Description
Book Synopsis For six decades the World Colored Heavyweight Championship was a useful tool of racial oppression--the existence of the title far more important to the white public than its succession of champions. It took some extraordinary individuals, most notably Jack Johnson, to challenge the color line in the ring, although the title and the black fighters who contended for it continued until the reign of Joe Louis a generation later. This history traces the advent and demise of the Championship, the stories of the 28 professional athletes who won it, and the demarcation of the color line both in and out of the ring.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Introduction
- One. Clearing a Path
- Two. The Core Four
- Three. The Black Prince
- Four. King of the Battle Royal
Five. Crafty Texan
- Six. Colorado Giant
- Seven. Galveston Giant
- Eight. The Idol of Paris
- Nine. Joseph "Joe" Jeremiah Jeannette
- Ten. Boston Tar Baby
- Eleven. The Black Panther
- Twelve. "Big" Bill Tate
- Thirteen. The Leiperville Shadow
- Fourteen. The Toronto Terror
- Fifteen. Bearcat Obie
- Sixteen. Driving the Last Spike
- Appendix A. Roster of Pool Fighters
- Appendix B. World Colored Heavyweight Championship and Timeline—Selected Entries
- Appendix C. World Colored Heavyweight Champions & Associated Members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame
- Chapter Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
