Omaha daily bee., 1909-02-07
JOHNSON, BLACK CHAMPION
Some Pertinent Facts About the Big
Colored Boxers Career.
FOND OF CLOTHES AND HOT ROCKS
Experts say that = Majority of His
Battles Have e with second
Raters and that He Has Never
Met = Real Champion.

10 is a surprising fact that Jack john
son, the new heavyweight champion, is
known personally by a comparatively few
persons in the boxing game. He has spent
a greater part Of his time boxing in the
south, east and west. and has. as a rule,
kept away from the large cities. He has
never made an extended tour OF America,
aS did Peter Jackson, George Dixon. Joe
Walcott and other noted colored pugilists.
But he has an interesting history just the
same, and is a character.
johnson Is as black as your hat. When
he is in good humor his big round face
lightens up with a pleasant smile. His
teeth are perfect, and he knows how to
show them to advantage. When he goes
out on parade johnson is a real swell-a
genuine treat for the colored fraternity.
He usually wears a large white plug hat,
plaid clothes, a noisy vest. a shirt of many
colors, green or gray spats. pointed patent
leather shoes and a big diamond headlight.
He also Jugs around a young tree for a
cane and fairly covers his knotty knuckles
with jewelled rings. Up. to the fight with
Tommy Burns johnson did not have much
money to speak OF. but what he did have
he spent for finery. He always smoked
black cigars and drank the wealthy water
whenever he had the price. But he never
d~issipated to such an extent tha he i'm
paired his wonderful physical condition.
He is a six footer, as hard as nails and
weighs about 800 pounds, stripped to the
buff. His arms are unusually long, like
those of a gorilla, and the muscles of his
back and chest are like punches of steel
wire.
A Texan by Birth.
johnson was born in Galveston, Tex,
and will be 30 years old on March 81. He
has been in the prize ring for eight years,
but it was not until he met Joe Choynski,
the California heavyweight, in the fall
Of 1901, that he showed any real worth
as a pugilist. After that he showed steady
Improvement and in 1903 he was matched
With Denver Ed Martin, one OF the finest
bulk negroes that ever crawled through
the ropes. They met in a twenty-round
bout at Los Angeles and after a gruelling
mill Johnson got the decision on points.
This victory was so well earned and
Johnson's performance was so impressive
that he was at once pitted against Sam
MeVey, the big negro now all the rage in
Paris. McVey was a tough proposition, a
hard hitter and fairly clever, but as in the
battle with Martin Johnson displayed un-
tssal skill and received the referees YER
dict at the end of twenty rounds. Then
the California promoters tried to dig up
some other man for johnson to beat. but
as that was impossible Texas Jack. as the
new champion Is called on the coast, came
across the continent and tackled Sandy
Ferguson, a rough and tumble mixed ale
heavyweight, in a ten-round bout in Bos-
ten. AT that time Ferguson was declared
to be a coming man, a possible successor
to Jeffries as champion, but johnson made
him look like a green amateur and got the
decision.
Johnson went to Philadelphia after that
and proceeded to knock out Joe Butler, a
negro, in three rounds. Sandy Ferguson
wanted another shy at Texas Jack, so they
met In a six-round affair in the Quaker
city, Johnson having much the better Of
1t and Ferguson declared after the mill
that both OF his hands were broken before
he entered the ring. A trip back to Cali
fornia followed and Johnson stacked up
against McVey in another tyenty-round
bout at Los Angeles, the latter receiving
the same treatment as in the first en-
ounter Then Johnson wound up his 1908
campaign by getting q verdict over Fer
guson in a twenty-round bout at Colma,
Cal.
The big negro did not have many matches.
in 1904. and his opponents were all colored
men. He defeated Black Bill, a local slug
ger, in a slx-round bout at Philadelphia
and in a third mill with Mcvey in Frisco
he put the latter to sleep in the twentieth
round with a heavy right hand clip on
the point of the Jaw. After that he took
the measure OF Frank Childs in a six-round
battle in Chicago and then knocked Denver
Ed Martin out in three rounds.
when Hart Got the Decision.
On March Is, 1906. johnson met Marvin
Hart In a twenty-round mill in Frisco. II
was a hard fight and Johnson's friends at
the ringside declared that he had won by
a wide margin on points, but the referee
decided that Hart was the winner amid a
tremendous cutlery. Johnson said that he
had been robbed" and that the gamblers
had fixed the referee, and was so disguised
with the methods on the coast that he came
east Immediately and resumed his ring
work in Philadelphia. He began by stop
ping Jim Jeffrods in four rounds. Black
Bin in four and Walter Johnson in three.
He boxed Joe Jeanette six rounds TO a
draw and did the same with Jack Munroe.
who had previously stayed four rounds with
Jeffries at Butte, Mont. After that he
knocked out Morris Harris in three rounds
and fought Black Bill a six-round draw. II
was in July OF hat year that Johnson
tackled Ferguson again at Chelsea, Mass.
Ferguson had II in for the negro and tried
rough house tactics to such an extent that
Big Jack won on a foul in the seventh
round. johnson soon after that affair ran
up again Joe Grim. the Iron Man, in Phila-
delphia. Grim had never been knocked out
and managed 10 stick six rounds, the limit,
In spite of the fact hat he received a ter
rifle beating.
Jeanette then faced Johnson for the sec
ond time In a six-round bout in the Quaker
City. This was a rough and tumble battle
In which Jeanette was declared the winner
on a foul In the second round. After beat
ing Young Peter Jackson on points in a
twelve-round bout in Baltimore Johnson re-
turned TO Philadelphia. where he boxed
Jeanette again six rounds 10 what looked
like a good draw. That was Johnson's last
battle in 1906. Jeanette was Big Jacks
first opponent In 1906. as they boxed six
rounds In this city. with no decision. An
other match was the result. and this time
Johnson was declared the wlnner after a
fifteen-round mixup in Baltimore, in which