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People's Champion: The Popularity of Boxing Before 1920 |
1. Boxing as a Controversial Sport. Prior to 1918, prize fights were the most controversial sporting events reported in The Lake County Times. Reformers considered boxing a savage sport. They prevented fights from taking place by creating laws to prohibit professional prize fights. However, a few cities such as Milwaukee, Cedar Rapids, and New Orleans promoted the sport because it made money. These cities bid for popular fights that would attract attention. World War I altered perceptions of the sport. Once the United States entered the war, The Times portrayed boxing as the best means to improve the fitness of draftees as they prepared to go oversees. During the war, local boxing exhibitions attracted large crowds, whose admissions were used to sums in support the war effort.
2. The Heavyweights. Despite the controversial nature of boxing, stories of the great heavyweights attracted readers. The heavyweights embodied the stamina and fearless determination essential to manhood. Consequently, The Times published a series of twenty-eight articles that glorified former champion John L. Sullivan. The series portrayed Sullivan as the warrior who invented the knockout punch and made boxing a clean game in America. Current champion, Jess Willard, became a national hero, when the "Pottawatomie Pounder" rescued the heavyweight championship from Jack Johnson, an African-American. The paper considered the West Coast heavyweight, Jack Dempsey, potentially the best fighter to come along since Jeff Jefferies. Fans anticipated an eventual bout with Willard for the heavyweight championship.
3. Race and Role Models. Often, boxers were portrayed in racial terms. The Times described them as black or white, Christian or Jew. No event epitomized the racial classification of the era as powerfully as the 1915 heavyweight championship fight between Jess Willard and Jack Johnson. The press portrayed Willard as a role model, an appropriate example of hard work and family values. In contrast, Johnson, the African-American champion of the world, was described as notorious or criminal. After Johnson lost the title in June of 1915, he fled the United States to avoid prosecution for violating the sexual standards of white, Victorian society. In Europe, Johnson continued to face difficulties. Whether praised or vilified, boxers provided stories that attracted the attention of readers throughout the United States.
4. Local Contenders. Boxing fans in the Calumet region actively supported local boxers, attending bouts held in the region and even traveling to Chicago or Milwaukee to follow the careers of their favorites. Local boys saw boxing as a way to make money, travel, and, perhaps, earn fame. Hammond resident, Jimmy Clabby, was the most famous boxer produced by the region. Clabby won the world's welterweight title in 1911. The Times followed his life from fight to fight, while also paying attention to his romantic interests.
