Jess Willard

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    JESS WILARD


    Information from IMDb


    Date of Birth
    29 December 1881,
    St. Clere, Kansas, USA


    Date of Death
    15 December 1968,
    Los Angeles, California, USA (cerebral hemorrhage)


    Nickname
    The Pottawatomie Giant
    The Great White Hope


    Height
    6' 6½" (1.99 m)


    Spouse
    Hattie Evans (13 March 1908 - 15 December 1968) (his death) 5 children


    Trivia
    Was elected to the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1977.


    World heavyweight boxing champion from 1915 to 1919. Is the tallest heavyweight boxing champion in history.


    Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame, 1989.


    Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, 2003.


    In the months leading up to his legendary fight with Jack Johnson,
    Johnson ran his mouth about how he was going to destroy Willard,
    someone he considered to be a joke of a fighter.
    However, Willard got the last laugh when he literally knocked
    Johnson out cold in the 26th round (The longest ever prizefight under Queensberry rules).
    When later asked why he didn't respond with insults back at Johnson,
    he said "I let my fists do the talking.".


    Became a professional boxer at 29.


    Knocked out Bull Young and Young died of a broken neck.


    Scored a stunning upset by knocking out champion Jack Johnson
    to win the heavyweight title in 1915, ending Johnson's 7-year reign.


    Suffered a broken jaw, knocked out teeth, broken cheek bones,
    a broken nose, broken eye-socket, and broken ribs in his title loss to Jack Dempsey.


    Made a comeback at 42 and knocked out number 2 contender Floyd Johnson in an upset.


    Lost his last fight at age 42 to Luis Firpo by knockout.


    Fought Victor McLaglen circa 1911. Eventually, McLaglen abandoned the ring for acting. Interestingly, in 1909, McLaglen had boxed in an exhibition match against heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, the man Willard beat for the title in 1915.


    Mini Biography
    Boxer Jess Willard went down in history for three things:
    being the tallest world's heavyweight champion in history until Primo Carnera
    wrested that title from him; losing his championship belt to Jack Dempsey
    in a controversial title bout that saw him knocked down seven times in the first round,
    leading to rumors that Dempsey had "loaded" his gloves;
    and being The Great White Hope (1970)" that brought the the
    heavyweight crown back to the "white race" after being in the possession
    for seven years of grinning gold-toothed, black-skinned Jack Johnson,
    an African American who committed the sin of being proud to be a man of color in racist America.
    (See Ken Burns's documentary Unforgivable Blackness:
    The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004) for the story of this remarkable man.)


    Standing nearly 6'7" tall, Jess was a professional horse wrangler
    from rural Pottawatomie County, Kansas who did not take up boxing until he was 28 years old.
    The "Pottawatomie Giant" came up through the ranks quickly and in 1915,
    faced Jack Johnson for the title at the Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba.
    Johnson was in exile from his home country, which had persecuted him under the Mann Act
    (which prohibited the transportation of prostitutes across stat lines)
    for his other unpardonable sin at the time, his love of white women.
    (All three of Johnson's wives were Caucasian.)


    In the brutal heat and humidity of Havana, Willard knocked out Johnson in the 26th round
    and became heavyweight champion of the world, a title he lost four years later to Dempsey.
    He will remain a footnote in American history for being "The Great White Hope"
    for as long as racism mars American society.
    IMDb Mini Biography By: Jon C. Hopwood


    Filmography


    Actor
    1919 The Challenge of Chance...Joe Bates
    1915 Heart Punch (short)


    Self
    1933 The Prizefighter and the Lady..Himself - Ex-Heavyweight Champion (uncredited)
    1919 Willard-Dempsey Boxing Contest (documentary)...Himself
    1916 Willard-Johnson Boxing Match (documentary)
    1916 Willard-Moran Fight (documentary short)...Himself
    1915 Willard-Johnson, World's Championship Fight (documentary)...Himself


    Archive Footage
    2004 Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (documentary)...Himself
    2000 Kings of the Ring: Four Legends of Heavyweight Boxing (TV documentary)..Himself
    1999 The Sweet Science (TV series documentary)
    1977 Knockout (documentary)
    1976 ABC's Wide World of Sports (TV series)
    1970 Jack Johnson (documentary)..Himself
    1968 Legendary Champions (documentary)...Himself
    1941 The Great American Broadcast..Himself - Prizefighter (uncredited)

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 2 times, last by ethanedwards ().

