Boxing: Champs Corner -- A look at Jack Dempey

People have asked me why I call myself the "champ."

Well, I wasn't a fighter, but I use the moniker in honor of one of the greatest. No, not Ali. But a good guess. I use it to humbly honor one of my heroes. When men were men. The Manassa Mauler, Jack Dempsey.

Jack Dempsey was as recognizable a symbol as the roaring '20s as anything else in that era. The music, women, start of the depression, Al Capone, prohibition and the Champ. This was the Golden Age of Sports, with such stars as Dempsey, Bill Tilden, Babe Ruth and Bobby Jones. It also was referred to as the Golden Age of Sportswriting.

William Harrison (Jack Dempsey) was born in June 24th, 1895. He was the son of Hyrum Dempsey and Mary Celia Smoot. The elder Dempsey was a long fellow at 6'1" and 150 pds. He was a moody character. His father had been a owner of land.

In 1868 he married Mary the daughter of a shopkeeper. Dempsey himself described his "roots" like this. "Irish, Cherokee and a Jewish strain." They made the wagon trip west. This was a rough trip. They settled in Manassa, which was founded by the Mormons in the 1870's. Dempsey the ninth born child was named William Harrison after the ninth president of the United States.

Dempsey recounted a story that seems to have determined his boxing destiny. On a winter evening when Celia was pregnant with Jack when a peddler who was grateful for a hot meal and place to stay, let her choose from a sack. Celia enjoyed reading, so she chose a biography: "The Modern Gladiator, Being an Account of the Exploits and Experiences of the World's Greatest Fighter, John Lawrence Sullivan, Samson of the Prize Ring." This book was a classic about the era of bare-knuckled boxing. It gave examples of John L's knockouts and his win over Jack Kilrain. Kilrain could not come out for the 76th round. The war was over after 2 hours and 16 minutes. Sullivan, who was from Boston, was a classicist who defended those unfortunates.

The story where Sullivan grabbed a man who had refused to pay for a shoeshine is classic. The man after getting his shoes shined, would not pay the little cripple for his services. Sullivan, having noticed the man pushing the boy, grabbed the welcher by the neck saying "here you d_______d whelp, pay the boy. Pay him I say." He made the fellow pay the boy three times the original price. He then dropped the man, who was trembling with fear, like a sack of potatoes. Celia later told Jack "it was fated you to become a boxer. I read and reread that book about John L. so many times while I was waiting for you to be born." Dempsey by his mother's account weighed 11 pds, a future heavyweight.

Dempsey originally wanted to become a cowboy after an incident that happened at a train station. His mother who was traveling could not afford the fare for Jack. The conductor said the boy was too big and that she had to pay more. This was a traumatic time in Jack's life. A cowboy then said, "don't worry, sonny, If it comes down to it, I will pay your fare." A few years later, he decided to become the boxing champion of the world.

From the time Dempsey was seven or eight he was sent out to work. Farm work, hauling coal or a shoeshine boy. Or cutting firewood. Being from a diverse family (father who was a school teacher and mother who read books) Dempsey was brought up in an environment of culture. Due to Jack's constant travel, his early education was haphazard. He loved the outdoors, so to expect a child to sit in a classroom was not being realistic. School took a backyard to earning a dollar. But whether he learned from home or school, he developed into a master storyteller.

His older brother Bernie developed into someone Jack looked up to. He could move and hit hard, but had what sportswriters would call a "glass jaw." Bernie had brown hair and was "the one and only blond and blue-eyed Dempsey." Bernie taught his kid brothers, Johnny and Harry, how to create a punching bag out of rags and sawdust. He also taught them to make gum out of pine sap, and told them to chew and chew. He said that would toughen their jawbones. One must wonder if he followed his own advice.

Damon Runyon had this story. Bernie came home and started to talk boxing, when a cardboard picture of Jack Johnson fell out of his pocket, as he was pulling out a packet of cigarettes. "The three brothers fought for it," Runyon wrote. And Harry, whom was known as Jack, won. Jack wanted to be heavyweight champ, and he was convinced Johnson was the man he had to defeat. Only one problem with this story. This happened when Jack was 11. An 11 year old -- even the great Jack Dempsey winning a brawl with a 30-year old man is ludicrous.

Part II soon to follow. Thanks to Roger Kahn (Flame of Pure Fire)