Jack Dempsey almost defended his title against Big Bill Tate

This is not often talked about as a "what if" but there was serious dicusion about it at the time.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...ZAApAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PNQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2662,287211

It was also reported in the NYT.

 

In 1922, Milwaukie played host to two big boxing bouts

By John Terry, Special to The Oregonian

February 20, 2010, 5:34PM

The Oregonian's headline pulled no punches in touting the next day's boxing match:

"When Negro Heavyweight Champion Contenders Meet, Impact May Well Be Heard Around World."

Indeed, when Harry "The Black Panther" Wills and "Big" Bill Tate stepped into the ring in Milwaukie -- yes, our little Milwaukie -- on Jan. 2, 1922, their eyes were on not only each other but also Jack Dempsey's heavyweight crown.

Wills was one of the best-known boxers of his time. A former New Orleans longshoreman, he racked up 82 wins, 54 by knockout, 10 losses and five draws in a boxing career that lasted from 1911 to 1932.

Tate was a native of Montgomery, Ala., and reportedly a 1905 graduate of Alabama's A and M Normal College. From 1912 to 1928 he fought 67 fights with 34 wins, 24 by knockout, 28 losses and five draws. He was a favorite sparring partner of Dempsey.

Wills was 6-foot-3 and weighed from 210 to 230 pounds; Tate was 6-foot-6 and weighed from 220 to 243. Dempsey, by contrast, was 6-foot-1 and was listed at from 165 to 205 pounds.

The Wills-Tate Milwaukie bouts (more about that plural in a moment) were promoted by George Moore, from 1918-1923 treasurer of the African-American Portland Times newspaper.

"Moore also distinguished himself as a great promoter of young prize fighters in Portland ...," says Herbert L. Brame's "African American Athletes in Oregon."

Moore's enterprise probably landed in Milwaukie because Portland lacked venues where he could stage fights frequently or profitably, says Johnny Elkins, a local boxing historian. In Milwaukie, Moore found a former streetcar barn, at Main and Harrison streets, where City Hall stands today. Refurbished as a boxing arena, it seated about 5,000.

Moore invested much as $9,000 in the car barn, and from November 1919 to December 1922 he staged 46 fight cards. Four world champions fought there as well as numerous other ring luminaries, according to the Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia.

The Wills-Tate fight, billed as the "Colored Heavyweight Championship of the World," by far attracted the greatest attention.

"On this fight ... hangs the whole future of Harry Wills as a possibility for the heavyweight champion of the world," wrote The Oregonian's L.H. Gregory. "And for Tate much the same may be said."

Gregory punctuated the fight's importance by noting the Chicago Tribune "sent a representative here to cover it in person."

The bout was a sellout with the gate totaling more than $17,000, a record for Oregon until the 1940s, Boxrec says.

The fight began as advertised, but complications soon developed. Early in the first round, referee Tom Louttit disqualified Wills for throwing a punch on a break and declared Tate the winner.

"Moore immediately demanded a rematch because he felt the fans didn't get their money's worth," says Elkins. "He also withheld the fighters' purses to pressure them into fighting again, even though he couldn't legally do so."

A meeting was held. Both sides did some posturing, then agreed to a rematch four days later. Moore announced he would honor all tickets from the first fight. Many had thrown their ticket stubs away, so he installed an honor system.

"If you said you were there, you got in," Elkins says. "A lot who weren't there obviously claimed to be. The place was jammed far beyond capacity."

The Jan. 6 fight went 10 rounds to a draw. Both men claimed victory. The fans were reported satisfied.

"Most of the crowd thought Wills had won," Elkins says, "but it never was established who was the black heavyweight champion."

Tate faded from the boxing scene and died in 1953.

Wills pursued a fight against Dempsey, but prejudice against an African American holding the heavyweight title prevented him getting a match with "The Manassa Mauler." He was paid $50,000 by Dempsey partisans to stand aside. The debate whether Wills could have bested Dempsey continues to this day.

Wills left the ring in 1932 and ran a real estate business in Harlem, N.Y. He died in 1958.

Moore's Milwaukie arena became a dance hall and then history.

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, Special to The Oregonian

 

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The Oregonian/1922This illustration appeared in The Oregonian of Jan. 1, 1922, with a preview of the boxing match between "Big" Bill Tate (left) and Harry "The Black Panther" Wills. The heavyweights ended up fighting twice before big crowds at a converted car barn in Milwaukie

 

Although Wills emerged on top the fights seem to have damaged his standing.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...IYwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=x9wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6682,4527091

 

True, but this is one that is rarely talked about.

 

It is a peice of the jigsaw however.