Henry D. Fetter: The Fight of the Century -- Really
[Henry D. Fetter is the author of Taking on the Yankees: Winning and Losing in the Business of Baseball and has written widely about the business and politics of sports.]
Very few sports events (certainly far fewer than sports fans imagine) merit a place in the history of a society but one that does took place 100 years ago this Sunday. It was on Independence Day 1910, in Reno, Nevada, that heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson defended his title against former champion James J. Jeffries with a knock out in the 15th round. The fight itself was unremarkable. The ringside reporter for the New York Times judged that "scarcely ever has there been a championship contest that was so one-sided." But that reporter -- none other than the great John L. Sullivan, the last bare knuckles champion -- also called it the "fight of the century" as indeed it was, perhaps the only to truly deserve that oft-repeated billing. For Johnson was African-American and Jeffries was the original "Great White Hope" and nothing less than the principle of white supremacy was seen to be at stake in the ring that afternoon.
Johnson had become the first black heavyweight champ by defeating Canadian Tommy Burns in a 1908 bout in Sydney, Australia. As he successfully defended the title in a series of fights, the clamor grew for retired undefeated ex-champ James J. Jeffries to return to the ring and vindicate white superiority. Jeffries responded to the call, got back into training and prepared to face off against Johnson. But when he stepped into the ring, the 35-year-old Jeffries proved woefully overmatched. Johnson dominated from the first bell and knocked Jeffries down three times in the 15th round before the fight was stopped. "The fight of the century is over and a black man is the undisputed champion of the world," Sullivan began his round-by-round account on the front page of the Times....
Read entire article at The Atlantic
Very few sports events (certainly far fewer than sports fans imagine) merit a place in the history of a society but one that does took place 100 years ago this Sunday. It was on Independence Day 1910, in Reno, Nevada, that heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson defended his title against former champion James J. Jeffries with a knock out in the 15th round. The fight itself was unremarkable. The ringside reporter for the New York Times judged that "scarcely ever has there been a championship contest that was so one-sided." But that reporter -- none other than the great John L. Sullivan, the last bare knuckles champion -- also called it the "fight of the century" as indeed it was, perhaps the only to truly deserve that oft-repeated billing. For Johnson was African-American and Jeffries was the original "Great White Hope" and nothing less than the principle of white supremacy was seen to be at stake in the ring that afternoon.
Johnson had become the first black heavyweight champ by defeating Canadian Tommy Burns in a 1908 bout in Sydney, Australia. As he successfully defended the title in a series of fights, the clamor grew for retired undefeated ex-champ James J. Jeffries to return to the ring and vindicate white superiority. Jeffries responded to the call, got back into training and prepared to face off against Johnson. But when he stepped into the ring, the 35-year-old Jeffries proved woefully overmatched. Johnson dominated from the first bell and knocked Jeffries down three times in the 15th round before the fight was stopped. "The fight of the century is over and a black man is the undisputed champion of the world," Sullivan began his round-by-round account on the front page of the Times....