John L Sullivan and Peter Jackson

I had thoughts about creating a thread about John L Sullivan's stance on the color like, but this thread might be a decent vehicle for it.

 

Sullivan famously drew the color line against Peter Jackson, but his stance on the matter has not always been consistent.

After Sullivan won the title from Paddy Ryan, his first title defense was to be against a black fighter named Johnson (first name unknown), on Thursday April 20 1882, at the Grand Opera House in Rochester New York.

Sullivan said "There are a great many boxers who are anxious to cope with me, but when they come to put the gloves on, they all seem to weaken. I hope Johnson will be on hand tonight, for I am anxious to give him a few points."

In the end Johnson did not turn up, when he heard that it would be a genuine fight, and not a sparring session. A local fireman named John McDermot was brought in as a last minute replacement.

While Johnson would almost certainly have been an easy nights work for Sullivan, the proposed fight is still and interesting "what if?" It would have been harder for Sullivan to draw the color line against Peter Jackson, if he had unequivocally violated it previously.

 

On May 15 1888 (two months after the Mitchell fight) a benefit was held for John L Sullivan in Boston. The master of ceremonies asked if George Godfrey was in the hall. George Godfrey responded that he was.

The master of ceremonies said that he would give Godfrey money to stand before Sullivan in a four round gloved contest that evening. Godfrey responded that he had not come prepared for a fight, and was merely there as a spectator.

Sullivan responded that he had not authorized the statement, but that he was willing to fight Godfrey, and would give him a fair sum. Godfrey said that he was not able to fight Sullivan now, but would do so on a future date, for any amount of money named. In the end Sullivan sparred Jack Ashton instead.

While it is understandable that Godfrey refused to take the fight at such short notice, it seems that Sullivan would have been willing to fight him.

 

Sullivan is known to have met Jake Killrain in gloved contests in 1880, and again in 1882.

Killrain is said to have taken hard punishment in the 1880 bout, with Sullivan taking it easy on him in the 1882 meeting.

Sullivan claimed that a third meeting took place in 1884 at Monument Hall Charlestown.

He further claimed that the original plan had been for him to meet George Godfrey, but that Godfrey asked for too much money.

If Sullivan had been inclined to draw the color line against Godfrey, it seems unlikely that he would have agreed to fight a black fighter like Johnson, who he could refuse a title shot for any reason or none.

 

On 21 September of 1880 in Chicago, Sullivan agreed to meet George Godfrey in a fight to the finish. Obviously Sullivan had no title to lose at the time.

Both men were stripped and ready to fight, when the police intervened to stop the fight.

There is some confusion over the date of this incident. Most sources say that it happened in 1880, but some say 1881 or 1882. Godfrey said that it happened in 1880, and I am inclined to take his word, because he was there.

 

Peter Jackson set sail for the USA in April of 1888. His first appearance in the ring was in June of the same year in San Francisco, in of four round exhibition with Con Riordan.

The devil is in the detail here.

Sullivan broke his arm against Patsy Cardiff on January 18 of 1887. His decision to draw the color line, seems to occur after two key events:

A. Breaking his arm.
B. The emergence of a more dangerous black contender.

In August or September of 1888, Sullivan came down with a bout of Gastric Fever, which nearly proved fatal. This put him out of action for the foreseeable future.

 

All we have that is a primary source is a short snippet talking about two unnamed boxers:

1880-09-22 The Boston Daily Globe (Boston, MA) (page 2)
Sold Again.
For the past few days Dame Rumor had it that two well-known pugilists would, last evening, put on the mittens at a private room in this city. Both of the contestants were on hand at 7.30 o'clock, and the room which had a capacity of holding with ease a couple of hundred, was neatly arranged with a double row of seats all around, all of which were filled by the "old and the young bloods" of the city. The champions were in their rooms, being rubbed down by their backers, when two of the guardians of the peace stepped in, and, in the name of the superintendent of police, ordered all present to disperse, as the glove-fight which was about to take place was against the dignity of the old commonwealth. Moral: Pay your license, gentlemen.


Here's how Godfrey himself described it 20 years later:

1900-10-10 The Boston Daily Globe (Boston, MA) (page 5)
George Godfrey, the well-known colored boxer, writes telling why John L. Sullivan and he never boxed. Godfrey says: "Prof Bailey matched us to box Sept 21, 1880, in a room next to his boxing school on Court st. The place was full at $2 a head, and after Sullivan had been rubbed down one of Sullivan's friends went out and brought in a policeman from Howard st. When the policeman came in he asked who was Sullivan, and the man that brought him in said, 'The man who is sitting down is Sullivan.' The policeman said to Sullivan, 'I know you, you are a South end fellow, and if I were you I would not spar.'
"Sullivan got up and went out into the crowd and said he wasn't going to fight, and he wanted every man to get his money back. If I had quit like that, it would have been a crime.

 

I will try to write about it in a few days when I have time. There's some context that is missing in The Sundowners if you are using it as your source.

 

Thanks for the sources.

I think it is unlikely that Sullivan in 1880, would have gone to elaborate lengths to set up a fight with Godfrey, and arrange for it to fall though.

Sullivan was not the champion then, so he could decline to fight Godfrey for any reason, or none at all.

Godfrey himself would probably not have been too persistent in pursuing a fight with Sullivan, if there was no title to be gained from it.

 

I have not been able to find any source about Sullivan drawing the color line, before he broke his arm in the Patsy Cardiff fight.

That is not to say that such a source is not out there, but I have not personally been able to find it.

Sullivan seems to have viewed Godfrey as just another contender, before he broke his arm, and even after.

It looks like he took a look at Peter Jackson and thought "this guy is better than anybody I have seen before, I have not been taking care of myself, and I can't throw my left like I used to. What is the simplest way to sidestep this guy?"

 

Both Sullivan and Godfrey were, basically, novices at that point of time, with a couple of bouts won by each. Sullivan was more well known, of course, but didn't have a reputation yet. Godfrey was several years away from having any reputation at all. There was no reason for John L. to be afraid or to draw a color line in September 1880. Police preventing bouts from taking place wasn't uncommon in those times. Godfrey and several Boston journalists attempted to blow it up after Sullivan became famous, but really that particular incident was nothing to talk about.