John Arthur 'Jack' Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas on 31 March 1878. He was world heavyweight champion from 1908 to 1915.
The white American James J. Jeffries won the world title in 1899, when he defeated Britain's Bob Fitzsimmons by a knockout. Jeffries successfully defended the title nine times, including a rematch with Fitzsimmons, but he repeatedly refused to fight Johnson – which he was allowed to do under the segregation laws that were in operation at the time. He retired undefeated in 1904.
Left vacant by Jeffries, the title was won in 1905 by Marvin Hart, who defeated Jack Root in the final decider. Hart had already fought and defeated Johnson; but he held the title for less than eight months, defending it only once before losing to Canada's Tommy Burns (real name Noah Brusso) in February 1906.
Burns professed willingness to defend the title against all comers – "white, black, Mexican, Indian, or any other nationality". But he refused to fight Johnson until an Australian promoter offered him $30,000 to do so. The fight took place in Sydney on 26 December 1908. It lasted fourteen rounds, and when it was eventually stopped by the police, the referee awarded the decision and the title to Johnson.
By now, Jack Johnson was the most famous black man on Earth. He successfully defended the world title four times, and the press clamoured for a "great white hope" to put an end to his reign. Eventually, the undefeated former champion James J. Jeffries (who was seen by many as the rightful champion, having retired undefeated) was persuaded to come out of retirement and challenge Johnson in what was billed as "the Fight of the Century".
The fight took place on 4 July 1910, in a specially–constructed arena in Reno, Nevada. Johnson dominated throughout, and Jeffries was knocked down twice. Then, in the 15th round, the challenger's corner threw in the towel to avoid their man having a knockout on his record. Finally, Jack Johnson was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Jeffries later said "I could never have whipped Johnson at my best."
Johnson successfully defended the title three more times, including the first ever world heavyweight title fight between two black boxers. His opponent in the latter contest was a namesake, 'Battling' Jim Johnson.The fight ended in a draw, which meant that Jack Johnson retained the title. There was controversy afterwards as neither man had appeared to be trying; it later emerged that the champion had injured his left arm, either prior to the fight or during it.
In October 1912, Johnson was arrested on charges of contravening legislation known as the Mann Act, by transporting a woman across state lines for "immoral purposes" – a charge that was clearly racially motivated. He was in a relationship with a white woman, Lucille Cameron; the charge effectively branded her as a prostitute. Cameron refused to co–operate and the charges were dropped, but in June 1913 Johnson was convicted by an all–white jury on a similar charge, despite the fact that this case involved events that had taken place before the Mann Act was passed. Johnson and Cameron had married in December 1912; this was his third or fourth marriage. Johnson skipped bail and the couple fled to Europe, where they lived for the next seven years.
On 5 April 1915, Johnson – now 37 years old – fought Jess Willard, in Havana, Cuba. Willard was three years Johnson's junior, and at 6 feet 6.5 inches he was six inches taller. The fight was scheduled for 45 rounds, but Johnson was knocked out in the 26th. He was accused of taking a dive; some said he wanted to pass the title to a white man in an effort to have the Mann Act charges dropped. Willard said, "If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he'd done it sooner. It was hotter than hell out there."
Johnson returned to the USA in 1920, surrendering to federal agents at the Mexican border and serving ten months in jail. He never fought again for the world title or for the "coloured" version, but he continued to fight professionally until 1938, when he was 60 years old. Even after that he took part in unofficial fights; You Tube has a video of him taking part in a "War Bonds Rally" as late as November 1945.
Lucille Cameron divorced Johnson in 1924 on grounds of infidelity. On 10 June 1946, Johnson (aged 68) was refused service in a diner near Raleigh, North Carolina. He drove away in a rage, and was involved in a crash. He died later that day in hospital.
A play based on the story of Johnson and his first wife Etta, who committed suicide in 1912, was produced in 1967 and filmed in 1970. It was written by Howard Sackler and entitled The Great White Hope. A further film biography, by Ken Burns, was released in 2005 with the title Unforgivable Blackness.
In May 2018, after ten years of campaigning by Senator John McCain and film maker Ken Burns (among others), Johnson was pardoned by President Donald Trump.
© Haydn Thompson 2018