests and that moving pictures have "introduced a new method of money getting and of demoralization". The controversy surrounding the film motivated Congress to ban distribution of all prizefight films across state lines in 1912; the ban was lifted in 1940.{{Citation needed|date = July 2019}}In 2005, the film of the Jeffries–Johnson "Fight of the Century" was entered into the United States National Film Registry as being worthy of preservation.WEB,weblink National Film Registry 2005: Films Selected to the National Film Registry (National Film Preservation Board, Library of Congress), Loc.gov, November 27, 2014, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140208150126weblink">weblink February 8, 2014, The six fights for which the major films were made, starring Johnson, were

1. Johnson–Burns, released in 1908
2. Johnson–Ketchel, released in 1909
3. Johnson–Jeffries, released in 1910
4. Johnson–Flynn, released in 1912
5. Johnson–Moran, released in 1914
6. Johnson–Willard, released in 1915

Maintaining the Color Bar

The color bar remained in effect even under Johnson. Once he was the world's heavyweight champ, Johnson did not fight a black opponent for the first five years of his reign. He denied matches to black heavyweights Joe Jeanette, one of his successors as colored heavyweight champ, Sam Langford, who beat Jeanette for the colored title and the young Harry Wills, who was colored heavyweight champ during the last year of Johnson's reign as world's heavyweight champ.Blacks were not given a chance at the title because Johnson maintained that he could make more money fighting white boxers. In August 1913, as Johnson neared the end of his reign as world heavyweight champ, there were rumors that he had agreed to fight Langford in Paris for the title, but it did not happen. Johnson alleged that Langford was unable to raise the $30,000 for his guarantee.Because black boxers with the exception of Johnson had been barred from fighting for the heavyweight championship, Johnson's refusal to fight African-Americans offended the African-American community since the opportunity to fight top white boxers was rare. Jeanette criticized Johnson, saying, "Jack forgot about his old friends after he became champion and drew the color line against his own people."NEWS, Rosero, Jessica, Native sons and daughters North Hudson native and 20th century boxing sensation Joe Jeanette,weblink Hudson Reporter, May 20, 2012, April 9, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160409015903weblink">weblink dead,

Johnson v. Johnson

When Johnson finally agreed to take on a black opponent in late 1913, it was not Sam Langford the current colored heavyweight champ that he gave the title shot to. Instead, Johnson chose to take on Battling Jim Johnson, a lesser-known boxer who in 1910 had lost to Langford and had a draw and loss via KO to Sam McVey, the former colored champ. Battling Jim fought former colored champ Joe Jeanette four times between July 19, 1912, and January 21, 1913, and lost all four fights. The only fighter of note who he did beat during that period was the future colored champ Big Bill Tate, whom he KO-ed in the second round of a scheduled 10-round bout. It was Tate's third pro fight.In November 1913, the International Boxing Union had declared the world heavyweight title held by Jack Johnson to be vacant. The fight, scheduled for 10 rounds, was held on December 19, 1913, in Paris. It was the first time in history that two blacks had fought for the world heavyweight championship.While the Johnson v. Johnson fight had been billed as a world heavyweight title match, in many ways, it resembled an exhibition. A sportswriter from the Indianapolis Star at the fight reported that the crowd became unruly when it was apparent that neither boxer was putting up a fight.{{Citation needed|date = July 2019}}Jack Johnson, the heavyweight champion, and Battling Jim Johnson, another colored pugilist, of Galveston, Texas, met in a 10-round contest here tonight, which ended in a draw. The spectators loudly protested throughout that the men were not fighting, and demanded their money back. Many of them left the hall. The organizers of the fight explained the fiasco by asserting that Jack Johnson's left arm was broken in the third round. There is no confirmation of a report that Jack Johnson had been stabbed and no evidence at the ringside of such an accident. During the first three rounds he was obviously playing with his opponent. After that it was observed that he was only using his right hand. When the fight was over he complained that his arm had been injured. Doctors who made an examination, certified to a slight fracture of the radius of the left arm. The general opinion is that his arm was injured in a wrestling match early in the week, and that a blow tonight caused the fracture of the bone.{{long quote|date=June 2016}}Because of the draw, Jack Johnson kept his championship. After the fight, he explained that his left arm was injured in the third round and he could not use it.

Title loss

(File:Panorama of Willard - Johnson fight, Havana, Cuba.jpg|thumb|center|800px|A panorama of the Willard–Johnson fight, Havana, Cuba)On April 5, 1915, Johnson lost his title to Jess Willard, a working cowboy from Kansas who started boxing when he was 27 years old. With a crowd of 25,000 at Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba, Johnson was knocked out in the 26th round of the scheduled 45 round fight. Johnson, although having won almost every round, began to tire after the 20th round, and was visibly hurt by heavy body punches from Willard in rounds preceding the 26th-round knockout.{{Citation needed|date = July 2019}}Johnson is said by many a year after the fight to have spread rumors that he took a dive,NEWS,weblink As fugitive, loser, prisoner and failure, Jack Johnson – 06.22.59 com (1959-06-22). Retrieved on 2010-10-26., SI.com, September 30, 2014, but Willard is widely regarded as having won the fight outright. Many people thought Johnson purposely threw the fight because Willard was white, in an effort to have his Mann Act charges dropped. Willard ironically responded, "If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he'd done it sooner. It was hotter than hell out there."WEB,weblink Jess Williard... Jack Johnson... – RareNewspapers.com, rarenewspapers.com, 2019-10-24,

Post-championship

After losing his world heavyweight championship, Johnson never again fought for the world or colored heavyweight crowns. His popularity remained strong enough that he recorded for Ajax Records in the 1920s.BOOK, American Record Labels and Companies – An Encyclopedia (1891-1943), Sutton, Allan, Nauck, Kurt, 2000, Mainspring Press, Denver, Colorado, 0-9671819-0-9, 3–4, Johnson continued fighting, but age was catching up with him. He fought professionally until 1938 at age 60 when he lost 7 of his last 9 bouts, losing his final fight to Walter Price by a 7th-round TKO. It is often suggested that any bouts after the age of 40—which was a very venerable age for boxing in those days—not be counted on his actual record, since he was performing in order to make a living.WEB,weblink Cyber Boxing Zone – Jack Johnson, Cyberboxingzone.com, September 30, 2014, {{YouTube|Fqod-seL8gw}}He also indulged in what was known as "cellar" fighting, where the bouts, unadvertised, were fought for private audiences, usually in cellars or other unrecognized places. There are surviving photographs of one of these fights. Johnson made his final ring appearance at age 67 on November 27, 1945, fighting three one-minute exhibition rounds against two opponents, Joe Jeanette and John Ballcort, in a benefit fight card for U.S. War Bonds.

Boxing style

Throughout his career, Johnson built a unique fighting style of his own, which was not customary in boxing during this time. Though he would typically strike first, he would fight defensively, waiting for his opponents to tire out, becoming more aggressive as the rounds went on. He often fought to punish his opponents over the course of the bout rather than going for the knockout, and would continuously dodge their punches. He would then quickly strike back with a blow of his own. Johnson often made his fights look effortless, and as if he had much more to offer, but when pushed he could also display some powerful moves and punches. There are films of his fights in which he can be seen holding up his opponent, who otherwise might have fallen, until he recovered.WEB, TheHomelessDetective, Jack Johnson vs Stanley Ketchel 1909,weblink November 27, 2014, Dailymotion, November 26, 2006, Archived at Ghostarchive{{cbignore}} and the weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140104215433weblink">Wayback Machine{{cbignore}}: WEB, Sam Langford: The Boston Terror.wmv,weblink November 27, 2014, YouTube, {{cbignore}}

