Greb and Dempsey, Pittsburgh Courier, March 13, 1926, p. 12 John Blackwell takes a rap at Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey, because the latter is reported to have said that he could not understand why Harry Greb gave a Negro boxer a chance to take the title away from him, in agreeing to meet Tiger Flowers. Blackwell writes as follows: “Is it a question of race or color? Or an attempt on the part of Dempsey to cast a dark shadow over the fighting record of Greb? The colored fighting fans regret the passing of Harry Greb from the championship as much as does anybody else. Harry Greb was a champion and he acted like one. “He was always willing to meet any challenge, regardless of whether they were black or white. He was champion by record, and not merely in name, as Dempsey is. He never ran out of a fight in fear of getting whipped. It’s a pity Dempsey cannot say that. Our Mr. Greb has shown that he was a man among men, and not a ‘race horse,’ like the famous Mr. Dempsey.”
So the boxing forum year has returned to Dempsey. For the next 3 months inundation of everything bad about Jack. Does this mean the autumn/winter slobberfest over anything Carnera is finished? I hope so.
Didn’t mean to trigger any Dempsey fans. But I thought it was interesting that Blackwell used such strong language in the mid-20s. Seems like it undermines the usual story about the color line a bit.
I'm a little bit confused by this posting and by what you meant by your comment. The Courier was Pittsburgh's African-American newspaper, so it is not surprising that Blackwell would take this stance. It would be more telling if it came from a mainstream newspaper of the era, though I would not be surprised to learn that some white writers might have suggested the same thing, even if not so forcefully.
Good point. The same story actually ran in the Pittsburgh Press a week earlier, on March 6, 1926 (on page 11).
Wow what a fraud, a cheat, a scam. I feel I, and my countrymen, have been lied to. I bet he couldn't even hit hard anyway. Willard was an oaf.
In what ways do you feel that you were lied to? What does his punching power have to do with this article?
They told me he was a hero. That he was superman. That he could defeat demons and angels with his fistic fury. That he was like a panther. That he had the speed and explosiveness of a train. But after reading this I've been forced to reconsider. You saved me.
Nah—John Blackwell saved you. I’m just the messenger. Shudder to think what might happen if you read what Jim Jacobs and Bob Broeg thought about Jim Corbett!!
