Could an out-and-out racist allow a black man (or white man for that matter) to hit him? Would he even share a ring with that fighter? Probably not, no. So since Dempsey did fight some black fighters, I personally can't see him being a hardcore racist. The racism in him was merely a reflection of the times, I think.
True, and if he was a racist at times, then he did it more as a hobby to kill time because there was not tv and Internet yet.
If he was then he was more racist in the manner of your grandmother than in the manner of a modern skinhead. Dempsey took people prety much as he found them and treated them acordingly. He gave money to Sam Langford later in life and admired many other black fighters such as Barbados Joe Walcott. He probably wouldnt win many plaudits for political corectnes today but by the conventions of his era he would be considered prety enlightened.
Hell yes. Some of the more virulently racist fighters of the past positively delighted in beating up black oponents.
On Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis, here's an excerpt from the book Beyond Glory: "Preparing Louis for For Schmeling became a joint effort. Noting that Louis didn't retain things for very long, Armstrong gave him a refresher course on rushing in and swinging. Even Jack Dempsey, who'd liked Schmeling and written off Louis (and all Black boxers) after the 1936 fight, pitched in, almost as if it were his patriotic duty. He paid a clandestine visit to Pompton Lakes, telling Louis how to roll away from punches more easily. He then left the camp, only to order his driver back. "You fight him the way you did last time and the way you boxed today and you got to get licked again!" he scolded Louis after rejoining him. He then removed his coat. "Move into me!" he'd scolded. "Come on! Move! Bend! Get your tail down! Don't wait! Start punching!" Louis must have thought he was nuts, Dempsey said, but Dempsey didn't give a damn; he was just trying to help him. And maybe he did."
No I meant to say George Godfrey ,or Feab Williams ,if you prefer.Godfrey was a sparring partner for Dempsey for several fights,and helped towards his funeral expenses.
I read an auto biog By Jack Years ago, it was signed by him. I lent it to someone and that was the last that I saw it...Shame it was a great book..Dempsey came up hard core and in tough times. Dempsey was not racist but you got to remember the promoters were interested in money only...Dempsey was the first million dollor gate. Blacks were not a big draw unless it was to see Johnson get beat by a white hope...well he was the first...Richard was interested in seeing Jack stay Champ and make him the most money for the risk, why kill off the golden goose who like Ali could make money fighting nobdies like Blin,Wepner,LUbbers because they were white. I an sure Wills would be a tougher opponent then Carpentier but I am not so sure he would have beaten Dempsey...Still he should have gotton a shot...Jack kept a mixed camp and respected boxers regardless of color. Marciano idolized Joe Louis as did many Americans but he was highly respectfull of Walcott and Charles and Moore and deservedly so, they were great fighters. I think boxers respected each other as tough men and equals a bit faster than the rest of the world because they bled together
dempseys favorite boxers were almost all black,check it out on youtube,his promoter was racist but not dempsey
Thank you and please to be looking at my former post. It is very easy to sit in our supposedly enlightened, pampered times and judge a man who came out of the wild west. However, there is a great deal of progression in mentality from then and now. And furthermore, there was a great deal of progression from Dempsey as a rough kid to a mature adult, as is evidenced by his autobiography. Do not judge too harshly, lest we all be judged in future times.
I'll go with Janitor here. By today's standards, people would probably call him racist, by the standards of the time, I'd say no. He had a lot of good things to say about several black fighters, and had black friends as well. I'm sure he held some borderline racist beliefs due to the times, though.
:rofl Dempsey did not avoid anyone he fought Black fighters before he won the title just not after. It was his promoters fault not Jack's. atsch
... I don't believe that we can really excuse white racism as a product of the times. Condemning another group of people on the basis of pigmentation isn't a product of culture so much as it is a product of ignorance. Ignorance is one thing but to act on ignorance is really a moral deficiency. Every white grinning face I see in this picture is nothing if not culpable for murder: This content is protected --I hope they're all together again in a big boiling pot of sulfur with pitchforks up their butts. Neither Jefferson nor Lincoln, it is true, equated "Negroid" intelligence with "Causasian" intelligence... Benjamin Banneker, a black mathematician and scientist sent a letter to Jefferson that was a rebuke. Jefferson responded and stated that he would like to see blacks transcend their condition and lack of opportunities to increase their potential. Lincoln, once he had spent enough time with Frederick Douglass -was effectively converted out of any notions of white supremacy, albeit after he was president. The other problem with laying racism at the feet of culture and the times is a problem of false positives. There were too many white dissenters. Few were willing to do what John Brown did, 'tis true, but many were disgusted at lynchings and would harbor fugitive slaves at every opportunity notwithstanding the harsh legal consequences if caught. The Underground Railroad would have been a dead-end but for thousands of white Americans who upheld their faith or morals through action and dissent. ..... Dempsey. It is true that Dempsey actually put up money -100 large- to find a white hope to fight and beat Joe Louis because he had no faith in Braddock or Schmeling. I'm not so sure that makes him a racist anymore than different nations and colors have pictures of Christ in their homes that look like them. Asian Christs, Indian Christs, African Christs, are no more or less racist than the blonde haired, blue eyed version hanging in Irish homes. Malcolm X was wrong on that. Ethnic pride is not unethical unless doors are closed to the 'others'. High school students tend to congregate in the cafeteria on the basis of color or culture... that isn't 'wrong' at least in my opinion unless others are excluded from a seat among them. After Louis destroyed Carnera, someone said that Louis looks like a second Dempsey, to which Dempsey said "why not a first Joe Louis?" Jack was also in Max Baer's training camp and corner during the bout. While Joe was exiting the ring after the KO, Jack was watching him and commented thus: "That's a great fighter. The greatest I ever saw, I guess." In the 50s he was asked about the ethnic mix in boxing and said that boxing needs all kinds. And yes, his "loans" were extended to all kinds even though they were never paid back and never expected to be paid back.
I don't know if Dempsey was or wasn't racist on a personal level. However this had nothing to do with Dempsey not fighting leading blacks like Harry Wills while he was champion. It really wasn't Dempsey's decision to make. I have read that the leading boxing promoters in the 1920s were under pressure from politicians not to match the heavyweight champion with top black contenders. It had something to do with racism in society at the time, and with the general pattern of segregating the races in sports.
