Born on the last day of March nearly 150 years ago, Jack Johnson’s heroics made national sports news.
Jack Johnson was born on March 31, 1878, in Galveston, Texas. Johnson, who became the first African-American world heavyweight champion, was known as the “Galveston Giant.”
Jack Johnson (courtesy PBS)
Poverty was a prevailing feature of Galveston, and people struggled, looking for ways to make ends meet. Johnson worked many jobs and settled on boxing. His professional debut came when the 20-year old knocked out Charley Brooks in the second round of a 15-round bout billed as “The Texas State Middleweight Title.”
Despite boxing during the height of the Jim Crow Era, Johnson persevered and advanced in the ring. His legacy will be forever tied to his contest with James (Jim) J. Jeffries, known as “The Great White Hope.” Their 1910 bout, dubbed “The Fight of the Century,” was held in downtown Reno, Nevada, before 20,000 people. Johnson beat Jeffries that day, and the victory cemented his name in boxing annals.
After his boxing ended, Johnson operated nightclubs in Chicago and New York, and he remained in the limelight until dying prematurely in 1946 from injuries suffered in a North Carlina highway crash. Jackson was only 68 years of age.
Jack Johnson is gone but not forgotten, remembered as one of America’s best-ever boxers.
