Jack Dempsey's History
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. A cultural icon of the 1920s, Dempsey's aggressive fighting style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first million-dollar gate. He pioneered the live broadcast of sporting events in general, and boxing matches in particular. In 1950 the Associated Press voted him as the greatest fighter of the past 50 years. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Born William Harrison Dempsey in Manassa, Colorado in 1895, he was of part Irish ancestry and also claimed to be partially Cherokee. Because his father had difficulty finding work, the family traveled often and Dempsey dropped out of elementary school to work and left home at the age of 16. Due to his lack of money, he frequently rode the rods (freight-hopping or train-hopping -- surreptitiously boarding and riding a freight-car which is illegal) and slept in hobo (migrant worker) camps. Desperate for money, Dempsey would occasionally visit saloons and make a challenge for fights, saying "I can't sing and I can't dance, but I can lick any S.O.B. in the house." If anyone accepted the challenge, bets would be made. According to Dempsey's autobiography, he rarely lost these barroom brawls. For a short time, Dempsey was a part-time bodyguard for Thomas F. Kearns, president of The Salt Lake Tribune and son of Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns. Dempsey often fought under the pseudonym, "Kid Blackie", although during his stint in the Salt Lake City area, he went by "Young Dempsey" but much of his early career is not recorded.
He first competed as "Jack Dempsey" (by his own recollection) in the fall of 1914, in Cripple Creek, Colorado. His brother, Bernie, who often fought under the pseudonym "Jack Dempsey" -- a common practice of the day, in fighters' admiration of middleweight boxer and former champion,
Jack "Nonpareil" Dempsey -- had signed to fight veteran George Copelin. Upon learning Copelin had sparred with then current world heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, and given Bernie Dempsey was nearing 40 years of age, he strategically decided to back out of the fight. He substituted his brother, still unknown in Eastern Colorado, as "Jack Dempsey". The fans at ringside immediately knew this was not the man they had paid to see.
The promoter became violently angry and threatened to stop the fight. Copelin himself, who outweighed Dempsey by 20 lbs. or 9.07kg (165 lbs. to 145 lbs. or 74.84kg to 65.77kg) upon seeing Dempsey's small stature in the ring, warned the promoter, "I might kill that skinny guy." The promoter reluctantly permitted the fight to commence, and in his first outing as "Jack Dempsey", the future champion downed Copelin six times in the first round and twice in the second round. After the last knockdown of Copelin in the seventh round, the referee made the then-unusual move of stopping the fight once Copelin regained his feet. According to Dempsey, "In those days, they didn't stop mining-town fights as long as one guy could move." This trial by fire carried with it a $100 purse. The promoter, angered at the switch pulled by the brothers, had laid no promised side bets, "... and even if I did, I wouldn't give you anything." he told them.
Among his opponents as a rising contender were Fireman Jim Flynn, the only boxer ever to beat Dempsey by a knockout when Dempsey lost to him in the first round (although some boxing historians believe the fight was a "fix"), and Gunboat Smith, formerly a highly ranked contender who had beaten both World Champion Jess Willard and Hall of Famer Sam Langford. Dempsey beat Smith for the third time on a second-round knockout. One year later, in 1918, Dempsey fought in 17 matches, going 15–1 with one no-decision. One of those fights was with Flynn, who was knocked out by Dempsey, coincidentally, in the first round. Among other matches won that year were against Light Heavyweight Champion Battling Levinsky, Bill Brennan, Fred Fulton, Carl E. Morris, Billy Miske, heavyweight Lefty Jim McGettigan, and Homer Smith. In 1919, he won five consecutive regular bouts by knockout in the first round as well as a one-round special bout.
