The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Athletes 2023

Jack Johnson

Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Athletes 2023
Embed from Getty Images
Sport(s): Boxing
Statistics: Boxing Record: 70-11-11-3, 35 Wins by KO

1-Time World Heavyweight Champion

Member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame
We can't imagine the racism that Jack Johnson endured during his lifetime. Nobody should have to.

Jack Johnson fought for the first time in 1897, and years later, it was evident that he was the best heavyweight in the game. The problem was that as an African-American, James J. Jeffries, the reigning heavyweight champion, refused to fight him, and with no sanctioning body, there was no way to force the fight.

Jeffries retired, and Johnson defeated Tommy Burns, a Canadian, to win the title in 1908. Johnson was not a shy figure, and he embraced his notoriety, which pressured Jeffries out of retirement as the "Great White Hope" to fight Johnson, but in the "Fight of the Century," it was Johnson who emerged as the winner.

Johnson was hated by a large segment of the population, even more so because he married a white woman. He would eventually lose the belt to Jess Willard (he may or may not have thrown the fight), but what Johnson accomplished for African-Americans, regardless of how his demeanor was perceived, is undeniable.

We are proud to nominate Jack Johnson for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.