1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:06,000 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. We have a two parter on Eugene Jack 2 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:08,319 Speaker 1: Bullard coming up on the podcast, and in it we 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,760 Speaker 1: mentioned Jack Johnson, so we're bringing out our episode on 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: him as a Saturday classic. Just a heads up. Toward 5 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: the end of this episode, there is a brief discussion 6 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:21,800 Speaker 1: of intimate partner violence and of someone dying by suicide. 7 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:26,759 Speaker 1: Also as an update to this episode, in Johnson was 8 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: convicted of violating the Man Act that was passed during 9 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:33,279 Speaker 1: a moral panic around the idea of white slavery, and 10 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: we talked about that law more in our episode on 11 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:39,880 Speaker 1: Grace Humiston's This law was grounded in racism and xenophobia 12 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:44,199 Speaker 1: and it round up criminalizing various types of consensual sexual activity, 13 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: which is really what happened here and more on Johnson's conviction. 14 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,599 Speaker 1: As part of this episode, President Donald Trump posthumously pardoned 15 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: Johnson on and just as a random note, since previous 16 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 1: host Sarah and Bablina mentioned doing this episode for Black 17 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: History Months, we try to cover Black history and other 18 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:07,400 Speaker 1: history that's usually put into a particular month year round, 19 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: so folks do not need to save their Black History 20 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 1: topic suggestions for February. Send those in whenever they occur 21 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 1: to you at any point, Yes, so enjoy. Welcome to 22 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: Stuff you missed in History Class A production of I 23 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:30,479 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Sarah 24 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 1: Dowdy and I'm Deblina Chalk Reboarding, and we are of 25 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: course covering Black History Month for February and today. It's 26 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 1: pretty hard to imagine professional sports in the United States 27 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:45,119 Speaker 1: were once segregated, perhaps especially a sport like boxing, where 28 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: some of the biggest names guys like Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, 29 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: George Foreman, the recently departed Joe Frasier are African American, 30 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: But at the turn of the twentieth century, the idea 31 00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: that there could be a black heavyweight champion was impossible. 32 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: And surprisingly, the issue wasn't just about a white man 33 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: fighting a black man and the physical contact that that 34 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 1: would necessitate, which, unfortunately, in the context of segregation that 35 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:16,239 Speaker 1: kind of makes sense, where sharing a water fountain or 36 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: sharing a waiting room was considered not okay. It's gonna 37 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 1: figure my extension that something is physical as boxing where 38 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: you're gonna swap sweat and blood and embrace in the 39 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: ring would also not be okay. But black and white 40 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 1: boxers did fight each other. Exhibition matches weren't uncommon, and 41 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: just as the white Major League Baseball players would barnstorm 42 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:42,360 Speaker 1: with their Negro League counterparts decades before integration, boxers of 43 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:46,119 Speaker 1: different races would fight at pretty much all levels, except 44 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: at the highest level, the heavyweight championship. For several reasons, 45 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: which will discuss some more. The heavyweight title was considered 46 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: so prestigious, so honorable, it couldn't be sullied by a 47 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: black contender in some people's opinion, let alone a black champion. 48 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: So it took Texas born Jack Johnson. We're not talking 49 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: about the singer, of course, we're talking about the boxer 50 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: to break that color line. And to do it, he 51 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: had to be not only a powerful fighter, but really 52 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: dogged in his pursuit of the fight, trying to get 53 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: somebody to actually fight him. He hounded his potential opponents, 54 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: knowing that eventually the honor of defending that title, which 55 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: was so such an important thing in the boxing world, 56 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 1: plus of course the purse money that would come with 57 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: defending it, would eventually make it worthwhile for a white 58 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 1: champion to step into the ring and fight with a 59 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: black man. So first We're gonna give you a little 60 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: bit about Jack Johnson's background before we get to the fighting, 61 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: the really exciting part. John Arthur Johnson or Jack, was 62 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 1: born March thirty one, eight seventy eight, in Galaston, Texas. 