Would Joe Gans' life be a good movie?

I would love it... if it was done well. A good time period piece like Cinderella Man for example.

Joe Gans (November 25, 1874 - August 10, 1910) was born Joseph Gant in Baltimore, Maryland. Gans was rated as the greatest lightweight boxer of all-time by Ring Magazine founder, Nat Fleischer and was known as the "Old Master". He fought from 1891 to 1909 and was the first African-American World Boxing Champion, reigning continuously as World Lightweight Champion from 1902 to 1908.

Gans started boxing professionally about 1891 in Baltimore. In 1900, Gans quit with an eye cut in the 12th round of the world lightweight title bout against champion Frank Erne. In their rematch two years later, Gans knocked Erne out in 1 round to recapture the lightweight title.

Gans reigned as champion from 1902 to 1908. In an important title defense he defeated the "Durable Dane," Oscar "Battling" Nelson, on a foul in 42 rounds on September 3, 1906 in Goldfield, Nevada by promoter Tex Rickard. When they fought again two years later Gans lost by a knockout. He died in August 1910, of tuberculosis and is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Baltimore. His monument is maintained by the IBC (International Boxing Commission) and sits just to the left of the main entrance of the cemetery. Gans is generally considered to be one of the greatest boxers of all time, pound-for-pound.

"I was born in the city of Baltimore in the year 1874, and it might be well to state at this time that my right name is Joseph Gant, not Gans. However, when I became an object of newspaper publicity, some reporter made a mistake and my name appeared as Joe Gans, and as Joe Gans it remained ever since."

This is confirmed by primary sources, such as The Sun (Baltimore, MD) on October 24, 1893 - "Joseph Gant and Buck Myers, colored"; The Sun (Baltimore, MD) on November 28, 1893 - "A six-round sparring match between Wm. Jones and Joseph Gant, colored light-weights", etc.

Gans had a final professional record of 145 wins with 100 knockouts, 10 losses, 16 draws, 6 no contests and 19 no decisions (Newspaper Decisions: 13-2-4)

-from Wikipedia

from some of my books-

Already widely regarded as the best lightweight in the world, Gans did not receive a title shot until 1900. He fought Frank Erne for the championship and abruptly quit in the twelfth round due to an eye injury. The circumstances of the loss were exploited by some to bolster the repugnant belief of the time that black men lacked the same grit and courage as whites, but in fact Joe asked for the bout to be halted only after his eye had actually been dislodged from its socket. As reported by several newspapers, a clash of heads caused the severe injury, which made continuing impossible.
Later that same year, Gans met brawler Terry McGovern in Chicago and was knocked down eight times in less than two rounds before the fight was stopped. The result was greeted with complete disgust; no one believed it legitimate. Indeed, Joe later admitted to taking a dive on orders from his manager. The resulting uproar prompted the city of Chicago to ban boxing, a ban that held for 25 years.
While this constituted one of two certified instances where Gans participated in a “fix,” few doubt that there were numerous occasions on which Gans “boxed to orders.” The ugly truth was that the great champion often entered the ring “handcuffed,” mandated by gamblers or his manager to carry an opponent a certain number of rounds, or even to lose. Lightweight champion Willie Ritchie, who knew Gans, said in an interview that, “Gans had to do as he was told by the white managers. They were crooks. They framed fights, and being a Negro the poor guy had to follow orders, otherwise he’d have starved to death.” Meanwhile, in contests that were in fact on the level, Gans had to endure all kinds of unfair treatment, such as having to make weight just minutes before the bout, or while wearing his boxing gear, or being flagrantly fouled, not to mention seeing white opponents walk away with the lion’s share of the cash.

In the rematch the following year Gans flattened Erne in a single round to finally win the world title (casting doubt on the validity of the first fight), becoming the first American-born Negro to hold a world championship in any sport. This did not sit well with many, and racism would in fact define both the rest of Gans’ career and his life. He defended his championship regularly and in 1904 defeated James Edward Britt by disqualification after being punched while he was down. Britt, a white man, then claimed the title, despite the disqualification, and had the backing of many for no reason other than bigotry. When Britt then lost to [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battling_Nelson"]Battling Nelson[/ame], it set up a match the public clamoured for: Nelson vs. Gans for the undisputed championship. The resulting bout, held in Nevada in September of 1906, proved historic for boxing, while tragic for Gans.
The terms of the bout were horribly unfair to Joe, especially when one considers that he, not Nelson, was the rightful title holder. Not only did he have to cede most of the purse money to Nelson, but Nelson insisted Gans make weight three separate times prior to the match, each time while wearing his boxing gear, the last just hours before the fight. This was to be one of the last “fight to the finish” bouts in boxing history and it was a grueling war, though largely one-sided. Nelson was outclassed for the most part and Gans scored several knockdowns. Finally, in round 42, Nelson reached his limit and intentionally struck Gans below the belt to foul out.
Following this victory, Gans was never the same. The strain of the constant dehydration to make weight, plus the brutal 42 round battle in the Nevada heat, took a heavy toll and soon after he contracted tuberculosis. Amazingly, he would continue fighting for another two years, even meeting Battling Nelson twice more, however losing both times. But it was obvious to all this was not the same Gans, with reporters remarking on his “dull eyes” and “grey skin.” The San Francisco Chronicle even noted his shivering from fever in the third match with Nelson. By the summer of 1910, more than a year after his last fight, it was obvious he was dying. He embarked on the long train ride back east to see his mother before it was too late. Word spread and soon hundreds of people were gathering at the train stops along the way to pay their respects. He died in his mother’s arms at the age of 35 in his hometown of Baltimore, where thousands attended the funeral for “The Old Master.”
Joe Gans final record, including newspaper decisions, stands at an astonishing 159-12-20, with many, if not most, of the draws and losses being bouts he actually won or intentionally forfeited. He deserves to be remembered as one of the finest boxers of all time, regardless of weight, and, arguably, the best lightweight ever. More than one boxing reporter from Gans’ era pegged him as the greatest fighter who ever lived.

 

I'm from Baltimore btw.

 

Walter McGowan's old man? Yeah, sounds good

 

H. it might interest you to note that in the old MSG on 8th Ave and 49st. NY,there was a large statue of the great Old Master in the lobby where it stood for many years til the day they tore down the garden...i must have
passed it a hundred times...It was in bronze and so life like....There was only one lightweight even mentioned in the same breath with Joe Gans and that was the inimitable Benny Leonard, who as he related, Benny while training had a dream he was fighting Joe Gans and Leonard in this nightmare woke up in a pool of sweat...Gans as well as my lightweight Ike Williams, [best Iv'e seen ringside] were under wraps many times, whilst
Benny leonard carried many opponents so he could get a lucrative rematch...It's lonely at the top !...

 

Joe Gans was too modest to make an interesting hero of a movie.

 

Two perfect subjects for a boxing movie would be two brave men in boxing lore...
1- Billy Miske who while dying of Bright's Disease pleaded for one last bout so fhis family
could celebrate Christmas when he died...What a great movie that would be !
2- Barney Ross, who was one of thge bravest fighters ever, volunteered for the U S Marines at a late age and became a hero at bloody Guadalcanal, saving several buddies
from death...What a story it would make once more....
P.S. They tried to film the story of Willie Pep years ago but he was too fast for the camera.

 

Possibily more so than most boxers.

 

Absolutely.

 

Excellent stuff, BB, the line about Pep made me laugh too!!

Regards

S

 

I want them to do The Curious Case of Harry Greb so we can finally have some film of him.