Personal life

(File:Jack Johnson boxer.jpg|thumb|Jack Johnson, c. 1910–1915)Johnson earned considerable sums endorsing various products, including patent medicines, and had several expensive hobbies such as automobile racing and tailored clothing, as well as purchasing jewelry and furs for his wives.Papa Jack, Jack Johnson and the Era of the White Hopes, Randy Roberts, Macmillan, 1983, page 132. He challenged champion racer Barney Oldfield to an auto race at the Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn dirt track. Oldfield easily defeated Johnson.Barney Oldfield, The Life and Times of America's Speed King, William Nolan, Brown Fox Books, 2002. Once, when he was pulled over for a $50 speeding ticket, he gave the officer a $100 bill; when the officer protested that he could not make change for that much, Johnson told him to keep the change as he was going to make his return trip at the same speed. In 1920, Johnson opened the Club Deluxe, a Black and Tan night club in Harlem; he sold it three years later to a gangster, Owney Madden, who renamed it the Cotton Club.Johnson's behavior was looked down upon by some in the African-American community, especially by the black scholar Booker T. Washington, who said it "is unfortunate that a man with money should use it in a way to injure his own people, in the eyes of those who are seeking to uplift his race and improve its conditions, I wish to say emphatically that Jack Johnson's actions did not meet my personal approval and I am sure they do not meet with the approval of the colored race."Johnson flouted conventions regarding the social and economic "place" of blacks in American society. As a black man, he broke a powerful taboo in consorting with white women and would verbally taunt men (both white and black) inside and outside the ring. When asked the secret of his staying power by a reporter who had watched a succession of women parade into, and out of, the champion's hotel room, Johnson supposedly said "Eat jellied eels and think distant thoughts".Stump, Al. 'The rowdy reign of the Black avenger'. True: The Men's Magazine January 1963.In 1911, Johnson, through an acquaintance, attempted to become a Freemason in Dundee, Scotland. He was initiated as an Entered Apprentice at Forfar and Kincardine Lodge No 225 in the city. However, there was some opposition to his membership from within the lodge, but mainly from the Grand Lodge who tried to stop the initiation from going ahead due to most Grand Lodges in the USA threatening to withdraw their Scottish Grand Lodge representation if it did. The Forfarshire Lodge was suspended by the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and Johnson's fees were returned to him and his admission was ruled illegal.JOURNAL, News from the archives, Contact, June 2009, 28,weblink August 15, 2013, University of Dundee, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131002044125weblink">weblink October 2, 2013, Upon seeing that he was to be admitted anyway, they telegraphed their fellow freemasons in America – and white American feelings ran high about the man who in the boxing ring had defeated several 'Great White Hopes'. Most Grand Lodges in the USA threatened to withdraw their Scottish Grand Lodge representation and this was why the Grand Lodge had somewhat frantically attempted to halt Johnson's initiation ceremony. The position of the Grand Lodge ultimately prevailed – some members of the local Lodge were suspended and Johnson had his fees returned. Any mention of his acceptance as an Entered Apprentice was removed from the records., dmy-all, In July 1912, Johnson opened an interracial nightclub in Chicago called Café de Champion.WEB,weblink The short, sad story of Cafe de Champion — Jack Johnson's mixed-race nightclub on Chicago's South Side, Johnson, Charles J., May 25, 2018, Chicago Tribune, Johnson wrote two memoirs of his life: Mes combats in 1914 and Jack Johnson in the Ring and Out in 1927.WEB,weblinkweblink dead, November 7, 2008, Jack Johnson, Inventors.about.com, September 30, 2014, In 1943, Johnson attended at least one service at the Pentecostal Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, California. In a public conversion, while Detroit, Michigan, burned in race riots, he professed his faith to Christ in a service conducted by evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. She embraced him as "he raised his hand in worship".MAGAZINE,weblink Famous Aimee, The New Yorker, November 14, 2013, unfit,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140222212652weblink">weblink February 22, 2014, Sutton, Matthew. Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America. London: Harvard University Press, 2007

Marriages

(File:Jack Johnson and his wife Etta LCCN2011649815 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Johnson with his wife Etta Duryea, who killed herself in 1912)Johnson engaged in various relationships, including three documented marriages. All of his documented wives were white. At the height of his career, Johnson was excoriated by the press for his flashy lifestyle and for having married white women.ENCYCLOPEDIA,weblink Jack Johnson, Encyclopædia Britannica, September 30, 2014, According to Johnson's 1927 autobiography, he married Mary Austin, a black woman from Galveston, Texas. No record exists of this marriage.While in Philadelphia in 1903, Johnson met Clara Kerr, a black prostitute. According to Johnson's autobiography, Kerr left him for Johnson's friend, a racehorse trainer named William Bryant. They stole Johnson's jewelry and clothing when they left. Johnson tracked the couple down and had Kerr arrested on burglary charges. Johnson and Kerr reconciled for a while before she left him again.During a three-month tour of Australia in 1907, Johnson had a brief affair with Alma "Lola" Toy, a white woman from Sydney. Johnson confirmed to an American journalist that he intended to marry Toy. When The Referee printed Johnson's plans to marry Toy, it caused controversy in Sydney. Toy demanded a retraction and later won a libel lawsuit from the newspaper.BOOK, Jack Johnson, Rebel Sojourner: Boxing in the Shadow of the Global Color Line, Runstedtler, Theresa, University of California Press, 2013, 9780520280113, After returning from Australia, Johnson said that "the heartaches which Mary Austin and Clara Kerr caused me led me to forswear colored women and to determine that my lot henceforth would be cast only with white women."Johnson met Etta Terry Duryea, a Brooklyn socialite and former wife of Clarence Duryea, at a car race in 1909. In 1910, Johnson hired a private investigator to follow Duryea after suspecting she was having an affair with his chauffeur. On Christmas Day, Johnson confronted Duryea and beat her to the point of hospitalization.WEB,weblink The Women in Johnson's Life, PBS, They reconciled and were married on January 18, 1911.JOURNAL, February 10, 1912, Champion Johnson Weds White Woman,weblink Sacramento Union, December 31, 2019, August 1, 2020,weblink dead, Prone to depression, her condition worsened due to Johnson's abuse and infidelity in addition to the hostile reaction to their interracial relationship. Duryea attempted suicide twice before she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on September 11, 1912.NEWS,weblink Jack Johnson's Wife Commits Suicide At Her New Home, September 13, 1912, The Pittsburgh Courier, NEWS, Pugilist Says Wife Twice Saved Him,weblink The Gazette Times, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 13, 1912, 6, In the summer of 1912, Johnson met Lucille Cameron, an 18-year-old prostitute from Minneapolis who relocated to Chicago, at his nightclub Café de Champion. Johnson hired her as his stenographer, but shortly after Duryea's funeral, they were out in public as a couple. They married on December 3, 1912, at 3:00 p.m.WEB, Los Angeles Herald 3 December 1912 — California Digital Newspaper Collection,weblink 2020-10-12, cdnc.ucr.edu, Cameron filed for divorce in 1924 due to his infidelity.Johnson met Irene Pineau at the race track in Aurora, Illinois in 1924. After she divorced her husband the following year, they were married in Waukegan in August 1925. Johnson and Pineau were together until his death in 1946. When asked by a reporter at Johnson's funeral what she had loved about him, she replied: "I loved him because of his courage. He faced the world unafraid. There wasn't anybody or anything he feared."

