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DEMPSEY, WILLIAM "JACK" HARRISON 1895-1983

HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION

Accomplishments

In 1950 Jack Dempsey, a member of the Boxing Hall of Fame, was selected, in a nationwide Associated Press poll, as the Fighter of the Half Century. Dempsey had come to stand for the poor, small man's triumphant battle against giant opponents and gigantic adversities; as such he was an embodiment of the 1920s pursuit of and admiration for success. After winning the heavy-weight championship in 1919, Dempsey in 1921 attracted the first __BODY__-million boxing gate on 21 July 1921 and drew four more million-dollar-plus bouts in the course of the decade. He fought six championship bouts in seven years, losing only to Gene Tunney, who defeated him twice. His career as a fighter over, Dempsey became an icon of American boxing and, as a restaurant owner in New York City, remained a favorite with literary, movie, and political celebrities.

Early Life

Dempsey developed his fighting style from his early years of riding the rails and living in hobo jungles after leaving, at age sixteen, his Manassa, Colorado, home where he worked with his father in various western copper-mining camps. His early hobo years taught him that a young man alone needed to protect himself quickly and decisively; thus, he threw brutal punches that ended bouts in early rounds, frequently in one round, and that later inspired his nickname "the Manassa Mauler." Between 1911 and 1914 Dempsey fought in saloon bouts as "Kid Blackie," earning the standard fee of $2.50 a bout.

Kearns and Rickard

During this period of all-comers bouts, Dempsey formed an alliance with Jack "Doc" Kearns, a flamboyant fight manager who helped Dempsey advance rapidly from barroom brawls to major matches. When they traveled to New York for bouts, Dempsey and Kearns teamed with George L. "Tex" Rickard, who later promoted Dempsey's $5-million gates for major matches. Though fortunes were made in these bouts, Dempsey realized only a small portion of the earnings, since Kearns squandered both his and Dempsey's shares of the gate. After cutting his ties with Kearns in 1925, Dempsey received and kept a large portion of the money his bouts earned.

Dempsey-Fulton

Throughout his early career before Dempsey gained real prominence, big-time boxers and promoters were somewhat reluctant to schedule matches with the young slugger, thinking him inexperienced as a fighter and lacking in crowd appeal with his rough-hewn, scowling appearance. Rickard agreed to arrange a match with the world heavyweight champion Jess Willard only if Dempsey could beat veteran Fred Fulton, After Dempsey knocked Fulton out in 18.6 seconds of the first round of a 27 July 1918 bout, Rickard arranged for Dempsey to fight for the heavyweight crown.

Dempsey—Willard

Jess Willard was one of several boxers to be called the "White Hope"; he earned this nickname during the promotion for his 5 April 1915 bout with black champion Jack Johnson, whom he defeated with a controversial knockout in the twenty-sixth round of their Havana, Cuba, title fight. When he met Dempsey some four years later, Willard was thirty-seven, six feet six inches tall, and an out-of-shape 245 pounds. Before the bout Willard made the six-feet-tall, 190-pound Dempsey sign an agreement that if Dempsey were severely injured or killed, Willard would not be held responsible. Fighting in 103- to 110-degree heat on 4 July 1919 in Toledo, Ohio, Dempsey knocked Willard to the canvas seven times in the first round. Referee Ollie Record counted to ten after the seventh knockdown and signaled that Dempsey had won; however, the timekeeper indicated that the bell had rung before the count was complete, and the ring had to be cleared of the crowd I and Dempsey retrieved from the locker room to continue the fight. Willard could not answer the bell after round three, and Dempsey became the new world heavyweight champion.

Outside the Ring

After winning the title Dempsey spent much of his time making movies in Hollywood, appearing on stage, fighting exhibition bouts, and in general making a great deal of money from these activities and enjoying the life of the celebrity. However, the first of his four wives, Maxine Cates, a former dance-hall prostitute, in a 23 January 1920 letter to the San Francisco Chronicle accused her exhusband of draft evasion during World War I; though acquitted of these charges by the San Francisco U.S. District Court in June 1920, Dempsey found his popularity waning. Such organizations as the American Legion voiced animosity toward the now-wealthy champion who lived in luxury while war veterans struggled to make a living.

