Some interesting measurements and observations made by a physician in respect of a physical examination of Jack Johnson in 1910. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/lot-1910-sports-pages-jack-johnson-3915865276
Kind of crazy,but Sam Langford is somehow a better athlete. Other than Mickey Walker,Jack Blackburn, Young Stribling etc, Langford went up a weightclass way out of his league and wiped it good,he was short that made him hard to hit,but can hit you comfortably with his long (for a shortie) reach.
Hi Guys. It was around 1969 I would say, bought a copy of the Ring from my local newsagent, and inside there was an article about Johnson and a companion picture of the man himself, it was from the waist up and he had struck a pose, as if to dive into water, he looked huge with bulging biceps, I thought to myself boy, I bet he can punch, not yet knowing much about his career, strange after all these years I can still that picture in my minds eye. Ask me what I did last week........ stay safe fellow posters, chat soon.
Johnson was clearly a natural athlete, partook in strongman feats, wrestled and did his own sort of strength training so I understand why he’d be a big guy for his time but he isn’t that impressive to see IMO… especially contrast to say a 80s-90s fighter which should be the proof for PED’s that gullible folks require… take a look at Chris Eubank Snr and compare him visually to any fighter before the 60s when steroids showed up and tell me what you think lol.
Johnson’s shoulder-to-shoulder length being comparable “only to Louis Cyr”, who very well may have been the strongest man in the world at the time, seems pretty impressive
Well of course 6’ was very tall for the day - thus Jack being called the Galveston Giant - he was also closer to 6’1” than 6’ flat. AI tells me the average US male height back then was about 5’7”, third tallest in the world. There were all his other stats to be getting on with also - though one might question the accuracy of some (near 17” biceps?) though they seem generally reasonable. Jack certainly had a huge melon - and the near 23 1/2” head circumference measurement seems to be an accurate reflection. The evolvement of Johnson’s physique was over quite a few years, continuing well beyond the threshold of natural physical maturity and growth. No doubt a lot of manual labouring jobs (stevedore etc.) involved and express efforts to build himself up otherwise. I’ve mentioned it before but at age 21 Johnson was barely cracking 170 lb when he fought Choynski - severely underweight - by the time of Reno he was a rock solid 208 lbs. He wasn’t taking any chances with Jeffries and trained himself into the best shape possible as at age 32 - still upholding a washboard stomach.
I think he was impressive enough for his day and in absolute terms to a fair degree. The photos and vision of the day didn’t always necessarily capture the fighters in their best and most realistic light. If PEDs were around back in the day, Sammy McVey might’ve been accused of using same per these photos, particularly the one on the left: - This content is protected
Tale of the tape vs Jeffries was 6 foot and one-half inch. Given the routine over stating of boxers' dimensions I would believe 5 foot 9 inches. A giant melon is a detriment, not an asset, in boxing. Johnson had a giant melon. He seems decidedly underwhelming in the physical stature. But he was a good, smart, tough boxer. And he was strong. All that together, against the lot he faced, was enough.
Just to be clear, even though the doc seemed impressed, I wasn’t necessarily recommending his giant melon as an asset. By detriment, I’m assuming you mean a larger, easier target as part of if not the singular rationale? I think the TOTP for Johnson vs Jeffries only gave Jack 6’1/4” to be exact - Fleischer described Johnson as being a shade over 6’. I think that same TOTP listed Johnson’s wrists as being 10”???? Err, no way. So, for sure, some of the TOTPs could be well exaggerated - I think I read one affording Ketchel 17” biceps - wtf? - so there’s that also. I wouldn’t shrink Jack all the way down to 5’9” though, lol - in the photo below, an old Johnson is standing pretty well beside Joe Louis, his head still appearing to be growing, so perhaps some height gained, even into old age….? : - This content is protected