Prison sentence

(File:Jack Johnson and wife Lucille LCCN98510494 (cropped 2).jpg|thumb|Johnson with his wife Lucille in 1921. Their relationship led to Johnson's first 1912 arrest.|alt=)On October 18, 1912, Johnson was arrested on the grounds that his relationship with Lucille Cameron violated the Mann Act against "transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes" due to her being an alleged prostitute. Her mother also swore that her daughter was insane.NEWS, Arrest Jack Johnson For Abducting Girl,weblink The York Daily, York, Pennsylvania, October 19, 1912, 1, newspapers.com, Cameron, soon to become his second wife, refused to cooperate and the case fell apart.Less than a month later, Johnson was arrested again on similar charges.NEWS,weblink Trump Expected to Pardon Jack Johnson as Heavyweight Champions Gather, 2018-05-24, The New York Times, 2018-05-24, en-US, 0362-4331, This time, the woman, another alleged prostitute named Belle Schreiber, with whom he had been involved in 1909 and 1910, testified against him. In the courtroom of Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the future Commissioner of Baseball who perpetuated the baseball color line until his death, Johnson was convicted by an all-white jury in June 1913,WEB,weblink ESPN.com: Johnson boxed, lived on own terms, Espn.go.com, September 30, 2014, despite the fact that the incidents used to convict him took place before passage of the Mann Act. He was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.Johnson skipped bail and left the country, joining Lucille in Montreal on June 25, before fleeing to France. To flee to Canada, Johnson posed as a member of a black baseball team. For the next seven years, they lived in exile in Europe, South America and Mexico. Johnson returned to the U.S. on July 20, 1920. He surrendered to federal agents at the Mexican border and was sent to the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, to serve his sentence in September 1920.WEB,weblink Cleveland Advocate 2 October 1920, Dbs.ohiohistory.org, September 30, 2014, September 28, 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110928084441weblink">weblink dead, He was released on July 9, 1921.

Presidential pardon

(File:2018-05-24 Trump (posthumous) Pardon jack johnson 2018 05 25 0.pdf|thumb|May 2018 pardon granted by Donald Trump)President Donald Trump granted Johnson a posthumous presidential pardon after recurring proposals to grant one had not been acted on by previous administrations. In April 2018, Trump announced that he was considering granting a full pardon to Johnson after speaking with a World Boxing Council committee,{{Failed verification|date=February 2023}} on the advice of actor Sylvester Stallone.WEB, Griffiths, Brent D., Trump says he's 'considering' a pardon for boxer Jack Johnson,weblink Politico,weblink April 22, 2018, April 21, 2018, live, Trump pardoned Johnson on May 24, 2018, 105 years after his conviction, during a ceremony which included special guests Sylvester Stallone (actor), Deontay Wilder (then current WBC Champion), Lennox Lewis (WBC Former Champion), Mauricio Sulaiman (WBC President), Linda Bell Haywood (Johnson's great-great niece), and Hector Sulaiman (President of the Board of Advisors of Scholas Occurrentes).WEB,weblink Trump Pardons Jack Johnson, Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Eligon, John, Shear, Michael D., May 24, 2018, The New York Times, May 26, 2018, WEB,weblink Missed in Coverage of Jack Johnson, the Racism Around Him, Eligon, John, Thorpe, Brandon K., May 24, 2018, The New York Times, May 26, 2018, WBC president Jose Sulaiman had reached out to presidential administrations dating back to Ronald Reagan's requesting a pardon.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} A bill which requested that President George W. Bush pardon Johnson passed the House in 2008,NEWS, House seeks presidential pardon for boxing champ, The Argus-Press, Associated Press, September 27, 2008,weblink August 12, 2016, but failed to pass in the Senate.NEWS, Senate urges Obama to pardon former champ, Lodi News-Sentinel, Associated Press, June 25, 2009,weblink August 12, 2016, In April 2009, Senator John McCain, along with Representative Peter King, film maker Ken Burns, and Johnson's great-niece, Linda Haywood, requested a presidential pardon for Johnson from President Barack Obama.WEB,weblink Columns, CBSSports.com, November 27, 2014, In July of that year, Congress passed a resolution calling on President Obama to issue a pardon.WEB,weblink Congress Passes Jack Johnson Resolution, The Sweet Science, September 30, 2014, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120312155742weblink">weblink March 12, 2012, dmy-all, In 2016, another petition for Johnson's pardon was issued by McCain, King, Senator Harry Reid, and Congressman Gregory Meeks to President Obama, marking the 70th anniversary since the boxer's death.NEWS,weblink John McCain, Harry Reid ask Obama to pardon boxer Jack Johnson, CNN, July 1, 2016, This time, the petitioners cited a provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act, signed by the president in December 2015, in which Congress expressed that this boxing great should receive a posthumous pardon, and a vote by the United States Commission on Civil Rights passed unanimously a week earlier in June 2016 to "right this century-old wrong."WEB,weblink Letter to POTUS Re Jack Johnson Pardon, McCain Letter PDF, July 1, 2016, Mike Tyson, Harry Reid, and John McCain lent their support to the campaign, starting a Change.org petition asking President Obama to posthumously pardon the world's first African American heavyweight boxing champion for his racially motivated 1913 felony conviction.NEWS,weblink New push to pardon boxing legend Jack Johnson, Eric Brown, April 7, 2013, Salon.com, August 29, 2014,

Monkey wrench

A persistent hoax on social media claims that Johnson invented the monkey wrench and it was named a monkey wrench as a racial slur. Johnson did receive a patent for improvements which he made to the monkey wrench,PATENT, US1413121A, Wrench, 1922-04-18, Arthur, Johnson John,weblink but the name "monkey wrench" and the first patent for it predate his birth by over 35 years.WEB, Did Jack Johnson Invent the Monkey Wrench?,weblink Snopes.com, December 14, 2015,

Death

(File:Jack johnson boxer grave.jpg|thumb|Graves of Jack and Etta Johnson)On June 10, 1946, Johnson and a friend visited a segregated diner; when the diner refused to serve him, Johnson drove away angrily with his friend in the passenger seat.WEB,weblink On this day: Heavyweight Jack Johnson died, boxingnewsonline.net, June 9, 2017, February 25, 2021, The car collided with a telegraph pole on U.S. Highway 1 near Franklinton, North Carolina.{{efn|Co-ordinates of the crash site: {{coord|36|5|41.96|N|78|27| 40.81|W|scale:5000|display=inline}}}} While his friend survived the crash, Johnson suffered fatal injuries and died later that day at St. Agnes Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina, which was the nearest black hospital. He was 68 years old.WEB, The News & Observer, Trump pardons heavyweight Jack Johnson, who died in Raleigh's segregated hospital, May 24, 2018,weblink Johnson was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago next to his first wife, Etta Duryea Johnson, who committed suicide in 1912. His grave was initially unmarked, but was later marked with a large tombstone which says only "Johnson". An additional marker was added after filmmaker Ken Burns released a film about Johnson's life in 2005. Johnson's new, smaller gravestone reads: "Jack / John A. Johnson. 18781946. First black heavyweight champion of the world." Johnson's signature is on the back of the stone.WEB,weblink John A. 'Jack' Johnson, billiongraves.com, February 25, 2021, NEWS,weblink Chicago Tribune, Jack Johnson descendant seeking posthumous pardon for racially motivated 'immorality' conviction, February 9, 2018,

Legacy

(File:Jack Johnson Park -- Galveston.jpg|thumb|Jack Johnson Park -- Galveston)(File:Jack Johnson Bronze statue Galveston.jpg|thumb|Jack Johnson Bronze Statue in Jack Johnson Park -- Galveston)Johnson was an inaugural 1954 inductee to The Ring magazine's Boxing Hall of Fame (disbanded in 1987), and was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. In 2005, the United States National Film Preservation Board deemed the film of the 1910 Johnson-Jeffries fight "historically significant" and put it in the National Film Registry.During his boxing career, Jack Johnson fought 114 fights, winning 80 matches, 45 by knockouts. He also had the longest professional career of any world heavyweight boxing champion, having boxed for over 33 years from 1897 to 1931 (12,231 days). This record was beaten by Roy Jones Jr. in 2023, who has boxed for more than 33 years since 1989 (12,384 days).Muhammad Ali often spoke of how he was influenced by Jack Johnson. Ali identified with Johnson because he felt America ostracized him in the same manner because of his opposition to the Vietnam War and affiliation with the Nation of Islam.WEB,weblink Muhammad Ali Biography, Biography Online, November 27, 2014, In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Jack Johnson on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.Asante, Molefi Kete (2002). 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Amherst, New York. Prometheus Books. {{ISBN|1-57392-963-8}}. In 2012, the City of Galveston dedicated a park in Johnson's memory as Galveston Island's most famous native son. The park, called Jack Johnson Park, includes a life-size, bronze statue of Johnson.WEB,weblink Jack Johnson Park a tribute to famous BOI, November 11, 2012, unfit,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20121114010232weblink">weblink November 14, 2012, Actor and professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's surname is an homage to Jack Johnson; his father, professional wrestler Rocky Johnson, was born with the surname "Bowles" and chose his ring name in honor of the boxer before making it his legal name.Levenson, Michael. "Rocky Johnson, Pro Wrestler Who Trained His Son the Rock, Dies at 75"