Dempsey-Carpentier

Public sentiment against Dempsey rose and fell until his bout against the French war hero Georges Carpentier on 21 July 1921. Promoted by Tex Rickard, this bout became the first "million-dollar gate" in boxing history and, perhaps equally important to Dempsey, helped gloss over his reputation as a wartime slacker. Bringing the French contender and the American champion together created a surge of nationalistic support for Dempsey, especially after he won in the fourth round by a knockout.

Dempsey-Gibbons and Shelby, Montana

Perhaps the prospects of another million-dollar gate caused the newly rich ranchers of tiny Shelby, Montana—population 500—to bid for a championship bout between Dempsey and Tommy Gibbons, an accomplished light heavy-weight. Oil had been recently discovered in Shelby, and in 1921 bankers and town boosters guaranteed Dempsey $300,000 for the match. The town expected to gain a fortune that never materialized, since only 7,000 rather than the expected 40,000 spectators paid to see the 4 July 1923 fight. Dempsey easily won a fifteen-round decision, collected $200,000 of his $300,000 prize money, and left town. The town fathers and businesses went into bankruptcy.

Dempsey-Firpo

On 14 September 1923 Dempsey successfully defended his title against Argentinean Luis Angel Firpo, the Wild Bull of the Pampas. The Dempsey-Firpo bout earned an even bigger gate receipt than had the Dempsey—Carpentier match, but it also stirred controversy. In the first round Firpo knocked Dempsey through the ropes and onto the typewriter of New York Tribune reporter Jack Lawrence. Lawrence and a Western Union employee, Perry Grogan, pushed the fighter back into the ring. In the process they created a noisy postmatch argument that Dempsey had received aid and therefore should have been disqualified. Such arguments were defused by the fact that in the second round Dempsey knocked Firpo down seven times before finally knocking him out.

Dempsey-Tunney I

Although Dempsey was criticized for not fighting such black boxers as Harry Wills, Rickard believed that a racially mixed bout would not draw as successfully as a Dempsey-Gene Tunney bout. Tunney was light heavyweight champion, a decorated World War I Marine, and a handsome man. He was also in superb condition, whereas the older Dempsey was not. On 23 September 1926, as part of Philadelphia's sesquicentennial celebration, Dempsey the slugger fought the boxer-strategist. The match, which took place in a driving rainstorm, went the full ten rounds, which Tunney won by a unanimous decision.

Dempsey-Tunney II

After losing the crown Dempsey considered retirement, but Rickard quickly made plans for a 21 July 1927 bout with Jack Sharkey, which Dempsey won in the seventh round and which rekindled his interest in a second match with Tunney, clearly Rickard's strategy. After losing his title to Tunney, Dempsey found his popularity increasing. When he faced Tunney in "The Second Battle of the Century," he became the favorite. In the seventh round of their 22 September 1927 bout in Chicago's Soldier Field, Tunney came close to knocking out Dempsey; however, Dempsey rallied and floored Tunney. But rather than going immediately to a neutral corner as rules dictated, Dempsey stood over his opponent. This action added at least four extra seconds to the normal ten-second count, resulting in the now-famous "long count" that saved Tunney from defeat. Tunney won in a unanimous decision as the match went its scheduled ten rounds.

Retirement

After his second loss to Tunney, Dempsey retired from major boxing events. Though he participated in a variety of exhibition bouts from 1931 to 1940, his active boxing career was essentially over. Though he started life working for four dollars a day, Dempsey earned a fortune through boxing. He estimated that his total income from his fights, the movie rights to bouts, refereeing, lectures, and radio appearances amounted to more than $10 million. He had risen from grinding poverty to become one of the extravagantly colorful and successful figures that so epitomized the 1920s.