English Champions: George "Old Chocolate" Godfrey. Part 1

The original George Godfrey, known as Old Chocolate, would go down in the history books as one of the first World Colored Heavyweight Champions, the first with a legitimate and verifiable claim to the title, and the man John L.,"lick and son of a ***** in the building" Sullivan refused to fight.

Godfrey entered the field as boxing transitioned from bare-knuckle prizefights to gloved boxing events. He fought throughout the 1880s and 1890s, and wore everything from skintight gloves to 2- and 4-ounce gloves. At 5'10‘/2" and weighing not more than 175 pounds, George Godfrey was never much bigger than a light-heavyweight by today’s standards, but was so quick, clever, and especially game, that he fought anyone, regardless of weight. Sadly, we will never know if he could have been the World Heavyweight Champion because he was never allowed a title fight when he was at the top of his game. Boxing in America during this time was largely segregated by race, and although Godfrey Fought many of the top black and white heavyweights of his era, he was denied the ultimate opportunity to cross the color line to contend for a title outside his race. For years he challenged white champion John L. Sullivan. However, despite claiming he would do so any time a sufiicient purse could be raised, Sullivan consistently refused to fight Godfrey, or any other black man.

George Godfrey was born on March 20, 1853 (although some sources incorrectly state 1852) in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, in a neighborhood known as “The Bog.“ A poor part of Charlottetown almost all of whom were descended from slaves brought to the Island in the 1780s as a result of the American Revolution. The Bog was notorious for its poverty and minor crimes such as bootlegging and prostitution. A member of Godfrey’s mother’s family, Peter Byers, was hanged for theft in 1815, and the year after Godfrey was born, his father was convicted of petty larceny serving two weeks in jail for stealing a cow. Godfrey left Prince Edwards Island in his youth, around 1870, and traveled to Boston, Massachusetts. Godfrey found work as a porter in one of Boston’s silk importing offices. By 1879, at the late age of 26, he had taken up boxing and began fighting competitively during what was still known as the bare knuckle era. At that time he could not afford to support himself through prizefighting so he worked during the day as a beef carrier for the Boston Market. He did all of his training and fighting at nights. Later, he married a white woman and worked as a carpenter while he still tried to make it in the fight game. The origin of Godfrey's fight name is difficult to fathom because he was not especially aged by today’s standards and was so light skinned that his subsequent heirs considered their race to be white. However, 26 was considered old for one first entering the sport in the late 1800s, and Chocolate was a common epithet for blacks of the period. A similar ring name, “Little Chocolate,” was given to George Dixon, a smaller contemporary black boxer from Halifax.

Boston was noted for the sport of boxing, and Godfrey was followed to the area by several other black fighters from the Bog, notably George Budge Byers, a prominent turn-of-the-century middleweight. Godfrey’s fame as a boxing star would rise in the eastern horizon simultaneously with white boxers John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain. Godfrey was trained by noted black professional, Professor John Bailey, who ran the Hub City Gym in downtown Boston. At Bailey’s club Godfrey was first matched with John L. Sullivan in 1880. The match earned Godfrey a great deal of notoriety. Both fighters hailed from Boston, both claimed that they could lick anyone in the fight business, and consequently, both headed for a showdown. On September 21, 1880 Sullivan and Godfrey agreed to a fight to the finish at Bailey’s Gym. What occurred that night would be debated for years to come. It appears that both fighters were dressed and ready to fight, but once the police were informed of the fight, the bout was halted before the first round. Godfrey would go to his grave claiming that Sullivan conspired with police to have the bout cancelled so that Sullivan would not have to face him and risk losing. Sullivan would later say that he would never fight a black man. Godfrey would spend the rest of his fighting life challenging Sullivan, but the Boston Strong Boy never answered the challenge.

George Godfrey’s career interactions with another heavyweight white boxer, Jake Kilrain, had different results. On January 15, 1882, in Boston, early in both of their careers, Godfrey fought Kilrain to a draw in three rounds. Kilrain won their second three-round match on May 16, 1883. The two would not fight again until March 13, 1891. The week after the first Kilrain fight, in 1882, Godfrey traveled to New York to fight Professor Charles Hadley, a noted black boxer. The two fought to a draw. Again, Godfrey met the Professor in New York in a tournament for an official title, in a contest beginning February 7, 1883. The best black boxers were invited to a tournament sponsored by boxing enthusiast and newspaper publisher, Richard K. Fox, to contend for a National Police Gazette Belt for the World Colored Heavyweight Champion. Nat Fleischer mentioned this belt as being for the “heavyweight championship of the colored race.” This event was apparently the origin of a title which would be used well into the 1920s. I should point out to any astute and knowledgable reader, the Klondike title along with Don Knox's title are different titles with much the same claim. Klondike's "black championship" would be aborbed by this one. I can't speak to whatever happened to Don Knox's lineage at the moment. Godfrey won the title and successfully held the Colored Heavyweight Championship, defending it for five years until he was bested by Australian Peter Jackson when he came to the United States in 1888

