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TFM TIMELINE – 1909
As we continue to build this website, we offer a window into what’s to come. Below is a look at the presentation of OTHER Topics related to THE TRIPLE FIGHT in 1909, the first year of Jack Johnson’s reign as the World Heavyweight Champion. Jack Johnson is frequently referenced across our platform because he was the first Black man to hold that title. Click here to learn more about our approach to studying history.
Featuring newspapers from
CHICAGO
ILLINOIS
A magazine from
FRANCE
A Key Observation Based on Items in the TFM Collection
BOXERS and BOXING IN PRINT
DIFFERENCES IN PERSPECTIVES
An American newspaper began the year promoting the idea of a racially sensitive title bout between Jim Jeffries and Jack Johnson. By contrast, a French publication closed the year recognizing Black Excellence.
What forces shape our perceptions and valuations? Who determines what is seen, when it is seen, and how such images are presented? What do images say about the presenters, and what do they say about the viewers?
BOXERS AND BOXING IN PRINT – 1909
Introduction
We often say that history is more than a collection of dates, names, and remarkable events. It is a landscape shaped by relationships—between people and institutions, ideas and actions, opportunity and constraint, conflict and consequence. One of the most illuminating past landscapes is through materials printed in the past. When we compile them by topic over time, we start to see patterns that reveal truths often hidden on the first pass. In the end, they substantiate the saying that very little happens in isolation.
Index of Items
BOXERS and BOXING IN PRINT
American Press
Newspapers
CHICAGO EVENING AMERICAN
Item 1: At TFM, we refer to the illustration shown in the newspaper below and a top caption that reads: HOW JEFF (Jim Jeffries) AND JOHNSON WOULD LOOK IN BATTLE — BY TAD, as A HOPEFUL VISION.
The TFM Collection contains the January 1st, 1909, edition of the CHICAGO EVENING AMERICAN, suggesting a mixed-race battle that would consume the nation’s attention.
The year 1909 began with a lingering question on the minds of many Americans: Will America Have to Endure A Black World Heavyweight Champion? For some, the answer to that question rested in the fighting abilities of one man: the widely celebrated former world heavyweight champion, Jim Jeffries, who retired in 1905. He is depicted in the sports section of the January 1st, 1909, edition of the CHICAGO EVENING AMERICAN. The large illustration was drawn by TAD, America’s most famous sports commentator, at the time. TAD drew Jim Jeffries charging the reigning champion, Jack Johnson. Over Jeffries’ right shoulder is a small vignette showing him in the center of the ring, alongside other prominent white boxers who could not defeat Johnson. TAD names each one. But Jeffries stands tall, ready to come to America’s rescue. What’s interesting about all of this is that the newspaper ran the illustration, while the caption below the illustration states that Jeffries said he would not fight Johnson if offered a million bucks to do so.
Looking back at the stories contained in this paper and those that followed, it appears the Chicago newspaper was preparing the public for the epic battle 18 months before it actually happened. Just think about that for a moment. A Jeffries-Johnson fight was being promoted six days after Johnson won his title. And days before Jeffries reversed himself and announced his decision to come out of retirement. It is an interesting way to start a year, and it leaves one to wonder: Does reality drive the news in America, or does what’s printed as news drive reality?
Item 2: At TFM, we refer to the second newspaper as: THE BIG REVEAL.
The TFM Collection contains the March 1st, 1909 edition of the CHICAGO EVENING AMERICAN, which featured a banner that reads, “I’LL RETURN TO RING AND FIGHT JACK JOHNSON FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP,” DECLARES JAMES J. JEFFRIES. The paper contains Jeffries’ reasons for coming out of retirement, as reflected in the following two statements.
Omaha, Neb. March 1 – “Yes, I am ready to return to the ring and fight Jack Johnson. I feel obligated to the American public in that I should at least make an attempt to regain the heavyweight championship for the white race, and I will sign for a battle with the colored fighter as soon as I finish my twenty weeks of theatrical work.
I do not want to fight, and had a white man won the highest honor in the heavyweight ranks I would never come out of retirement, but the American public demands that somebody dethrone Johnson, and since I have never been beaten, I feel that I ought to try.
According to Jeffries’ own statements, sportsmanship was never a factor in his decision to come out of retirement and fight Jack Johnson. It was all about race.
International Press
French Publications
LA VIE AU GRAND AIR
Item 1: In 1909, the French held outstanding Black athletes in high regard and featured them prominently in their sports publications, reflecting an appreciation for human excellence uncommon in the United States.
The TFM Collection contains the December 4, 1909, edition of the French sports magazine, LA VIE AU GRAND AIR, featuring American boxer Joe Jeannette on the cover, introducing the game of Baseball to French sports fans.
The publication also recognized George Gunther and identified him incorrectly as the sensational Australian welterweight. George Gunther was actually an American from New Jersey, who is recorded by boxrec.com as having a professional boxing career that spanned from 1904 to 1921. The website also shows that George Gunther and Hazel Fisher fought on November 11, 1904, which does not align with the caption below, translated from French to English. Many fights during this period were incorrectly recorded, and much research is still needed to develop accurate records.
Translated from French into American-English, the caption reads:
The excellent Australian welterweight, Gunther, who will meet Hazel-Fisher for a purse of 12,500 francs.
Sometimes the most revealing discoveries are found at the intersection of things, and at other times, they are found at points of alignment – where topics, events, actions, and timing come together and provide additional dimensions to our understanding; making it all the more clear that very little happens in isolation.
To see other European sports publications in the TFM Collection, click the EXPLORE button below.
Featured Magazines
We are constantly adding items, so please visit often.