Popular culture

{{excessive examples|section|date=September 2018}}The first filmed fight of Johnson's career was his bout with Tommy Burns, which was turned into a contemporary documentary, The Burns-Johnson Fight, in 1908.Folksinger and blues singer Lead Belly referenced Johnson in a song about the Titanic: "Jack Johnson wanna get on board, Captain said I ain't hauling no coal. Fare thee, Titanic, fare thee well. When Jack Johnson heard that mighty shock, mighta seen the man do the Eagle rock. Fare thee, Titanic, fare thee well" (The Eagle Rock was a popular dance at the time). In 1969, American folk singer Jaime Brockett reworked the Lead Belly song into a satirical talking blues called "The Legend of the S.S. Titanic." There is no convincing evidence that Johnson was in fact refused passage on the Titanic because of his race, as these songs allege.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}In the trenches of World War One, Johnson's name was used by British troops to describe the impact of German 150 mm heavy artillery shells which had a black color.WEB,weblink First World War.com – Encyclopedia – Jack Johnson, Firstworldwar.com, November 27, 2014, In his letters home to his wife, Rupert Edward Inglis (1863–1916), a former rugby international who was a Forces Chaplain, describes passing through the town of Albert: Johnson's story is the basis of the play The Great White Hope and its 1970 film adaptation, starring James Earl Jones as "Jack Jefferson" and Jane Alexander as his love interest. Both Jones and Alexander won Tonys and were nominated for Oscars.Also in 1970, Jimmy Jacobs and Bill Cayton brought together much of the rare archive footage of Johnson which they had saved and restored, and made the film Jack Johnson, with Johnson's words voiced by Brock Peters, and music by Miles Davis. Davis' score later became the 1971 album named after the boxer. It features the actor Peters (as Johnson) saying:{{blockquote|I'm Jack Johnson. Heavyweight champion of the world.I'm black. They never let me forget it.I'm black all right! I'll never let them forget it!}}In 2005, filmmaker Ken Burns produced a two-part documentary about Johnson's life, (Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson), based on the 2004 nonfiction book of the same name by Geoffrey C. Ward, and with music by Wynton Marsalis. The book won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year (2006).NEWS,weblink Johnson biog named book of year, BBC News, writer, November 27, 2006, November 26, 2012, Staff writer, WEB,weblinkweblink January 12, 2022, subscription, live, Johnson's tale floors five rivals, The Daily Telegraph, Andrew Baker, November 28, 2006, November 26, 2012, {{cbignore}}Several Hip Hop activists have also reflected on Johnson's legacy, most notably in the album The New Danger, by Mos Def, in which songs like "Zimzallabim" and "Blue Black Jack" are devoted to the artist's pugilistic hero. In the closing track of the album Run the Jewels 3, "A Report to the Shareholders / Kill Your Masters," Killer Mike of the Hip Hop duo Run the Jewels reinvokes Johnson's image with the line: "I'm Jack Johnson, I beat a slave catcher snaggletooth." Additionally, both Southern punk rock band This Bike is a Pipe Bomb and alternative country performer Tom Russell have songs dedicated to Johnson. Russell's piece is both a tribute and a biting indictment of the racism Johnson faced: "here comes Jack Johnson, like he owns the town, there's a lot of white Americans like to see a man go down ... like to see a black man drown."In Joe R. Lansdale's 1997 short story The Big Blow, Johnson is featured fighting a white boxer brought in by Galveston, Texas's boxing fans to defeat the African American fighter during the 1900 Galveston Hurricane. The story won a Bram Stoker Award and was expanded into a 2000 novel.weblink {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429010101weblink|date=April 29, 2013}}The book of poetry, The Big Smoke by Adrian Matejka, is inspired by Johnson's voice and life and written in forms ranging from sonnets to prose poetry. It was a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry in 2013.WEB, 2013, The Big Smoke,weblink 2023-03-23, National Book Foundation, en-US, The Royale, a play by Marco Ramirez, uses the life of Jack Johnson as inspiration for its main character, Jay Jackson. It premiered in March 2016 at Lincoln Center Theater directed by Rachel Chavkin,WEB,weblink The Royale: Shows, May 1, 2016, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Director of a Play, and a Special Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble.WEB,weblink The Nominees, May 1, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160225151924weblink">weblink February 25, 2016, dead, mdy-all, The book Crossing the Color Line: Stanley Ketchel's Challenge for Jack Johnson's Heavyweight Crown, written by Vernon Gravely and released in 2021, details Johnson's fight with middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel.The graphic novel "The Original Johnson" was written and drawn by Trevor Von Eeden, the first black artist ever hired by DC Comics, in 1976, and co-creator of their first original black super-hero, Black Lightning. "The Original Johnson" details Jack Johnson's life from childhood up to his death, and was generally well received. A favorable quote from the NY Times graces the cover of both volumes.The graphic novel Last On His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century by Adrian Matejka and Youssef Daoudi, to be released in 2023, chronicles Johnson vs. Jeffries, interspersing the fight with flashbacks to Johnson's youth.WEB, Last On His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century,weblink wwnorton.com, 3 October 2022,

Professional boxing record

All information in this section is derived from BoxRec,WEB, Jack Johnson,weblink registration, 2021-09-18, BoxRec.com, unless otherwise stated.

