On Jim Jeffries 75th birthday he was interviewed by Fleischer

Nice article Matt.

 

Where did these Dempsey stats come from ?

 

http://coxscorner.tripod.com/jeffries.html

Pretty interesting article on him

 

I was talking about his entire package, including what you see of him training.

 

That is a good question. And where do the Jeffries stats come from? I have never seen primary sources on either of them. This could possibly be nothing more than flackery.

 

Not to make this a track thread, but the 96 Oly's were a joke, plenty of better athletes existed than those who attended and the sport in general was not well-developed. Tom Burke won the 100 in 12 seconds, a time which would not have made the finals 12 years later. And in regards to the high jump, the flop is not the end-all be-all of highjumping. Guys have gone 7-4 using the scissors/eastern roll and 7-8 using the straddle techniques. In his day it was a variation of the scissors, the eastern cut-off. I think the record was in the 6-5 to 6-7 range. Again, not bad, but not great. As a long jumper, I went that high with little specific training and was considered a little above average.

Jeffries was a good, a decent, athlete. He was not a super man. It seems to speak to his wanting technique as a boxer that even with this athletic ability he struggled against very crude and much smaller opponents.

 

You appear to be qualified to hold forth on this aspect of the thread.
I noted in one of the track events there were only two competitors.

 

Enjoyed the interview! Thanks McGrain!

 

Very rough equivalent though. Done forget that half second or so of a 100m race is pretty much wasted in reaction time and getting up to speed, so there are also tenth of a second adjustments either way and not allowing for the fact that timing is hand timing and we dont even know the exact time that Jeffries run!

Just to add to the debate, I can remember where, but i am fairly certain that I have seen a nespaper report that Jeffries lost a beach sprint to someone. I cant really remember who, but i think it might have been another fighter maybe even corbett. I remember it surprising me, because the myth has it that Jeffries was untouchable athletics wise, but maybe it is the case that many other fighters had hidden talents.

 

By your avatar I would say you are a Jeffries fan ,but not one blinded by worship , objectivity , very refreshing !

 

Originally Posted by Mendoza

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Seamus,

I have to disagree. The division today is not stacked. There are two elite level fighters, and a few solid contender types. This is hardly stacked.

Regarding the track numbers they were 10.5 seconds in the 100 yard dash, and 5'10" on the high jump.

However in those days the track shoes were un-scientific, there were no starting blocks. If there were, Jeffries times would undoubtedly be much better.

On the high jump, the flop technique was not around either. The 5'10" high jump for Jeffries was his feet, not his back clearing the bar. That is a great feat in any era.

I checked the Olympics in 1896. I think Jeffries would have won two gold medals had he competed.

Oh boy. You should have learned by now that I'm pretty much right on the facts, McVey.

We'll save the hero worship stuff for your defending Jack Johnson beyond reason.

If you want the 1896 Olympic results, the 100 Meter winner was 12.0 seconds, and the high jump was 5'11 1/4".

Jeffries best times in the 100 yard dash and high jump would have earned him a double gold, just like I said.

Here is the link with the data.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0114349.html

 

Ive allready seen it.I am not here to knock Jeffries ,but your claim is rather ridiculous,what primary source have you on Jeffries times?
I couldnt give a **** about Johnson ,and he is NOT a part of this thread so save your bile for later,this is about Jeffries and NO ONE ELSE

 

Monte Cox quoted a line from a book written by John Durant,"The Heavyweight Champions", since the book was published in 1960,I think we can take it that Durant's information was at best second hand[.He was born in 1902,]
Cox is a very big booster for Jeffries ,I beleive he considers him the number one heavyweight of all time,in the light of this it is possible he is less than objective on the subject.
I think Adam Pollack's book may clear up some of the more fanciful claims on this man ,I certainly hope so.

 

You often quote sources, such as " In this Corner " which has many errors and is not always a primary source. I do find humor that you are asking for a secondary source. How convenient.

If you doubt the track information, you'll need to dig into the archives of the LA Papers. Jeffries was a member of the East Side Athletic Club in Los Angles. His track accomplishments here are often re-quoted in books such as Durant's. " The Heavyweight Champions "

As stated, he would have won gold in the 1896 Olympics in at least two events, perhaps more.

If might also interest you to know that Jeffries played minor league baseball.