63 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: His parents were former slaves who educated all six of 64 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: their kids, working as a school janitor and a laundress. 65 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: And though Jack only had five years of schooling, he 66 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: became a voracious student of history, with a particular fondness 67 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: for Napoleon. And he also played bass fiddle, loved classical music, 68 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: and invented stuff he invented. He had a patent on 69 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: a wrench. I think we should have put him in 70 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: our earlier podcast on Unlikely Invented. Unlikely Inventors would have 71 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: been a good one. So as a kid, Johnson started 72 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:29,480 Speaker 1: fighting in battle royals, which were these really horrible sounding 73 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: underground fights. But from that sort of inauspicious start, Johnson 74 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: worked his way up, moved up to fights with actual purses, 75 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: and started riding the rails to barnstorm around the country 76 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 1: and also helping more experienced boxers train as a as 77 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:48,840 Speaker 1: a sparring partner. And as we already mentioned, blacks did 78 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,480 Speaker 1: fight whites it just wasn't for that top spot. In fact, 79 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: much of Johnson's defensive expertise he could seemingly swat away 80 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: punches very easily, and that came from practicing and training 81 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,719 Speaker 1: with Joe choin Ski after the two were jailed together 82 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: for boxing in the first place. And just a note 83 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: for you here, just a little side note at the 84 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 1: turning contact boxing context for you guys. Exactly around the 85 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: turn of the century, boxing was a popular sport with 86 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: all classes of people, but it was still a sport 87 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:20,800 Speaker 1: that was considered kind of a lista even illegal in 88 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: many places. Despite the gloves rules and timed rounds, and 89 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: with new techniques picked up from Joe, plus his naturally 90 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:32,119 Speaker 1: powerful punch and his six foot one and a half 91 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:36,159 Speaker 1: inch frame, Johnson moved on to bigger cities and he 92 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: eventually made up to one thousand dollars per fight. He 93 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: was becoming a contender, but one who would never be 94 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 1: allowed or so a lot of people thought to fight 95 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 1: the heavyweight champion, But why why wasn't he allowed? And 96 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: we're gonna talk about that some, but at first I 97 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 1: really want to recommend there's a fantastic Ken Burns documentary 98 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: on Jack Johnson called unforgivable blackness, and for me, it 99 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: really helped explain the racial politics behind boxing at the time. 100 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: It's easy to find a lot of biographical information on Johnson, 101 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,360 Speaker 1: but it helped put some of that into context for me. 102 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 1: So even though boxing was an illicit sport, I mean, 103 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: people would campaign against its violence, the heavyweight championship was 104 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: really kind of an upstanding position. It was well respected 105 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: and John L. Sullivan, who was called the Boston strong Boy, 106 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: had a lot to do with the respect for that position. 107 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:34,679 Speaker 1: He was the first gloved heavyweight champion and really became 108 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: a huge celebrity, kind of a sports hero, long before 109 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: sports heroes really existed, and he made the title something 110 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:47,919 Speaker 1: that was actually important to the general audience, almost a 111 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 1: byeword for the strongest man in the world. And he 112 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:55,160 Speaker 1: even bragged that he could beat anyone in the world, except, 113 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:58,720 Speaker 1: of course, it was understood African Americans, who he just 114 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: would not fight. He refused to fight black boxers, drawing 115 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 1: a color line after he became the heavyweight champion. Since 116 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: the heavyweight title represented more than just physical prowess or 117 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:16,800 Speaker 1: boxing expertise, it represented physical superiority to all other men 118 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: and so it had this really weighty social significance to it, 119 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: and Sullivan's precedent continued with later heavyweight champs all the 120 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 1: way through Jim Jeffries, the boiler Maker, who had made 121 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: his early name fighting some of the best black boxers 122 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 1: of the day. And Jeffreys was kind of the ultimate 123 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 1: boxing specimen of that era, who was hairy chested, he 124 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: once drank a case of whiskey in two days, and 125 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: he kept a bear as a pet. But even though 126 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: up and coming jack Johnson was winning against all other 127 