Official record

{{BoxingRecordSummary|ko-wins=34|ko-losses=6|dec-wins=15|dec-losses=4|dq-wins=5|dq-losses=1|draws=8|nws=17|nc=4}}All newspaper decisions are officially regarded as "no decision" bouts and are not counted in the win/loss/draw column.{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align:center"!{{abbr|No.|Number}}!Result!Record!Opponent!Type!Round, time!Date!Age!Location!Notes|94|{{yes2}}Win(21)}} Brad Simmons|KO|2 (10)|28 Apr 1931{{age in years and days3193128}} {{smallTulsa, Oklahoma>Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.}}|93|{{no2}}Loss(21)}} Brad Simmons|PTS|10|4 Mar 1931{{age in years and days319314}} {{smallTulsa, Oklahoma>Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.}}|92|{{yes2}}Win(21)}} Rough House Wilson|DQ|3 (10)|19 Jul 1928{{age in years and days3192819}} {{small|Douglass Park, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.}}|91|{{no2}}Loss(21)}} Bill Hartwell|RTD|6 (10)|15 May 1928{{age in years and days3192815}} {{smallMemorial Hall (Kansas City, Kansas)>Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.}}|90|{{no2}}Loss(21)}} Bearcat Wright|KO|5 (10)|16 Apr 1928{{age in years and days3192816}} {{small|Topeka, Kansas, U.S.}}|89|{{no2}}Loss(21)}} Brad Simmons|PTS|10|6 Sep 1926{{age in years and days319266}} {{small|101 Ranch Arena, Enid, Oklahoma, U.S.}}|88|{{no2}}Loss(21)}} Bob Lawson|RTD|7 (12)|30 May 1926{{age in years and days3192630}} {{small|Coliseum, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico}}|87|{{yes2}}Win(21)}} Pat Lester|PTS|15|2 May 1926{{age in years and days319262}} {{small|Plaza de Toros, Nogales, Sonora, Mexico}}|86|{{yes2}}Win(21)}} Homer Smith|PTS|10|22 Feb 1924{{age in years and days3192422}} {{small|Théâtre Saint-Denis, Montreal, Canada}}|85Win(21)}} Jack Thompson|NWS|12|20 May 1923{{age in years and days3192320}} {{small|Havana, Cuba}}|84|{{yes2}}Win(20)}} Farmer Lodge|KO|4|6 May 1923{{age in years and days319236}} {{small|Havana, Cuba}}|83|{{yes2}}Win(20)}} George Roberts|KO|3|17 May 1920{{age in years and days3192017}} {{small|Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico}}|82|{{yes2}}Win(20)}} Bob Wilson|KO|3|18 Apr 1920{{age in years and days3192018}} {{small|Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico}}|81|{{yes2}}Win(20)}} Marty Cutler|KO|6 (25)|28 Sep 1919{{age in years and days3191928}} {{small|Mexico City, Mexico}}|80NC(20)}} Jerry Smith|NC|3 (?)|17 Aug 1919{{age in years and days3191917}}{{small|Cine Teatro Venecia, Tampico, Mexico}}{{small|Police stopped the fight}}|79|{{yes2}}Win(19)}} Tom Cowler|PTS|15|10 Aug 1919{{age in years and days3191910}} {{smallPlaza de Toros México>Plaza de Toros, Mexico City, Mexico}}|78|{{yes2}}Win(19)}} Bob Roper|PTS|10|22 Jun 1919{{age in years and days3191922}} {{small|Mexico City, Mexico}}|77|{{yes2}}Win(19)}} Bill Flint|KO|2 (10)|12 Feb 1919{{age in years and days3191912}} {{small|Teatro de la Gran Via, Madrid, Spain}}|76|{{yes2}}Win(19)}} Blink McCloskey|RTD|6 (20)|5 Feb 1918{{age in years and days319185}} {{smallCirco Price>Teatro Circo Price, Madrid, Spain}}|75|{{yes2}}Win(19)}} Arthur Cravan|KO|6 (20)|23 Apr 1916{{age in years and days3191623}} {{smallLa Monumental>Plaza de Toros Monumental, Barcelona, Spain}}|74|{{yes2}}Win(19)}} Frank Crozier|TKO|7 (10)|23 Mar 1916{{age in years and days3191623}} {{small|Gran Teatro de Madrid, Madrid, Spain}}|73|{{no2}}Loss(19)}} Jess Willard|KO2:20}}|5 Apr 1915{{age in years and days319155}} {{smallOriental Park Racetrack>Oriental Park, Havana, Cuba}}{{small|Lost world heavyweight title}}|72|{{yes2}}Win(19)}} Jack Murray|KO|3 (10)|10 Jan 1915{{age in years and days3191510}} {{small|Sociedad Sportiva Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina}}|71|{{yes2}}Win(19)}} Frank Moran|PTS|20|27 Jun 1914{{age in years and days3191427}} {{small|Vélodrome d'Hiver, Paris, France}}{{small|Retained world heavyweight title}}|70|{{draw}}Draw(19)}} Battling Jim Johnson|PTS|10|19 Dec 1913{{age in years and days3191319}} {{small|Élysée Montmartre, Paris, France}}{{small|Retained world heavyweight title}}|69|{{yes2}}Win(19)}} Fireman Jim Flynn|DQ|9 (45)|4 Jul 1912{{age in years and days319124}} {{smallLas Vegas, New Mexico>East Las Vegas, Las Vegas, New Mexico, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world heavyweight title}}|68|{{yes2}}Win(19)}} James J. Jeffries|TKO2:20}}Jack Johnson vs. James J. Jeffries>4 Jul 1910{{age in years and days319104}} {{small|Reno, Nevada, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world heavyweight title}}|67|{{yes2}}Win(19)}} Stanley Ketchel|KO|12 (20)|16 Oct 1909{{age in years and days3190916}} {{smallColma, California>Colma, California, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world heavyweight title}}|66Win(19)}} Al Kaufman|NWS|10|9 Sep 1909{{age in years and days319099}} {{small|Coffroth's Arena, San Francisco, California, U.S.}}{{small|World heavyweight title at stake;(via KO only)}}|65Win(18)}} Tony Ross|NWS|6|30 Jun 1909{{age in years and days3190930}} {{smallDuquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania>Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}||64Draw(17)}} Philadelphia Jack O'Brien|NWS|6|19 May 1909{{age in years and days3190919}} {{small|National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}{{small|World heavyweight title at stake;(via KO only)}}|63|{{yes2}}Win(16)}} Tommy Burns|TKO|14 (20)|26 Dec 1908{{age in years and days3190826}} {{small|Sydney Stadium, Sydney, Australia}}{{smallList of heavyweight boxing champions>world heavyweight title}}|62|{{yes2}}Win(16)}} Ben Taylor|TKO|8 (10)|31 Jul 1908{{age in years and days3190831}} {{small|Cosmopolitan Gymnasium, Plymouth, England}}|61|{{yes2}}Win(16)}} Fireman Jim Flynn|KO1:30}}|2 Nov 1907{{age in years and days319072}} {{small|Coffroth's Arena, San Francisco, California, U.S.}}|60Win(16)}} Sailor Burke|NWS|6|12 Sep 1907{{age in years and days3190712}} {{small|Smith's Theater, Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.}}|59|{{yes2}}Win(15)}} Charles Cutler|KO|1 (6)|28 Aug 1907{{age in years and days3190728}} {{smallReading, Pennsylvania>Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|58|{{yes2}}Win(15)}} Bob Fitzsimmons|KO|2 (6)|17 Jul 1907{{age in years and days3190717}} {{small|Washington Sports Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|57|{{yes2}}Win(15)}} Bill Lang|TKO|9 (20)|4 Mar 1907{{age in years and days319074}} {{small|Richmond Race Course, Melbourne, Australia}}|56|{{yes2}}Win(15)}} Peter Felix|KO2:20}}|19 Feb 1907{{age in years and days3190719}} {{small|Gaiety Athletic Hall, Sydney, Australia}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|55Draw(15)}} Joe Jennette|NWS|10|26 Nov 1906{{age in years and days3190626}} {{smallPortland, Maine>Portland, Maine, U.S.}}{{small|World colored heavyweight title at stake;(via KO only)}}|54Win(14)}} Jim Jeffords|NWS|6|8 Nov 1906{{age in years and days319068}} {{smallLancaster, Pennsylvania>Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|53Win(13)}} Joe Jennette|NWS|6|20 Sep 1906{{age in years and days3190620}} {{small|Broadway Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|52|{{draw}}Draw(12)}} Billy Dunning|PTS|10|3 Sep 1906{{age in years and days319063}} {{small|Millinocket, Maine, U.S.}}|51|{{yes2}}Win(12)}} Charlie Haghey|KO|2 (12)|16 Jun 1906{{age in years and days3190616}} {{smallGloucester, Massachusetts>Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.}}|50|{{yes2}}Win(12)}} Sam Langford|PTS|15|26 Apr 1906{{age in years and days3190626}} {{small|Lincoln Athletic Club, Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|49|{{yes2}}Win(12)}} Black Bill|KO|7 (10)|16 Apr 1906{{age in years and days3190616}} {{smallPittston, Pennsylvania>Pittston, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|48|{{yes2}}Win(12)}} Joe Jennette|PTS|15|14 Mar 1906{{age in years and days3190614}} {{small|Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|47Win(12)}} Joe Jennette|NWS|3|16 Jan 1906{{age in years and days3190616}} {{small|Sharkey Athletic Club, New York City, New York, U.S.