In the Ring With Jack Dempsey - Part I: The Making of a Champion

"More and more Negroes were now edging away from Johnson, too. The black Philadelphia Tribune headlined one story JACK JOHNSON DANGER-OUSLY ILL, VICTIM OF WHITE FEVER. A Negro mass meeting at the Cosmopolitan Baptist church in Washington asked “all self-respecting black men and women” to repudiate Johnson. "

"White man hasn’t forgotten that fool ****** with his white women, acting like he owned the world." - Blackburn to Louis

 

Not while they viewed him as a hero. The shift from viewing him as a hero, to turning their backs. Your reasoning was that it was due to his personality. Which was well documented and known while he was a hero. And therefor isn't a satisfactory reason in of itself.

 

Whatever,
At the very least, 16 opponents of Dempsey have said he
Hit them hardest... I wont go through it all now... Nobody here cares
Anyway cept morlocks and a couple of others

 

Got hit in the forehead which, "felt like being slugged with a brick"..." If id ever been knocked off my feet before id have kissed the canvas there" . "he was one of the most murderous punchers of all time "
Gibbons

 

When it comes to depth in research, you’re an A player. When it comes to interpretations, you’re pretty bad. And in this instance, your interpretation is absolutely crap. I say that with no hesitation. Brutal honesty is your forte after all.

He was the first black major celebrity. He was a household hero to black Americans after he beat Burns. He fueled the black Americans enthusiasm, confidence, and pride. He defied claims of racial physical inferiority. During the buildup for the Jeffries fight, black Christian congregations across the country gathered to pray for him, and his victory.

That alone is enough. And in a posthumous setting, his impact was arguably more far reaching.

To discount all of that, because you identified a few trees in the forest that say otherwise, reveals a complete lack of of grasp in the holistic nature of the impact he had.

You hold someone like Pollock’s feet to the fire, even after he had the decency to reach out to you, consider your input, and implement your feedback into future works. And yet your own interpretation of events leave much to the appetite, to say the very least.

When it comes to your ability to uncover information and media, you’re an A player. When it comes to interpretation of said materials, C-

 

Exactly my reaction the first time, as a lightheavy, I got in the ring with a good heavy.

As I stated above, no one should argue that Dempsey couldn't punch. He committed to his punches, had natural talent but moreso believed in aggression and getting to the target first. We can really see in Pollack's book how a wait-and-see approach was not working for Dempsey. He was a struggling regional fighter with mixed reviews when he was outside the West. Once he started going hammer and tong from the first bell great results followed. I would argue it wasn't some magical capacity to throw hard punches but a change in strategy that got him to be the destroyer of White heavyweights which he became.

 

Nailed it.

 

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How is one supposed to know what a certain very large group of people thought of Johnson, anyway? All we know is what certain authors wrote in certain newspapers, most of them had certain political agenda and picked their arguments to suit their goals.

 

Not if you are there .. maybe he's 130 ..

 

Dempsey hit really really hard.

 

Not if who's there? A journalist? Did he have a poll in his city or state? The best he could do was ask a few of his friends or relatives, what they thought of Johnson, but more likely never did and just wrote what suited his political or religious views.

 

That's true.
But most African Americans' acquaintance or familiarity with Jack Johnson would be largely informed by what the press said about him anyway.
I don't think the majority of people would have seen or met him personally.

 

Most knew about him from the white press. Very few of them read colored newspapers. Say, per 1910 Edward P. Remington's annual newspaper directory, the circulation of New York Age is listed at 4900. Indianapolis World, 1900. Baltimore Afro-American Ledger, 2500. Detroit Informer, 3200. Chicago Appeal 3500. Atlanta Age, 3800. Washington Bee, 1000. Washington Record, 1150. Denver Statesman, 650. Cleveland Gazette, 4970. Philadelphia Tribune, 700. Most if not all were published once a week, with a circulation several times smaller than the circulations of non-English (German, Italian, Polish, etc.) communities newspapers, for example.

 

Which opponents said this? Dempsey fought at a time where there were few heavyweight punchers with skills and most of those he fought didn'tt fight Langford or Wills. Maybe they fought Fulton.