The second half of Godfrey’s career would find him in the ring with stellar heavyweights Peter Jackson in 1888, Jake Kilrain in 1891, Joe Choynski in 1892, and Peter Maher in 1894. Far older than his opponents, Godfrey would lose to these distinguished men of the ring. It is an interesting fact that, unlike others whose stars fade after they begin to lose, GodFrey’s reputation became all the more heroic during the latter part of his ring career. He was the one man during this era whose name was synonymous with gameness. His bouts in the ring displayed tremendous courage and sportsmanship, and for these reasons many younger fighters looked to him for their education and training. Most of the heavyweight battlers were relocating to the California fight center. While Nat Fleischer credits W. W. Naughton, sportswriter for the San Francisco Examiner, for inviting Australian Peter Jackson to the United States, it is not clear if the scribe brought him to the United States or simply helped to arrange a fight after he arrived in California. When ]ackson arrived, San Franciscan promoters began trying to arrange a marquee fight. First choice John L. Sullivan refused to fight the newcomer. Sullivan’s career was riding high, and although the Champion of the Pacific Coast, as Sullivan was billed, was thought to be unbeatable, he refused the purse said to be a fortune offered by the California Athletic Club. Organizers sent for George Godfrey as their second choice, a choice which explains just how good Godfrey really was at least believed to be. Patrons of the sport would not be disappointed. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, August 25, 1888, "It is doubtful if any contest that ever took place in San Francisco attracted as much attention from ring goers and the lovers of sport generally as that between the colored pugilists, Peter Iackson and George Godfrey, in the gymnasium of the California Athletic Club last night. The records of both men are already familiar to every one who pays attention to the achievements of professors of the manly sport." In brief exhibitions prior to the match, spectators were favorably impressed with ]ackson’s boxing abilities. They witnessed everything rumored about the “champion of champions” he was “clever as old Jem Mace, with all the dash and reach essential to a first-class heavyweight pugilist. The local men pitted against him were totally unequal to the task of making him extend himself, and all his exhibitions were no more than pleasant exercise just barely conducive to perspiration." More than anything, Jackson was a curiosity: he could speak like an English gentleman and fight like an African lion. Unlike the American heavyweight gladiators of the period who rushed at their opponents head-on and who timed their punches and defensive head movements. Jackson was faster, more clever, and had more pugilistic tools in his arsenal.


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As always, thanks for having a look, hope some of youse enjoyed it. Oh, and I should say, I was pretty tired when I did this'en. If some bits don't make none sense let me know so I can reword it.

I should add, the English, Ancient, American champion bit in the titles are meant to reflect the time they came from not nationality. If y'all would rather, I could do it by nation. Godfrey's right there on the fence so originally I had this titled American just by time ya know John L contemporary and all. then after I linked this to my main thread I saw I made that time switch at Sullivan, which is plenty fair, so Godfrey I'll leave as the last major champion of the English era.


English Champions: George "Old Chocolate" Godfrey. Part 2

Heavyweight Champions from Ancient to Present

 

just under the word cap.

 

There's quite a lot on it in Sundowners actually. Like with Euthymos and Theaganes in the ancients I just feel like it's best to mention and move on in these threads then explore what is usually debated later. Was John L. ducking Old Chocolate? I don't really know, in Sundowners Kevin gives good reasons for George to not fight that occasion and when I was reading on Sullivan I do remember those authors being sympathetic to John's position so I reckon authors just shine the best light they can on their subjects.

I reckon it's thread worthy on it's own and would rather this focus on George than the highly debated ducking issue. Especially since it's going to come up again when one of us covers John. So I'm just kind of leary of focusing on the accusation in either thread because I don't want them becoming two threads that are just a battleground for the same one debate.

I purposefully looked for an alternative to the Sundowners narrative so that the thread wouldn't be too terribly John-centric. I respect the information, acknowledge its usefulness, and enjoy forming my own opinions around it, I just think it should be separated from the main narrative of each man.

If you like you can beat me to it and I'll link you up here. There may even already be a debate thread for that I'm not sure.