}}|46Win(11)}} Joe Jennette|NWS|6|2 Dec 1905{{age in years and days319052}} {{small|National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|45Win(10)}} Young Peter Jackson|NWS|12|1 Dec 1905{{age in years and days319051}} {{small|Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.}}{{small|World colored heavyweight title at stake;(via KO only)}}|44|{{no2}}Loss(9)}} Joe Jennette|DQ|2 (6)|25 Nov 1905{{age in years and days3190525}} {{small|National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|43Win(9)}} Joe Grim|NWS|6|24 Jul 1905{{age in years and days3190524}} {{small|National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|42|{{yes2}}Win(8)}} Sandy Ferguson|DQ|7 (15)|18 Jul 1905{{age in years and days3190518}} {{smallChelsea, Massachusetts>Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S.}}|41|{{yes2}}Win(8)}} Morris Harris|KO|1 (3)|13 Jul 1905{{age in years and days3190513}} {{small|Broadway Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|40Win(8)}} Black Bill|NWS|3|13 Jul 1905{{age in years and days3190513}} {{small|Broadway Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|39Win(7)}} Jack Munroe|NWS|6|26 Jun 1905{{age in years and days3190526}} {{small|National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|38|{{yes2}}Win(6)}} Walter Johnson|KO|3 (3)|9 May 1905{{age in years and days319059}} {{small|Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|37Win(6)}} Joe Jennette|NWS|3|9 May 1905{{age in years and days319059}} {{small|Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|36|{{yes2}}Win(5)}} Black Bill|TKO|4 (6)|2 May 1905{{age in years and days319052}} {{small|Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|35|{{yes2}}Win(5)}} Jim Jeffords|KO|4 (6)|25 Apr 1905{{age in years and days3190525}} {{small|Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|34|{{no2}}Loss(5)}} Marvin Hart|PTS|20|28 Mar 1905{{age in years and days3190528}} {{small|Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.}}|33|{{yes2}}Win(5)}} Denver Ed Martin|KO|2 (20)|10 Oct 1904{{age in years and days3190410}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|32|{{yes2}}Win(5)}} Frank Childs|PTS|6|2 Jun 1904{{age in years and days319042}} {{small|Apollo Hall, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|31|{{yes2}}Win(5)}} Sam McVey|KO|20 (20)|22 Apr 1904{{age in years and days3190422}} {{smallSan Francisco Mechanics' Institute>Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|30Win(5)}} Black Bill|NWS|6|15 Feb 1904{{age in years and days3190415}} {{small|Lenox Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|29{{abbrNo contest}}(4)}} Sandy Ferguson|NC|5 (6)|6 Feb 1904{{age in years and days319046}} {{small|National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|28|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Sandy Ferguson|PTS|20|11 Dec 1903{{age in years and days3190311}} {{smallColma, California>Colma, California, U.S.}}|27|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Sam McVey|PTS|20|27 Oct 1903{{age in years and days3190327}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|26Win(3)}} Sandy FergusonNWS|Newspaper decision}}|6|31 Jul 1903{{age in years and days3190331}} {{small|Penn Art Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|25|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Joe Butler|KO|3 (6)|11 May 1903{{age in years and days3190311}} {{small|Washington Sports Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|24|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Sandy Ferguson|PTS|10|16 Apr 1903{{age in years and days3190316}} {{small|Essex Athletic Club, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.}}|23|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Sam McVey|PTS|20|26 Feb 1903{{age in years and days3190326}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|22|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Denver Ed Martin|PTS|20|5 Feb 1903{{age in years and days319035}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}{{smallWorld Colored Heavyweight Championship>world colored heavyweight title}}|21|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Fred Russell|DQ|8 (20)|4 Dec 1902{{age in years and days319024}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}||20|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} George Gardiner|PTS|20|31 Oct 1902{{age in years and days3190231}} {{small|Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.}}||19|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Frank Childs|TKO|12 (20)|21 Oct 1902{{age in years and days3190221}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}{{small|Won world colored heavyweight title claim}}|18|{{draw}}Draw(2)}} Hank Griffin|PTS|20|20 Jun 1902{{age in years and days3190220}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}||17|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Jack Jeffries|KO|5 (20)|16 May 1902{{age in years and days3190216}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}||16|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Joe Kennedy|KO|4 (15)|7 Mar 1902{{age in years and days319027}} {{small|Reliance Athletic Club, Oakland, California, U.S.}}||15|{{draw}}Draw(2)}} Hank Griffin|PTS|15|27 Dec 1901{{age in years and days3190127}} {{smallReliance Athletic Club, Oakland, California>Oakland, California, U.S.}}||14|{{no2}}Loss(2)}} Hank Griffin|PTS|20|4 Nov 1901{{age in years and days319014}} {{small|Armory Hall, Bakersfield, California, U.S.}}||13|{{draw}}Draw(2)}} Mexican Pete Everett|PTS|20|14 Aug 1901{{age in years and days3190114}} {{smallVictor Hotel>Gold Coin Club, Victor, Colorado, U.S.}}||12|{{draw}}Draw(2)}} Billy Stift|PTS|10|26 Apr 1901{{age in years and days3190126}} {{small|Colorado Athletic Club, Denver, Colorado, U.S.}}||11|{{no2}}Loss(2)}} Joe Choynski|KO|3 (20)|25 Feb 1901{{age in years and days3190125}} {{small|Harmony Hall, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}||10|{{draw}}Draw(2)}} Jim Scanlon|PTS|7 (20)|14 Jan 1901{{age in years and days3190114}} {{small|Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}||9|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Klondike Haynes|TKO|4 (20)|27 Dec 1900{{age in years and days3190027}} {{small|Phoenix Athletic Club, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.}}||8|{{draw}}Draw(2)}} Klondike HaynesPTS|Points decision}}|20|25 Jun 1900{{age in years and days3190025}} {{small|Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}{{small|Pre-arranged draw if lasting the distance}}|7|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Jim McCormickDQ|Disqualification}}|6 (20)|20 Apr 1900{{age in years and days3190020}} {{small|Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}||6ND(2)}} William McNeill|ND|4|9 Apr 1900{{age in years and days319009}} {{small|Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}||5{{abbrNo decision}}(1)}} Jim McCormickND|No decision}}|15|21 Mar 1900{{age in years and days3190021}} {{small|Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}||4|{{no2}}Loss|3–1 Klondike HaynesTKO|Technical knockout}}|5 (6)|6 May 1899{{age in years and days318996}} {{small|Howard Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.}}{{smallBlack Heavyweight Championship>black heavyweight title}}|3|{{yes2}}Win|3–0 Cherokee|KO|? (6)|24 Jul 1898{{age in years and days3189824}} {{small|Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.}}|2|{{yes2}}Win|2–0 Ed Johnson|KO|5|20 Nov 1897{{age in years and days3189720}} {{small|Convention Hall, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}{{small|Retained Texas State middleweight title}}|1|{{yes2}}Win|1–0 Charley BrooksKO|Knockout}}|2 (15)|1 Nov 1897{{age in years and days318971}} {{small|Prof. Bernau's Gymnasium, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}{{small|Won Texas State middleweight title}}

