Jack johnson boxer biography video
Jack johnson boxer biography pbs
Jack Johnson: The Boxer Who Shook the World - YouTube!
Jack Johnson
(1878-1946)
Who Was Jack Johnson?
Boxer Jack Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas, in 1878. In 1908 he became the first African American to win the world heavyweight crown when he knocked out the reigning champ, Tommy Burns.
The fast-living Johnson held on to the title until 1915 and continued to box until he was 50.
Jack johnson boxer biography video
He died in an automobile accident in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1946.
Early Years
The first Black heavyweight champion, John Arthur "Jack" Johnson was born on March 31, 1878, in Galveston, Texas. The son of ex-slaves and the third of nine children, Johnson possessed an air of confidence and drive to exceed beyond the hardscrabble life his parents had known.
After a few years of school, Johnson went to work as a laborer to help support his family.
A good deal of his childhood, in fact, was spent working on boats and sculleries in Galveston.
By the age of 16, Johnson was on his own, traveling to New York and later Boston before returning