The First Black Boxing Champions

The First Black Boxing Champions
Author: Colleen Aycock
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 303
Release: 2014-01-10
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0786461888

This volume presents fifteen chapters of biography of African American and black champions and challengers of the early prize ring. They range from Tom Molineaux, a slave who won freedom and fame in the ring in the early 1800s; to Joe Gans, the first African American world champion; to the flamboyant Jack Johnson, deemed such a threat to white society that film of his defeat of former champion and "Great White Hope" Jim Jeffries was banned across much of the country. Photographs, period drawings, cartoons, and fight posters enhance the biographies. Round-by-round coverage of select historic fights is included, as is a foreword by Hall-of-Fame boxing announcer Al Bernstein.

Joe Gans

Joe Gans
Author: Colleen Aycock
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2008-10-31
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0786439947

Joe Gans captured the world lightweight title in 1902, becoming the first black American world title holder in any sport. Gans was a master strategist and tactician, and one of the earliest practitioners of "scientific" boxing. As a black champion reigning during the Jim Crow era, he endured physical assaults, a stolen title, bankruptcy, and numerous attempts to destroy his reputation. Four short years after successfully defending his title in the 42-round "Greatest Fight of the Century," Joe Gans was dead of tuberculosis. This biography features original round-by-round ringside telegraph reports of his most famous and controversial fights, a complete fight history, photographs, and early newspaper drawings and cartoons.

George Dixon

George Dixon
Author: Jason Winders
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2021-09-13
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1682261778

"Biography of Canadian-born, Boston-raised boxer George Dixon (1870-1908), the first Black world champion of any sport and the first Black world boxing champion in any division"--

The Longest Fight

The Longest Fight
Author: William Gildea
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2012-06-19
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0374280975

The dramatic, little-known story of Joe Gans, an early African-American sports hero and the welterweight champion of the world. Though he is largely unknown today, this book will change that with its emphasis on one key fight in 1906.

The Great White Hope

The Great White Hope
Author: Howard Sackler
Publisher: Samuel French, Inc.
Total Pages: 140
Release: 1968
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 9780573609602

"[The dramatist] has used his hero, a fighter based on the first Black heavyweight champion of the world, Jack Johnson ... as a symbol in part of Black aspiration"--Back cover.

The Boxing Register

The Boxing Register
Author: James B. Roberts
Publisher:
Total Pages: 782
Release: 2006
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9781590131213

A fully illustrated and researched update to a classic reference guide includes entries for all of the inductees in the Boxing Hall of Fame through 2006, in an official record book that lists key facts and figures while providing numerous action photographs. Original.

The Legend of the First Super Speedway

The Legend of the First Super Speedway
Author: Mark Dill
Publisher: BookBaby
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2020-11-09
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 1098335163

"The Legend of the First Super Speedway," is a gritty tale punctuated by humor that chronicles the hero's journey through the pioneering age of American auto racing. It is a factual, previously untold story that must be read for a thorough understanding of auto racing history.

Jess Willard

Jess Willard
Author: Arly Allen
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2017-06-09
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1476626375

Jess Willard, the "Pottawatomie Giant," won the heavyweight title in 1915 with his defeat of Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion. At 6 feet, 6 inches and 240 pounds, Willard was considered unbeatable in his day. He nonetheless lost to Jack Dempsey in 1919 in one of the most brutally one-sided contests in fistic history. Willard later made an initially successful comeback but was defeated by Luis Firpo in 1923 and retired from the ring. He died in 1968, largely forgotten by the boxing public. Featuring photographs from the Willard family archives, this first full-length biography provides a detailed portrait of one of America's boxing greats.

Jack Johnson, Rebel Sojourner

Jack Johnson, Rebel Sojourner
Author: Theresa Runstedtler
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2013-09
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0520280113

Discusses the life and boxing career of Jack Johnson.