Unofficial record

{{BoxingRecordSummary|ko-wins=34|ko-losses=6|dec-wins=29|dec-losses=4|dq-wins=5|dq-losses=1|draws=11|nc=4}}Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions in the win/loss/draw column.{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style="text-align:center"!{{abbr|No.|Number}}!Result!Record!Opponent!Type!Round, time!Date!Age!Location!Notes|94|{{yes2}}Win(4)}} Brad Simmons|KO|2 (10)|28 Apr 1931{{age in years and days3193128}} {{smallTulsa, Oklahoma>Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.}}|93|{{no2}}Loss(4)}} Brad Simmons|PTS|10|4 Mar 1931{{age in years and days319314}} {{smallTulsa, Oklahoma>Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.}}|92|{{yes2}}Win(4)}} Rough House Wilson|DQ|3 (10)|19 Jul 1928{{age in years and days3192819}} {{small|Douglas Park, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.}}|91|{{no2}}Loss(4)}} Bill Hartwell|RTD|6 (10)|15 May 1928{{age in years and days3192815}} {{smallMemorial Hall (Kansas City, Kansas)>Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.}}|90|{{no2}}Loss(4)}} Bearcat Wright|KO|5 (10)|16 Apr 1928{{age in years and days3192816}} {{small|Topeka, Kansas, U.S.}}|89|{{no2}}Loss(4)}} Brad Simmons|PTS|10|6 Sep 1926{{age in years and days319266}} {{small|101 Ranch Arena, Enid, Oklahoma, U.S.}}|88|{{no2}}Loss(4)}} Bob Lawson|RTD|7 (12)|30 May 1926{{age in years and days3192630}} {{small|Coliseum, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico}}|87|{{yes2}}Win(4)}} Pat Lester|PTS|15|2 May 1926{{age in years and days319262}} {{small|Plaza de Toros, Nogales, Sonora, Mexico}}|86|{{yes2}}Win(4)}} Homer Smith|PTS|10|22 Feb 1924{{age in years and days3192422}} {{small|Théâtre Saint-Denis, Montreal, Canada}}|85|{{yes2}}Win(4)}} Jack Thompson|NWS|12|20 May 1923{{age in years and days3192320}} {{small|Havana, Cuba}}|84|{{yes2}}Win(4)}} Farmer Lodge|KO|4|6 May 1923{{age in years and days319236}} {{small|Havana, Cuba}}|83|{{yes2}}Win(4)}} George Roberts|KO|3|17 May 1920{{age in years and days3192017}} {{small|Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico}}|82|{{yes2}}Win(4)}} Bob Wilson|KO|3|18 Apr 1920{{age in years and days3192018}} {{small|Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico}}|81|{{yes2}}Win(4)}} Marty Cutler|KO|6 (25)|28 Sep 1919{{age in years and days3191928}} {{small|Mexico City, Mexico}}|80NC(4)}} Jerry Smith|NC|3 (?)|17 Aug 1919{{age in years and days3191917}}{{small|Cine Teatro Venecia, Tampico, Mexico}}{{small|Police stopped the fight}}|79|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Tom Cowler|PTS|15|10 Aug 1919{{age in years and days3191910}} {{smallPlaza de Toros México>Plaza de Toros, Mexico City, Mexico}}|78|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Bob Roper|PTS|10|22 Jun 1919{{age in years and days3191922}} {{small|Mexico City, Mexico}}|77|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Bill Flint|KO|2 (10)|12 Feb 1919{{age in years and days3191912}} {{small|Teatro de la Gran Via, Madrid, Spain}}|76|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Blink McCloskey|RTD|6 (20)|5 Feb 1918{{age in years and days319185}} {{smallCirco Price>Teatro Circo Price, Madrid, Spain}}|75|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Arthur Cravan|KO|6 (20)|23 Apr 1916{{age in years and days3191623}} {{smallLa Monumental>Plaza de Toros Monumental, Barcelona, Spain}}|74|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Frank Crozier|TKO|7 (10)|23 Mar 1916{{age in years and days3191623}} {{small|Gran Teatro de Madrid, Madrid, Spain}}|73|{{no2}}Loss(3)}} Jess Willard|KO2:20}}|5 Apr 1915{{age in years and days319155}} {{smallOriental Park Racetrack>Oriental Park, Havana, Cuba}}{{small|Lost world heavyweight title}}|72|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Jack Murray|KO|3 (10)|10 Jan 1915{{age in years and days3191510}} {{small|Sociedad Sportiva Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina}}|71|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Frank Moran|PTS|20|27 Jun 1914{{age in years and days3191427}} {{small|Vélodrome d'Hiver, Paris, France}}{{small|Retained world heavyweight title}}|70|{{draw}}Draw(3)}} Battling Jim Johnson|PTS|10|19 Dec 1913{{age in years and days3191319}} {{small|Élysée Montmartre, Paris, France}}{{small|Retained world heavyweight title}}|69|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Fireman Jim Flynn|DQ|9 (45)|4 Jul 1912{{age in years and days319124}} {{smallLas Vegas, New Mexico>East Las Vegas, Las Vegas, New Mexico, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world heavyweight title}}|68|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} James J. Jeffries|TKO2:20}}Jack Johnson vs. James J. Jeffries>4 Jul 1910{{age in years and days319104}} {{small|Reno, Nevada, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world heavyweight title}}|67|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Stanley Ketchel|KO|12 (20)|16 Oct 1909{{age in years and days3190916}} {{smallColma, California>Colma, California, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world heavyweight title}}|66|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Al Kaufman|NWS|10|9 Sep 1909{{age in years and days319099}} {{small|Coffroth's Arena, San Francisco, California, U.S.}}{{small|World heavyweight title at stake;(via KO only)}}|65|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Tony Ross|NWS|6|30 Jun 1909{{age in years and days3190930}} {{smallDuquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania>Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}||64|{{draw}}Draw(3)}} Philadelphia Jack O'Brien|NWS|6|19 May 1909{{age in years and days3190919}} {{small|National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}{{small|World heavyweight title at stake;(via KO only)}}|63|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Tommy Burns|PTS|14 (20)|26 Dec 1908{{age in years and days3190826}} {{small|Sydney Stadium, Sydney, Australia}}{{smallList of heavyweight boxing champions>world heavyweight title}}|62|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Ben Taylor|TKO|8 (10)|31 Jul 1908{{age in years and days3190831}} {{small|Cosmopolitan Gymnasium, Plymouth, England}}|61|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Fireman Jim Flynn|KO1:30}}|2 Nov 1907{{age in years and days319072}} {{small|Coffroth's Arena, San Francisco, California, U.S.}}|60|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Sailor Burke|NWS|6|12 Sep 1907{{age in years and days3190712}} {{small|Smith's Theater, Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.}}|59|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Charles Cutler|KO|1 (6)|28 Aug 1907{{age in years and days3190728}} {{smallReading, Pennsylvania>Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|58|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Bob Fitzsimmons|KO|2 (6)|17 Jul 1907{{age in years and days3190717}} {{small|Washington Sports Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|57|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Bill Lang|TKO|9 (20)|4 Mar 1907{{age in years and days319074}} {{small|Richmond Race Course, Melbourne, Australia}}|56|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Peter Felix|KO2:20}}|19 Feb 1907{{age in years and days3190719}} {{small|Gaiety Athletic Hall, Sydney, Australia}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|55|{{draw}}Draw(3)}} Joe Jennette|NWS|10|26 Nov 1906{{age in years and days3190626}} {{smallPortland, Maine>Portland, Maine, U.S.}}{{small|World colored heavyweight title at stake;(via KO only)}}|54|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Jim Jeffords|NWS|6|8 Nov 1906{{age in years and days319068}} {{smallLancaster, Pennsylvania>Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|53|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Joe Jennette|NWS|6|20 Sep 1906{{age in years and days3190620}} {{small|Broadway Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|52|{{draw}}Draw(3)}} Billy Dunning|NWS|10|3 Sep 1906{{age in years and days319063}} {{small|Millinocket, Maine, U.S.}}|51|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Charlie Haghey|KO|2 (12)|16 Jun 1906{{age in years and days3190616}} {{smallGloucester, Massachusetts>Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.}}|50|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Sam Langford|PTS|15|26 Apr 1906{{age in years and days3190626}} {{small|Lincoln Athletic Club, Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|49|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Black Bill|KO|7 (10)|16 Apr 1906{{age in years and days3190616}} {{smallPittston, Pennsylvania>Pittston, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|48|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Joe Jennette|PTS|15|14 Mar 1906{{age in years and days3190614}} {{small|Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|47|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Joe Jennette|NWS|3|16 Jan 1906{{age in years and days3190616}} {{small|Sharkey Athletic Club, New York City, New York, U.S.}}|46|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Joe Jennette|NWS|6|2 Dec 1905{{age in years and days319052}} {{small|National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|45|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Young Peter Jackson|NWS|12|1 Dec 1905{{age in years and days319051}} {{small|Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.}}{{small|World colored heavyweight title at stake;(via KO only)}}|44|{{no2}}Loss(3)}} Joe Jennette|DQ|2 (6)|25 Nov 1905{{age in years and days3190525}} {{small|National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|43|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Joe Grim|NWS|6|24 Jul 1905{{age in years and days3190524}} {{small|National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|42|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Sandy Ferguson|DQ|7 (15)|18 Jul 1905{{age in years and days3190518}} {{smallChelsea, Massachusetts>Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S.}}|41|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Morris Harris|KO|1 (3)|13 Jul 1905{{age in years and days3190513}} {{small|Broadway Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|40|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Black Bill|NWS|3|13 Jul 1905{{age in years and days3190513}} {{small|Broadway Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|39|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Jack Munroe|NWS|6|26 Jun 1905{{age in years and days3190526}} {{small|National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|38|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Walter Johnson|KO|3 (3)|9 May 1905{{age in years and days319059}} {{small|Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|37|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Joe Jennette|NWS|3|9 May 1905{{age in years and days319059}} {{small|Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|36|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Black Bill|TKO|4 (6)|2 May 1905{{age in years and days319052}} {{small|Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|35|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Jim Jeffords|KO|4 (6)|25 Apr 1905{{age in years and days3190525}} {{small|Knickerbocker Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|34|{{no2}}Loss(3)}} Marvin Hart|PTS|20|28 Mar 1905{{age in years and days3190528}} {{small|Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.}}|33|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Denver Ed Martin|KO|2 (20)|10 Oct 1904{{age in years and days3190410}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|32|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Frank Childs|PTS|6|2 Jun 1904{{age in years and days319042}} {{small|Apollo Hall, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|31|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Sam McVey|KO|20 (20)|22 Apr 1904{{age in years and days3190422}} {{smallSan Francisco Mechanics' Institute>Mechanic's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|30|{{yes2}}Win(3)}} Black Bill|NWS|6|15 Feb 1904{{age in years and days3190415}} {{small|Lenox Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|29{{abbrNo contest}}(3)}} Sandy Ferguson|NC|5 (6)|6 Feb 1904{{age in years and days319046}} {{small|National Athletic Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|28|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Sandy Ferguson|PTS|20|11 Dec 1903{{age in years and days3190311}} {{smallColma, California>Colma, California, U.S.}}|27|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Sam McVey|PTS|20|27 Oct 1903{{age in years and days3190327}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|26|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Sandy FergusonNWS|Newspaper decision}}|6|31 Jul 1903{{age in years and days3190331}} {{small|Penn Art Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|25|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Joe Butler|KO|3 (6)|11 May 1903{{age in years and days3190311}} {{small|Washington Sports Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.}}|24|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Sandy Ferguson|PTS|10|16 Apr 1903{{age in years and days3190316}} {{small|Essex Athletic Club, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.}}|23|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Sam McVey|PTS|20|26 Feb 1903{{age in years and days3190326}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}{{small|Retained world colored heavyweight title}}|22|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Denver Ed Martin|PTS|20|5 Feb 1903{{age in years and days319035}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}{{smallWorld Colored Heavyweight Championship>world colored heavyweight title}}|21|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Fred Russell|DQ|8 (20)|4 Dec 1902{{age in years and days319024}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}||20|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} George Gardiner|PTS|20|31 Oct 1902{{age in years and days3190231}} {{small|Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.}}||19|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Frank Childs|TKO|12 (20)|21 Oct 1902{{age in years and days3190221}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}{{small|Won world colored heavyweight title claim}}|18|{{draw}}Draw(2)}} Hank Griffin|PTS|20|20 Jun 1902{{age in years and days3190220}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}||17|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Jack Jeffries|KO|5 (20)|16 May 1902{{age in years and days3190216}} {{small|Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, U.S.}}||16|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Joe Kennedy|KO|4 (15)|7 Mar 1902{{age in years and days319027}} {{small|Reliance Athletic Club, Oakland, California, U.S.}}||15|{{draw}}Draw(2)}} Hank Griffin|PTS|15|27 Dec 1901{{age in years and days3190127}} {{smallReliance Athletic Club, Oakland, California>Oakland, California, U.S.}}||14|{{no2}}Loss(2)}} Hank Griffin|PTS|20|4 Nov 1901{{age in years and days319014}} {{small|Armory Hall, Bakersfield, California, U.S.}}||13|{{draw}}Draw(2)}} Mexican Pete Everett|PTS|20|14 Aug 1901{{age in years and days3190114}} {{smallVictor Hotel>Gold Coin Club, Victor, Colorado, U.S.}}||12|{{draw}}Draw(2)}} Billy Stift|PTS|10|26 Apr 1901{{age in years and days3190126}} {{small|Colorado Athletic Club, Denver, Colorado, U.S.}}||11|{{no2}}Loss(2)}} Joe Choynski|KO|3 (20)|25 Feb 1901{{age in years and days3190125}} {{small|Harmony Hall, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}||10|{{draw}}Draw(2)}} Jim Scanlon|PTS|7 (20)|14 Jan 1901{{age in years and days3190114}} {{small|Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}||9|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Klondike Haynes|TKO|4 (20)|27 Dec 1900{{age in years and days3190027}} {{small|Phoenix Athletic Club, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.}}||8|{{draw}}Draw(2)}} Klondike HaynesPTS|Points decision}}|20|25 Jun 1900{{age in years and days3190025}} {{small|Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}{{small|Pre-arranged draw if lasting the distance}}|7|{{yes2}}Win(2)}} Jim McCormickDQ|Disqualification}}|6 (20)|20 Apr 1900{{age in years and days3190020}} {{small|Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}||6ND(2)}} William McNeill|ND|4|9 Apr 1900{{age in years and days319009}} {{small|Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}||5{{abbrNo decision}}(1)}} Jim McCormickND|No decision}}|15|21 Mar 1900{{age in years and days3190021}} {{small|Galveston Athletic Club, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}||4|{{no2}}Loss|3–1 Klondike HaynesTKO|Technical knockout}}|5 (6)|6 May 1899{{age in years and days318996}} {{small|Howard Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.}}{{smallBlack Heavyweight Championship>black heavyweight title}}|3|{{yes2}}Win|3–0 Cherokee|KO|? (6)|24 Jul 1898{{age in years and days3189824}} {{small|Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.}}|2|{{yes2}}Win|2–0 Ed Johnson|KO|5|20 Nov 1897{{age in years and days3189720}} {{small|Convention Hall, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}{{small|Retained Texas State middleweight title}}|1|{{yes2}}Win|1–0 Charley BrooksKO|Knockout}}|2 (15)|1 Nov 1897{{age in years and days318971}} {{small|Prof. Bernau's Gymnasium, Galveston, Texas, U.S.}}{{small|Won Texas State middleweight title}}

