Denver Jack THompson???

When did Thompson beat Langford? If you mean the Nov 15, 1920 bout, it was held on Nov 16 and was won by Langford.

 

Don't know much about Apr 14 (not Apr 15), 1916 bout in St. Louis vs. McVea, other than short next-day wire from INS giving newspaper decision for Thompson.

 

Yeah I've wondered about this guy too, found it hard to get info on him.

 

1920-11-17 The Anaconda Standard (Anaconda, MT) (page 8 )
TAR BABY AGAIN.
MEMPHIS, Tenn., Nov. 16.--Sam Langford, the veteran Tar Baby, defeated Jack Thompson of Philadelphia in an eight-round match here tonight and did it without the loss of much sweat from his kinky brow.

 

Here's how Tom O'Rourke (manager of Fred Fulton) rated heavyweights before Thompson's bout with Fred Fulton on Apr 21, 1920:
1. Jack Dempsey?
Fred Fulton?
2. Sam Langford
3. Harry Wills
4. Georges Carpentier
5. Frank Moran
6. Bombardier Wells
7. Jack Johnson
8. Jack Thompson
9. Jess Willard
10. Al Reich
11. Battling Levinsky
12. Bartley Madden
13. Tom Cowler
14. Charlie Weinert
15. Joe Beckett
16. Joe Goddard
17. Bill Tait
18. Bill Brennan
19. Frank Farmer
20. Gene Tunney
21. Bob Martin
22. Hugh Walker
23. Gunboat Smith
24. Ole Anderson
25. Bob Roper
26. Young Hector

 

I have the memphis comm. appeal here, ill check the langford result. i wouldnt trust the word of a montana paper for a bout held in tennessee.

Is Denver Jack thompson the same thompson who fought Wills and was a sparring partner for dempsey briefly???

 

..

 

The Memphis Commercial Appeal makes no mention of the Langford Thompson bout in November of 1920. It does have a wire report two days later of his bout with Godfrey at Hot Springs. Strange. Im going to check his bout in 1920 against Gahee and see if its in there.

edit: Yup his fight with Gahee is covered extensively, as is his earlier fight with Roughhouse Ware in 1914. I don't think Langford Thompson happened in Memphis in 1920. If it hit the wire then it may have happened somewhere else and been mistakenly credited to Memphis or just as likely one of the two guys' managers put that report out to make his fighter look better. Langford lost to Lee Anderson in October before his bout with Godfrey in Hot Springs. Maybe going into the Hot Springs bout they needed to hype him up a bit and make it look like he was less on the downside so they put this report out on the wires just days before the fight to drum up interest. Just speculation but Ive seen this kind of stuff before.

 

Thompson didn't beat Langford. Not per next-day local newspaper Muskogee Times-Democrat and not according to another next-day report by Larry Dailey in Tulsa Daily World. Langford was the decisive winner.

 

As for the Memphis bout, Clay lists it for Nov 15, a win for Langford, based on Chicago Tribune, I just looked it up and they did have the result in their wire on Nov 16 (the bout taking place the previous day). On Nov 15 it was reported in New Orleans States as being scheduled for today (nov 15) in Memphis at Phoenix Athletic Club (which was definitely in Memphis).