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,240 Speaker 1: major black boxers of the time, clinching the unofficial Negro 128 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 1: heavyweight Championship, Jeffries wouldn't fight him. They instead engaged in 129 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: a kind of battle of words and intimidation. After knocking 130 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 1: out Jim Jeffrey's brother Jack in an l a fight, 131 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 1: Johnson told the spectator champ that he could beat him too, 132 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:09,320 Speaker 1: egging him on really, and then in a San Francisco saloon, Jefferies, 133 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: after Jackson had again said why don't you fight me, 134 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:17,559 Speaker 1: Jefferies offered Jackson two dollars on the bar to fight 135 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 1: him completely alone in the seller You know this really 136 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: sketchy sounding scenario. Johnson refused, that he was only going 137 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 1: to fight him if it was a real fight. Finally, though, 138 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: in nineteen o five, the undefeated Jefferies decided that he 139 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:35,560 Speaker 1: was going to retire from boxing, retire and become an 140 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 1: alfalfa farmer. And of course, though retiring like that, he 141 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: needed to um crown a new champion, a new heavyweight champion, 142 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:49,319 Speaker 1: and so he refereed about between two white contenders and 143 00:08:49,640 --> 00:09:03,200 Speaker 1: name the winner the new heavyweight champion. Johnson obviously was 144 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: really mad that this had happened this way. He hadn't 145 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: gotten his chance to fight the undisputed champion, and so 146 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: he started still just going after the title anyway he could, 147 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: going after the new title holders. Eventually, that title holder 148 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:23,559 Speaker 1: was Tommy Burns, who was a Canadian born Noah Brusso, 149 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: and Burns, like his predecessors, wouldn't fight Johnson either though, 150 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:29,560 Speaker 1: so it seemed like it was going to be a 151 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:33,559 Speaker 1: losing battle. Yeah, but Johnson wouldn't relent. He followed Burns 152 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: around the world, challenging him everywhere he went, and eventually 153 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: it started to get embarrassing for Burns, even though in 154 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: some twisted logic, Burns would call Johnson yellow even though 155 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 1: he was the one where he don't get that I 156 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: don't either, So he said what he thought would be 157 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 1: an insurmountable barrier between him and Johnson, Burns said he 158 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: wouldn't break the color line for less than thirty thous dollars. 159 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 1: So he thought, Okay, surely nobody's going to go for that. 160 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:04,680 Speaker 1: But sure enough somebody did agree to pay that much. 161 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 1: In the fall of nineteen o eight, Australian Hugh known 162 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:11,079 Speaker 1: as Huge Deal McIntosh agreed to put up the money 163 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,080 Speaker 1: and put on the fight. So Burns accepted the thirty 164 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: thousand dollars. Johnson, by the way, only got five thousand, 165 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: and their fight took place the day after Christmas nineteen 166 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 1: o eight in Sydney, Australia. So we're gonna give you 167 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:26,160 Speaker 1: a brief play by play of how the fight went down. 168 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: It started amid huge cheers for Burns and jeers for Johnson, 169 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: even though and you can see this in the footage, 170 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:37,440 Speaker 1: he was still blowing the crowd kisses quite kindly. Johnson 171 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: had Burns on the floor within seconds, and even though 172 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:45,679 Speaker 1: Burns started to call Johnson racial slurs, Johnson really had 173 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 1: a more effective way to um anger or embarrass his opponent. 174 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 1: He would point at spots on his own body, like 175 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:56,200 Speaker 1: on his side or on his stomach, just point at 176 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 1: it with his glove, urging Burns to punch him there. 177 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: And when Burns, after clearly a second of hesitation, like 178 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 1: what on earth is going on here, would really punch him, 179 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: Johnson wouldn't even flinch or react, I mean, really kind 180 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: of stuff to psych him out. Johnson, meanwhile, would hug Burns, 181 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: holding him up to keep him fighting when he was 182 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:18,960 Speaker 1: starting to get tired. By the fourteenth round, it was 183 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:21,920 Speaker 1: clear that Johnson was going to be the winner. Police 184 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,320 Speaker 1: stopped the fight and the cameras. You can see a 185 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:29,920 Speaker 1: freeze frame the last the last second of the cameras rolling, 186 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:32,800 Speaker 1: and then Johnson was declared winner. They stopped the cameras 187 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: because they didn't want to see They didn't want everybody 188 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: to see Johnson defeating this white guy. But it didn't 189 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,319 Speaker 1: matter if people saw it or not. At thirty years old, 190 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: Johnson was the new heavyweight champion. So now it's time 191 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:48,760 Speaker 1: to start talking a little bit about Johnson's personal life, 192 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:51,240 Speaker 1: because it's what everyone else was doing at the time anyway, 193 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:54,480 Speaker 1: And if you've studied the Harlem Renaissance, Red w E, 194 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: DWO Boys, or even listen to our Mark Scarvey podcast 195 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 1: You've Heard of the New Negro. A Mike Walsh article 196 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 1: in The Smithsonian does a lot to put that era 197 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: of the New Negro into context. It came after a 198 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:11,240 Speaker 1: dark post reconstruction era where Jim Crow laws codified segregation 199 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:15,440 Speaker 1: and lynchings really increased. And by the turn of the century, though, 200 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:19,640 Speaker 1: with the Great Migration providing African Americans with new opportunities 201 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: in industrial work up north, things seemed to be looking 202 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 1: up a little bit. The idea of the New Negro developed. 203 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,880 Speaker 1: They were born free, ready for opportunity, and not content 204 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:33,000 Speaker 1: to just hang back and wait. So Johnson was the 205 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: epitome of that New Negro. He dressed immaculately, he lived finely, 206 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:41,280 Speaker 1: and he spoke freely. But for many African Americans, and 207 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:44,240 Speaker 1: certainly for many white Americans, he took things a little 208 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:48,480 Speaker 1: bit too far. He drank heavily, he raced and crashed 209 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: fast cars. He had gold crowns. He got into arguments 210 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:54,800 Speaker 1: with the owners of the vaudeville theaters that he'd moonlight in. 211 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 1: Most seriously, though, he dated white women who he would 212 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,880 Speaker 1: often meet at Chicago's fancy is Bordello. When the news 213 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,440 Speaker 1: that the new champion, Johnson, was traveling around with a 214 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:08,720 Speaker 1: white companion, his hometown of Galveston canceled the big parade 215 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: they had planned for him. So that was the big issue, 216 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:13,439 Speaker 1: and it's important to keep that one in mind as 217 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,760 Speaker 1: we go forward. But there was another issue going on 218 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:19,319 Speaker 1: for Johnson, to one that was actually pertinent to boxing. 219 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:24,080 Speaker 1: Since the old champion, Jim Jefferies, had retired undefeated to 220 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:28,080 Speaker 1: his elf Alfa farm, some people began questioning whether Johnson 221 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:31,760 Speaker 1: was really a legitimate champion at all. Had really bothered 222 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: folks when they're there when there were the white champions 223 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 1: in between, but was bothering them now? So Johnson answered 224 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 1: that he would fight Jeffreys or anyone else who wanted 225 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 1: to fight him, and almost immediately the search to find 226 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: that anyone who was considered or called the great white 227 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:54,559 Speaker 1: hope started, so seriously, anyone who was white could be 228 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 1: a challenger. They'd come from the fields, from circuses, and 229 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: if they finally got to Johnson, he'd steamrolled them. And 230 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,760 Speaker 1: after running out of white hopes, Johnson took on his 231 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: pal and drinking Buddy Stanley Ketchell the white and middleweight 232 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 1: champion of the world, and according to the Burns documentary, 233 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:13,880 Speaker 1: fight promoters dressed Ketchell up for photos and high healed 234 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,440 Speaker 1: cowboy boots and a bulky coat to make him look 235 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: more comparable to Johnson. They also had each fighter promised something, 236 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 1: so Ketchell promised that he wouldn't try to actually win 237 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: and in the process wind up getting really badly hurt. 238 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 1: It was much smaller, and Johnson promised that he wouldn't 239 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:35,360 Speaker 1: knock out Ketchell. Broken promises all around. However, things did 240 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 1: not go according to Plant what they did. For a 241 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: little bit. For the first part of the fight, it 242 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:43,040 Speaker 1: seemed like everybody was happy. It was gonna turn out 243 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 1: to be a great movie. The boxers could make a 244 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 1: lot of money off of it. Everybody would be good. 245 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 1: But in the twelfth round, Ketchell really started trying to win, 246 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:55,200 Speaker 1: and he knocked down Johnson as soon as he was up. 247 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:57,120 Speaker 1: There was obviously a huge mistake. As soon as he 248 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:01,680 Speaker 1: was up, Johnson knocked out Ketchell in the process, knocking 249 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:04,600 Speaker 1: out all of his front teeth. At the route, which 250 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: is I'm looking at to Blina is cringing right now. 251 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: It's maybe one of the more disturbing physical parts of 252 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 1: this podcast, Getting your teeth Knocked Out. Eventually, though, after 253 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:21,040 Speaker 1: all of these defeats of the Great White Hopes the 254 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 1: defeat of Ketchel, it was clear that there was only 255 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 1: one legitimate contender out there for Johnson. That was, of course, 256 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: Jim Jefferies. Even though now he was thirty four, he 257 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: was nearly three hundred pounds and he was seriously enjoying 258 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 1: his alfalfa farming, he was enjoying retirement. He however, had 259 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,680 Speaker 1: to be the Great White Hope, and eventually Jeffreys agreed 260 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: to come out of retirement and fight us Marshall. Text 261 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:51,000 Speaker 1: Rickard won the rights to promote what promised to be 262 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: the fight of the century, and it was sent for 263 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:58,600 Speaker 1: July four so each fighter would be paid fifty thou dollars, 264 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: which is about one point six million dollars today for 265 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 1: film rights, plus as signing bonus of ten thousand dollars, 266 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: and plus the winner would receive two thirds of a 267 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 1: one and one thousand dollar purse. The governor of California 268 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,520 Speaker 1: ended up banning the match, though, and after that Record 269 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 1: moved it to Reno, Nevada, where price fighting was legal. Basically, 270 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:21,360 Speaker 1: still kind of a wild Westish area. I guess seemed 271 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: like prize fighting was a civilized pursuit with all of 272 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 1: its rules and gloves and people not usually getting killed. 273 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 1: The only condition of the sudden venue switch was that 274 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:33,520 Speaker 1: the governor of Nevada had records swear that the fight 275 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 1: wasn't stacked, So Ricord did a lot to try to 276 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: make sure that the fight was secure. He placed deputies 277 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 1: at the arena's entrances who confiscated firearms from the crowd 278 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 1: of twenty thousand. Celebrities and attendance included former champ John L. 279 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: Sullivan and novelist slash sports commentator Jack London. There were 280 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: even mock fights set up around the country with reenactors 281 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:58,880 Speaker 1: recreating the fight blow for blow. Really was the fight 282 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 1: of the century at the point, but don't forget for 283 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,520 Speaker 1: a minute that the whole thing was largely about race. 284 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 1: The Smithsonian article Dablina mentioned has a quote from The 285 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:11,000 Speaker 1: New York Times on the eve of the fight that read, 286 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 1: if the black man wins, thousands and thousands of his 287 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: ignorant brothers will misinterpret his victory as justifying claims to 288 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 1: much more than physical equality with their white neighbors. Pretty 289 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:28,320 Speaker 1: serious stuff. So despite Jeffrey's rush training, though in a 290 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:31,880 Speaker 1: massive sudden weight loss he lost about a hundred pounds, 291 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: he was still favored over Johnson ten to four. But 292 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:38,560 Speaker 1: Johnson wasn't worried. He was quoted as saying he felt 293 00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 1: like a kid on Christmas morning on the on the 294 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:43,280 Speaker 1: eve of the fight. This was, after all, what he 295 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 1: had been waiting for, you know, not just achieving the championship, 296 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:51,920 Speaker 1: but defending it from any further claims. So now we're 297 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:54,280 Speaker 1: going to give you a little rundown of this particular fight. 298 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: Jefferies refused to shake hands with Johnson right off the bat, 299 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:03,040 Speaker 1: and his corner man, former champ gentleman Jim Corbett, whose 300 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:06,679 Speaker 1: defensive style Johnson had actually emulated, started a stream of 301 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:10,199 Speaker 1: racial slurs that lasted the entire match. According to an 302 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:14,439 Speaker 1: Ebony article by Lauren Bennett Jr. Johnson later remembered quote, 303 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 1: I sensed that most of the great audience was hostile 304 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,679 Speaker 1: to me. But despite the sun and the jeering mob, 305 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,400 Speaker 1: and the occasional thought that there might be a gunman 306 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:26,719 Speaker 1: somewhere in that vast array of humanity, I was cool 307 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:29,800 Speaker 1: and perfectly at ease. I never had any doubt of 308 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:41,399 Speaker 1: the outcome, and if you watch the footage, it really 309 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,479 Speaker 1: looks that way too. You can watch this uh this 310 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:49,399 Speaker 1: match online and see the two fighters basically locked in 311 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:54,480 Speaker 1: an embrace, with Johnson just lobbing one undercut after another 312 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:56,520 Speaker 1: at Jeffreys. This is the part that stood out to 313 00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:00,200 Speaker 1: me the most. Jeffrey's head just bounces around every time 314 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: he gets hit by Johnson. In the second round, Johnson 315 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,600 Speaker 1: told him, don't rush, Jim. I can do this all day. 316 00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:09,800 Speaker 1: He asked Jeffries, how do you feel, Jim, how do 317 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 1: you like it? Does it hurt? And by the end 318 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:16,520 Speaker 1: of the fourteenth round, Jefferies just looked horrifying. His nose 319 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,680 Speaker 1: was broken and gushing blood, his eyes were swollen, even 320 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:24,119 Speaker 1: his legs are all stained with more blood. He looks really, 321 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:28,119 Speaker 1: really bad. In the fifteenth round, he was knocked down 322 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: and then knocked down again, falling over the lower ropes 323 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:34,439 Speaker 1: that time, and at that point the crowd started to 324 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 1: cry for Jefferies not to be knocked out. They didn't 325 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:40,760 Speaker 1: want to see their formerly undefeated champion get knocked out 326 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:44,320 Speaker 1: by Johnson. So the fight was ended with Johnson declared 327 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: the winner, and again If you see the footage, it 328 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:51,399 Speaker 1: shows Johnson's cornermen quickly forming this defensive circle around him, 329 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:56,640 Speaker 1: surrounding him to protect him from the furious crowd around 330 00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:00,280 Speaker 1: the country to some people were celebrating, some or not 331 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:04,399 Speaker 1: African Americans came out to celebrate, but race riots began 332 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:07,760 Speaker 1: pretty quickly, and up to twenty six people died as 333 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 1: a result of these race riots over a boxing match. 334 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:16,719 Speaker 1: But Jeffries at least concedes defeat really graciously. He later says, quote, 335 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:20,119 Speaker 1: Jack Johnson was better than I ever was, and tells 336 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: his friends that he couldn't have even beaten him in 337 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,119 Speaker 1: his prime, so kind of putting an end to any 338 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:28,399 Speaker 1: purizing that, well, maybe if Jeffreys had been younger and 339 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:31,640 Speaker 1: in better shape, things would have been different. So Johnson, 340 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:35,480 Speaker 1: now the undisputed champ, was unbeatable, except when it came 341 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: to his private life, that is, which began to fall 342 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:41,800 Speaker 1: apart pretty quickly. He started drinking heavily, and he threatened 343 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:45,120 Speaker 1: to commit suicide. He was also treated for nervous exhaustion 344 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:49,160 Speaker 1: and was arrested for speeding. He established the color line 345 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,440 Speaker 1: of his own too, no longer fighting black contenders since 346 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:55,399 Speaker 1: he considered them harder fights for not as much money. 347 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 1: He also beat his wealthy girlfriend at a durya badly 348 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:02,280 Speaker 1: enough for her to be sent to the hospital, and 349 00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:05,639 Speaker 1: after that they married. But her sad life living upstairs 350 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: from his black and tan Chicago club Cafe d Champion, 351 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:13,000 Speaker 1: isolated from both black and white communities, drove her to 352 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:17,440 Speaker 1: commit suicide in September nineteen twelve, and Johnson was really 353 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:21,720 Speaker 1: inconsolable after that. But within only a month or so 354 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 1: he had paired up with a nineteen year old white 355 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:30,359 Speaker 1: prostitute named Lucille Cameron Um and drove with her across 356 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: state lines. And so for all those people out there 357 00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:36,919 Speaker 1: who were ready for Jack Johnson to just go away 358 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:41,440 Speaker 1: and stop causing so much trouble, finally this was a 359 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,640 Speaker 1: way to eliminate him. So backing up a little bit, 360 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:48,200 Speaker 1: in nineteen ten, Congress had passed the Man Act, which 361 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:53,959 Speaker 1: was originally established to ban the transport of women across 362 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,479 Speaker 1: state lines for immoral purposes. It was supposed to be 363 00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 1: something to stop human trafficking, but the Justice to Partment 364 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:02,919 Speaker 1: used it to attack Johnson. It was never meant to 365 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:07,639 Speaker 1: be something for two consenting adults traveling together to be 366 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,760 Speaker 1: you know punished with this was just their opportunity, it was, 367 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:15,639 Speaker 1: so Johnson was arrested October eighteenth, nineteen twelve. He was 368 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: released on bail, and in the intervening months he married Lucile, 369 00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:23,000 Speaker 1: the woman who he had been traveling with, and she 370 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:25,960 Speaker 1: had already