Sam Langford

[enrique]

I HAVE SOME NOTES FOR A SCREENPLAY ON LANGFORD BUT THE MOST KNOWLEADGABLE LANGFORD GUY I KNOW IS KEVIN SMITH. HE HAS ENOUGH TO WRITE A SOLID BIO.

[enrique]

IN RESPONSE TO YOUR QUERY, KEVIN IS A COLLECTOR AND HISTORIAN WHO HAS A HUGE FILE ON ALL TIME BLACK FIGHTERS AND HAS AUTHORED A BOOK ON BOXING.

[RowanSmith]

Thanks for the kind words Enrique. Sam, IMO, was one of the best three fighters all time. His record, longevity, quality of opponents, power, stamina, chin were all extr-ordinary. He simply had no peer.

There is a Langford biography being worked on currently.

I also just finished working with the Boston Globe for a feature article they are doing on Sam Langford. His Grandson was a fireman in a town not more than ten miles from my home. Unfortunatley I never got to meet or speak with him. He died in 1985.

Langford's reach was variously reported anywhere from 72 to 79 inches.
There currently exists no definitive, accurate biography of Langford. Most things out there on Langford are more legend than fact--trumped up stories created by his manager and proliferated on by guiys like Fleischer. Langford in his old age got so used to telling the stories himself that I think at some point he even had difficulty seperating the fact from the fiction.

[RowanSmith]

By the way--not to push my own product but, I have actually authored two books that may be of interest to some boxing fans on this site;
Boston's Boxing Heritage, November 2002
and
Black Genesis:The History of the Black prizefighter 1760-1870, August 2003
Both are available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com

Sorry for the shameless plug.

[tonyevs]

Tell me more on the `Boston`s boxing heritage`

Any info is never a shamless plug!!

[barry]

Yeah, Kevin’s knowledge to historical African-American boxers is comparable to Yoda’s knowledge of the “force”. I agree, I think that Langford was one of the top three all-time greatest. Another of my all-time favorites was "Barbados" Joe Walcott. I guess I should start another thread for this question, but I was curious if it was ever absolutely without a doubt Joe Walcott that was hit by a vehicle in Massillon, Ohio? I know there were a couple of different theories and assumptions as to what might have happened to Walcott when he went missing, of which the Massillon accident seems most likely to be the genuine article, but I’ve never came across anything that definitely proves that it was Walcott that was killed in Ohio.

[RowanSmith]

Here is the book description from the back cover
Boston's Boxing Heritage: Prizefighting from 1882-1955 chronicles the rich history of prizefighting in Boston and the many characters that made "The Hub City" the home of champions. It is not only a pictorial history of the sport in Boston, but a tale of heroes and villains, of gangsters and mobsters, contenders and bums, trainers and newspapermen, straight-men and cheats. It is a saga of ethnicity and race, of color barriers broken and neighborhood rivalries settled and re-kindled. But at its core this story is truly about a city and its relationship with a sport. The Prizefighters of Boston covers the early bare-knuckle years of boxing through the sport's Post World War II boom.

When Boston's John L. Sullivan won the Heavyweight crown from Paddy Ryan in 1882 he took prizefighting from an illegal, red light district pastime to the country's most popular sport and in essence put "Beantown" on the sporting map. For the next 60 years Boston would remain one of the elite cities in the boxing world spawning ring immortals such as George "Little Chocolate" Dixon, Joe "The Barbados Demon" Wolcott, William "Honey" Mellody, Rocky Marciano, Jack Sharkey "The Boston Gob" and Sam "The Boston Tar Baby" Langford.

Kevin Smith, a boxing historian, editor and researcher for the Cyber Boxing Zone, member of the International Boxing Research Organization and the Founder of the Historical Society for Black Prizefighters brings us the fascinating story of Boston's Boxing Heritage: Prizefighting from 1882-1955 through hundreds of rare photographs and detailed captions. Whether you are a boxing fan or not, you will find the images of these brave gladiators and their stories hard to forget.

Barry--Thank you also for the kind words. Being compared to Yoda is a new and very gratifying experience
I always thought the story of Walcott's death needed a bit more research. The fellow who supposedly tracked down the story never actually got confirmation that it was indeed Wolcott who was lying in the grave. Only that it was a black man who fit Wolcott's description. Could be true but hardly proof that it was Old Joe.