On July 4, 1919, Dempsey and world heavyweight champion Jess Willard met at Toledo for the world title. Pro lightweight fighter Benny Leonard predicted a victory for the 6'1" (1.854m), 187-pound (84.82kg) Dempsey even though Willard, known as the "Pottawatamie Giant", was 6'6+1⁄2" (1.994m) tall and 245 pounds (111.13kg). Ultimately, Willard was knocked down seven times by Dempsey in the first round. Accounts of the fight reported that Willard suffered a broken jaw, broken ribs, several broken teeth, and a number of deep fractures to his facial bones. This aroused suspicion that Dempsey had cheated, with some questioning how the force capable of causing such damage had been transmitted through Dempsey's knuckles without fracturing them. Other reports, however, failed to mention Willard suffered any real injuries. The New York Times' account of the fight described severe swelling visible on one side of Willard's face, but did not mention any broken bones. A still photograph of Willard following the fight appears to show discoloration and swelling on his face. Following the match, Willard was quoted as saying, "Dempsey is a remarkable hitter. It was the first time that I had ever been knocked off my feet. I have sent many birds home in the same bruised condition that I am in, and now I know how they felt. I sincerely wish Dempsey all the luck possible and hope that he garnishes all the riches that comes with the championship. I have had my fling with the title. I was champion for four years and I assure you that they'll never have to give a benefit for me. I have invested the money I have made". Willard later said he had been defeated by "gangsterism".
Following his victory, Dempsey traveled around the country, making publicity appearances with circuses, staging exhibitions, and appearing in a low-budget Hollywood movie. Dempsey did not defend his title until September 1920, with a fight against Billy Miske in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Miske was knocked out in three rounds.
In September 1926, Dempsey fought the Irish American and former U.S. Marine Gene Tunney in Philadelphia, a fighter who had only lost once in his career. In spite of his record and Dempsey's inactivity, Tunney was considered the underdog against Dempsey. The match ended in an upset, with Dempsey losing his title on points in 10 rounds. When the defeated Dempsey returned to his dressing room, he explained his loss to his wife by saying, "Honey, I forgot to duck."
Following his loss of the heavyweight title, Dempsey contemplated retiring but decided to try a comeback. During a July 21, 1927 fight at Yankee Stadium, Dempsey knocked out future heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey in the seventh round. The fight was an elimination bout for a title shot against Tunney. The fight was very competitive until the end. The fight ended controversially when Sharkey claimed Dempsey had been hitting him below the belt. When Sharkey turned to the referee to complain, he left himself unprotected and Dempsey crashed a left hook onto his foe's chin. Sharkey was unable to beat the ten-count. At the time of the knockout, Dempsey was leading on the scorecards.
The Dempsey–Tunney rematch took place in Chicago, Illinois, on September 22, 1927 just one day short of a year after losing his title to Tunney. The fight brought in a record-setting $2 million gate. Dempsey was losing the fight on points when in the seventh round he knocked Tunney down with a left hook to the chin then landed several more punches. A new rule instituted at the time of the fight mandated that when a fighter knocked down an opponent, he must immediately go to a neutral corner. Dempsey, however, refused to immediately move to the neutral corner when instructed by the referee. The referee had to escort Dempsey to the neutral corner, which bought Tunney at least an extra five seconds to recover. Even though the official timekeeper clocked 14 seconds Tunney was down, Tunney got up at the referee's count of nine. Dempsey then attempted to finish Tunney off before the end of the round, but failed to do so. Tunney dropped Dempsey for a count of one in round eight and won the final two rounds of the fight, retaining the title of world heavyweight champion on a unanimous decision. Ironically, the neutral corner rule was requested during negotiations by members of the Dempsey camp. Another discrepancy was, when Tunney knocked Dempsey down, the timekeeper started the count immediately, not waiting for Tunney to move to a neutral corner. Because of the controversial nature of the fight due to the neutral corner rule and conflicting counts, the Dempsey–Tunney rematch remains known as "The Long Count Fight".
Boxing Record
Total Fights - 85
- Wins - 68
- Wins by KO - 53
- Losses - 6
- Draws - 9