refused to testify against him, So with that 371 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,920 Speaker 1: turn of events, without her testimony, the case against Johnson 372 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 1: was really worthless. So the Bureau of Investigation got involved 373 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:36,840 Speaker 1: in the whole thing, trying to find any evidence that 374 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 1: Johnson had broken the Man Act at some earlier point. Eventually, 375 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:45,520 Speaker 1: they connected with a former white bordello girlfriend of Johnson's 376 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:49,639 Speaker 1: who agreed to testify she had cross state lines with him, 377 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 1: even though they had done so before the Man Act 378 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:57,159 Speaker 1: even existed, and Johnson has found guilty. He sentenced to 379 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:00,520 Speaker 1: one year and one day in federal prison. But while 380 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:04,160 Speaker 1: he was out on bond pending appeal, Johnson just skipped down, 381 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 1: very likely disguised as a member of a Negro League 382 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:11,080 Speaker 1: baseball team. He then fled to Montreal, rendezvous with Lucille, 383 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,359 Speaker 1: and they took off together for Europe, where the reception 384 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:17,800 Speaker 1: was kind of icy, yeah, especially considering he had been 385 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:22,159 Speaker 1: quite well received in Europe earlier, but after this bad press, 386 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:25,400 Speaker 1: after this conviction, people weren't fit friendly to him anymore. 387 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,280 Speaker 1: Johnson defended threats to his title abroad, but he soon 388 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: found it impossible to earn a living as a boxer 389 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,119 Speaker 1: in the middle of a war, so he began looking 390 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:37,440 Speaker 1: for a bigger payday, and back home, folks were still 391 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,120 Speaker 1: looking for a great white hope, a new one, because 392 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:44,240 Speaker 1: Johnson was, after all, still the heavyweight champion. Finally, on 393 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:48,880 Speaker 1: April fifth, nineteen fifteen, Johnson met with Kansas native Jess Willard, 394 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,199 Speaker 1: a six ft six twenty seven year old who had 395 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:55,240 Speaker 1: killed an opponent once with a punch. Since they couldn't 396 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: fight in the US due to Johnson's conviction, they fought 397 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:02,560 Speaker 1: in nearby Havana, Cuba. So Johnson he by this point 398 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: thirty seven years old, maybe not in the best shape anymore, 399 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:09,000 Speaker 1: and kind of taking things a little bit too lightly. 400 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:12,520 Speaker 1: He didn't train like his trainers wanted him to. By 401 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 1: the twentie round of this fight with Jess Willard, which 402 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,800 Speaker 1: is happening in a hundred and five degree heat too, 403 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,640 Speaker 1: Johnson was clearly getting tired, and by the twenty five 404 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 1: round he asked his cornerman to see that his wife 405 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,200 Speaker 1: got out safely, and I told him I'm probably not 406 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: going to make it much longer. And then finally in 407 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:35,120 Speaker 1: the round he lost to a knockout punch, another really 408 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,240 Speaker 1: famous freeze frame image of Johnson lying there on the 409 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,840 Speaker 1: ground with his arms thrown up over his head. So 410 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:46,760 Speaker 1: after losing the title, finally his earning power was just 411 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 1: completely slashed, and Johnson went back to Europe toured a 412 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:53,359 Speaker 1: little bit more. When the US entered the war, he 413 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,200 Speaker 1: offered to volunteer for U S service in exchange for 414 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:59,680 Speaker 1: a pardon that didn't happen. He traveled on to Mexico, 415 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: and then finally in nineteen twenty, he was ready to 416 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:06,760 Speaker 1: go home. After seven years on the run, He surrendered 417 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 1: at the US border and spent a year in leaven 418 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:14,880 Speaker 1: Worth Prison. It wasn't a horrible prison situation, considering he 419 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:19,080 Speaker 1: acted as a trustee, he trained other prisoners. He even 420 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:22,960 Speaker 1: staged a few exhibition matches while he was there, and 421 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:27,159 Speaker 1: probably my favorite detail of his prison experience, he listed 422 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:33,000 Speaker 1: his profession as pugilist chauffeur, which, in case it wasn't 423 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:37,120 Speaker 1: clear earlier, Johnson really liked fast cars. And driving, so 424 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,240 Speaker 1: that was clearly important to him just right after boxing, 425 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:43,480 Speaker 1: and Johnson did keep boxing, but the Havana fight really 426 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:45,480 Speaker 1: was the end of the major part of his career. 