    Thanks to Jim Mace for joining us
    and posting his rare photographs of Duke's early days.


    It is also with pride that we share the fact
    that his grandfather Jess Willard fought


    Pals Of The Saddle- Victor McLaglen


    Here is
    Jess Willard- Wikipedia


    We are therefore delighted
    to honour Jess with this tribute profile

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited 4 times, last by ethanedwards ().

    My grandfather, Jess Willard (Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World, 1915-1919) starred in this forgettable silent film.

    Very cool. It looks like your grandfather had a pretty good size to him.


    Mark


    I just looked him up. Pretty good size, I said? He was 6 foot, 6 inches. That's a real good size. lol

    "I couldn't go to sleep at night if the director didn't call 'cut'. "

    Here's a couple of pictures of McLaglen in his boxing years. My grandfather, Jess Willard, boxed him in an exhibition bout in 1911.... Around about the time my dad was dating my mother (1933, 1934), he was asked by my grandmother Willard to drive to a certain place and pick up my grandfather, along with McLaglen, from some bar or other drinking place (?) and take them home. My dad remebered the incidant - having to get squashed in the front seat between my grandfather and McLaglen all the way home.

    I think Jim may be being a bit modest here. His grandfather, for some of you who might not be died in the wool boxing fans, was 6'6 1/2" Jess Willard, World Heavyweight Boxing Champ 1915-1919. He lost the title to a much smaller, great deal shorter reach, man you may remember hearing of, Jack Dempsey. The fight still has tinges of wrong doing, and to watch it is painful, as Dempsey usually didn't even let Jess get fully standing before he unmercifully attacked continually again. Looks to me very much like the ref did not do his job very well. But, I am by no means a boxing expert. Just like what the fight looked like to me. It is on YouTube, but be prepared for a brutal assault and what looks like an unfair fight. Hope Jim will share more of his Grandfather's history....you may be surprised. KEITH


    Quote from JamesMace

    Here's a couple of pictures of McLaglen in his boxing years. My grandfather, Jess Willard, boxed him in an exhibition bout in 1911.... Around about the time my dad was dating my mother (1933, 1934), he was asked by my grandmother Willard to drive to a certain place and pick up my grandfather, along with McLaglen, from some bar or other drinking place (?) and take them home. My dad remebered the incidant - having to get squashed in the front seat between my grandfather and McLaglen all the way home.

    God, she reminds me of me! DUKE

    Well, thought I would let Jim tell all about that, but, hopefully he will relate the other movie he was in. I believe Jess began as a cowboy, but not sure. I am trying to track down the two movies for Jim through my film historian friend here in NC. KEITH Jim has pictures and videos that I hope he will share with us also.....what say, Jim? KEITH

    God, she reminds me of me! DUKE

    I'm reluctant to change the subject anywhere here on this site from Duke to my grandfather, as I only mentioned it in the off-the-subject section (can't remember the name right now) to answer the question about other Western movies and actors. But the boxing match with McLaglen was only an "exhibition," a type of match that was almost a spur of the moment. Unplanned. It took place in Missouri, I think - (Geez! I'm forgetting that fact too) - and I guess no newspaper people took a picture of the event -not that I've been able to find, anyway. As for the Dempsey fight, neither I or anybody will ever know for sure if Dempsey cheated. Naturally its hard for me not to be biased on my grandfather's side and legacy, but I've tried to be fair and open. Yet there was just enough suspicion about the 3 rounds that don't rest easily on me.

    Well...boxing was/is/probably always will be a very fertile sport for graft, fixed fights, and extreme exploitation of the main participants.


    There has long been a feeling surrounding this "fight" that Dempsey was (at the least) allowed to take a lot of unusual liberties...


    Boxing was a crooked business, even back then, so...draw your own conclusions.

    Yep, Russ, as I said......don't know which thread it is in now, LOL.....if you watch the fight on Youtube....whole 3 rounds with Jess not coming out in the 4th, you will see the ref allowing Dempsey to hit Jess WAY too early before he even straightens up. Don't know the rules then, but he never even stopped him to check him to see if the fight should go on. The Ref might not have even been there for all he did. KEITH

    God, she reminds me of me! DUKE