See also

• List of heavyweight boxing champions
• List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States

References

{{Reflist}}

Notes

{{notelist}}

Further reading

• Ocania Chalk, Pioneers of Black Sport. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1975.
• Henry Louis Gates and Cornel West, The African-American Century: How Black Americans have shaped our Country. New York: The Free Press, 2000.
• Theresa Runstedtler, Jack Johnson, Rebel Sojourner: Boxing in the Shadow of the Global Color Line. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2012.

External links

{{Commons|Jack Johnson}}

• {{boxrec|id=001187|name=Jack Johnson}}
• Jack Johnson at Flickr Commons
• ESPN Profile: Jack Johnson
• ESPN.com: Jack Johnson
• Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, a 2 part film by Ken Burns and PBS 2005.
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20091105035224weblink">Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, A Review on Ken Burns' Documentary.
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20050106052933weblink">Extended biography of Jack Johnson
• "The Johnson-Jeffries Fight and Censorship of Black Supremacy", by Barak Orbach.
• Famous Texans – Jack Johnson
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20050410021538weblink">Harlem 1900–1940: Schomburg Exhibit Jack Johnson (archived)
• Flashback: Jack Johnson Profiled
• CBS News – A Pardon for Jack Johnson
• "Jeffries is Defeated; Dragged Out Bleeding". Daily Press, July 5, 1910. United States Library of Congress.
• BFI, weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20151001042913weblink">Jack Johnson Paying a Visit to Manchester Docks, 1911
• Johnson-Jeffries Fight: A Centennial Exhibit {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227035032weblink |date=February 27, 2018 }}, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.
• Johnson-Jeffries Fight, Reno Historical
• Jack Johnson In the Ring and Out, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library.

{{Authority control}}