427 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,879 Speaker 1: The new batch of heavyweights again wouldn't agree to cross 428 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:51,840 Speaker 1: that color line, so there wasn't a black heavyweight champ 429 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:55,520 Speaker 1: until Joe Lewis in thirty seven, and he was deliberately 430 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:59,040 Speaker 1: set up by his managers as a clean, living, decent man, 431 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:01,680 Speaker 1: in other words, not a Jack Johnson, And that reminded 432 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 1: me a little bit of an episode from a couple 433 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:06,120 Speaker 1: of years ago Katie and I did on Satchel Page, 434 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: where Jackie Robinson was very much set up as an 435 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:14,240 Speaker 1: alternate to Satchel Page, who had this flamboyant public personality, 436 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,320 Speaker 1: you know, a real jokester. He would entertain the crowds. 437 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: Jackie Robinson was, you know, somebody who could keep his 438 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:24,639 Speaker 1: head down and go play Major League baseball. So that 439 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,440 Speaker 1: reminded me a bit of that. But Johnson just did 440 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:33,040 Speaker 1: this huge range of activities. In addition to his occasional boxing. 441 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:37,800 Speaker 1: He ran a Harlem club called Cafe Deluxe, which eventually 442 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:41,160 Speaker 1: became the Cotton Club. He appeared in Aida. He married 443 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:45,840 Speaker 1: his third wife. He even preached all sorts of stuff 444 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:49,000 Speaker 1: going on with him. In the spring of six while 445 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,159 Speaker 1: returning from a tour of Texas, Johnson lost control of 446 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,120 Speaker 1: a speeding sports car near Raleigh and he crashed into 447 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:57,680 Speaker 1: a telephone pole. So he died at age sixty eight, 448 00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:01,680 Speaker 1: and his record, according to encycloped the Britannica was one 449 00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:06,120 Speaker 1: fourteen bouts, winning eighty forty five of those by knockouts. 450 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,480 Speaker 1: And there was also a type of French artillery shell 451 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:13,480 Speaker 1: called the Jack John Jack Johnson that was named after him. 452 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: To memoirs he wrote, and of course a Broadway play 453 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:20,760 Speaker 1: that was based on his life called The Great White Hope. 454 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:25,760 Speaker 1: It starred James Earl Jones, and apparently Muhammad Ali was 455 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:29,440 Speaker 1: a repeat viewer of this play. He'd go back and 456 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 1: really found a lot of comparisons to his own life 457 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:37,320 Speaker 1: in the way he was sometimes treated. Um. Jack Johnson 458 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:41,840 Speaker 1: was also an original inductee into the International Boxing Hall 459 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:44,400 Speaker 1: of Fame in nineteen nine, along with a few other 460 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,960 Speaker 1: names we've mentioned in this podcast. Um, but I think 461 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:51,280 Speaker 1: it's probably only appropriate for a man who, in addition 462 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 1: to um, you know, being a great fighter, was known 463 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,960 Speaker 1: for some of his fantastic quotes and having the perfect 464 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:03,720 Speaker 1: response to sometimes difficult situations. Ending the podcast with a 465 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:07,880 Speaker 1: quote of his own, he apparently told a newspaper reporter, 466 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,159 Speaker 1: you know, these newspaper reporters loved covering every aspect of 467 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:15,240 Speaker 1: Johnson's life. Whatever you write about me, just please remember 468 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:17,840 Speaker 1: that I'm a man and a good one. Well, I 469 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:21,040 Speaker 1: think that says at all he was. He definitely had 470 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:25,399 Speaker 1: some unsavory sides to his personality into his life, but 471 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 1: he was unapologetic for who he was, and he wanted 472 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:32,640 Speaker 1: to live as professional boxers did at the time and 473 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:35,880 Speaker 1: everything that came with that, which was kind of being 474 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:39,400 Speaker 1: a bad boy. It seemed um and that didn't really 475 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:47,640 Speaker 1: fit with the time he was living in. Thanks so 476 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,800 Speaker 1: much for joining us on this Saturday. Since this episode 477 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:52,640 Speaker 1: is out of the archive, if you heard an email 478 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,040 Speaker 1: address or a Facebook U r L or something similar 479 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 1: over the course of the show, that could be obsolete now. 480 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:02,600 Speaker 1: Our current email address is History Podcast at I Heart 481 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:05,960 Speaker 1: radio dot com. Our old how stuff works email at 482 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: us no longer works, and you can find us all 483 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: over social media at missed in History and you can 484 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:15,680 Speaker 1: subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Google, podcasts, the 485 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:19,000 Speaker 1: I heart Radio app, and wherever else you listen to podcasts. 486 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:24,680 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of 487 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:27,920 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from i Heeart Radio, 488 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 1: visit the i heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 489 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:32,680 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.