[robert.snell1]

Thanks for the kind words Enrique. Sam, IMO, was one of the best three fighters all time. His record, longevity, quality of opponents, power, stamina, chin were all extr-ordinary. He simply had no peer.

There is a Langford biography being worked on currently.

I also just finished working with the Boston Globe for a feature article they are doing on Sam Langford. His Grandson was a fireman in a town not more than ten miles from my home. Unfortunatley I never got to meet or speak with him. He died in 1985.

Langford's reach was variously reported anywhere from 72 to 79 inches.
There currently exists no definitive, accurate biography of Langford. Most things out there on Langford are more legend than fact--trumped up stories created by his manager and proliferated on by guiys like Fleischer. Langford in his old age got so used to telling the stories himself that I think at some point he even had difficulty seperating the fact from the fiction.

do you know when the Boston Globe is to print the article. Also how can i read it - ordering a copy to be sent to the UK could be costly.

I am sure that this article will differ from the ones I have read which were not very charitable about his decline in health and lack of money. One article I read with some disgust gave me the distinct impression that the reporter felt he was just another stupid n....er who lost all his money.

i am sure that this will ring a bell with people who have read the newspaper articles of this era.

The famous boxers of the era who drew the "colour line" where not shot down in flames for their opinion but given in some reports a mild rebuke.

For those who have not read the original newspaper articles I can only say they will come as a profound shock as to what was seen as acceptable reporting.

As Sam langford not only had to deal with this when he was boxing, and then in later life, it is quite remarkable that he held no ill feelings or malice.

I am proud to say that my dad did not adopt the "colour line" during his stay in Canada ( 1924-26) , and maybe this was the privileged reserve of those boxers not wishing to fight quality boxers who may upset - due to colour - their "financial backers" and "fans"

[klompton]

Boy Ive come away with a completely different impression of the press' attitude toward Langford during his decline. His story was often in newspapers across the country, many of which participated in or organised benefits for him. Im sure there were some that treated him unfairly but for the most part Ive found that most were deeply saddened by his plight and that he got at least as much coverage if not more than white fighters in a similar state. He deserved whatever charity he got, he was simply one of the all-time greats bar none. It amazes me how some today underrate him. I cant see any way to underrate the man. What he did in his prime is indisputable and what he did past his prime was remarkable.

[elmersalsa]

Hello everybody!!!

I like the article about the all-time great Sam Langford. What a fighter!!!

He fought weterweights, middleweights, lightheavyweights and heavyweights and also fought the best fihgters of his time.

I ranked him without a doubt as one of the 15 greates boxers of all time!!! 8)

[robert.snell1]

i think he was not just a fine boxer but a good man. i have read many news reports about him whilst he was still in his prime and often think how he would cope with the more current fighters.

[Cap]

Sam Langford was without doubt, one of the best p4p fighters of all time. It is truly a disgrace that Jack Johnson was not stripped of his title for refusing to give Sam a shot. Johnson's excuse that the fight "wouldn't draw flies" was 100% baloney as the National Sporting Club in England offered him 6,000 pounds (roughly $39,000 US at the time) to defend against Langford. A huge purse for those days.

From what I've been able to read, Sam stood 5'8" tall, had a reach of 79", and as a heavywt., was best around 180. He lost the sight in one eye from an errant thumb landed by big Fred Fulton (6'4") on June 19, 1917 at Boston. The pain was so bad, Sam had to quit in the 7th round.

I recall hearing a story that in one fight, Sam produced a piece of chalk and roughly drew a figure of a man on the canvas before the opening bell, much to the confusion of his opponent. When the fight started, Sam maneuvered the other guy into place and then knocked him flat right on top of the chalk drawing.

Canada is proud to call Sam Langford one of her own.

Cap

[robert.snell1]

It seems like a few people avoided him over the yrs but the Jack Johnson one is in a class of its own.

As for the story of the chalk I can see that as being true. It would be quite something if that would have been caught on film.

[robert.snell1]

interesting article been posted at CBZ about Sam, well worth a read