Jack Blackburn is best known for being the longtime trainer of the great Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis. However he was an outstanding fighter in his own right whom as a Lightweight fought many great fighters such as Sam Langford and Harry Greb whilst often giving away a lot of natural weight. He also claims to have had near 400 fights in his career many more than is listed on his record.
Where do you rate Blackburn against other Lightweights? Do any of his fights appear on film?
Any stories, opinions or information would be great fight fans.
I read this book- it was a collection of bios on the HW champs and it went as far as Liston, so it wasn't new, and it had many old reports and talked to lots of obscure figures that were still alive then (so of course I lent it out...)- and in the section on Louis it talked about Blackburns fighting career. They said in essence that he was a skillful and smart fighter who, unfortunately, was also a mean drunk very handy with a razor. That cut into his career- doing time and all- but I have never seen anything that went into depth on his career, as far as style and opponents etc...
The following info is taken from the book "They Could've Been Contenders" by Jim McNeil, released in 2001.
Jack Blackburn was born on 20 May 1883 in Versailles, Kentucky. His father was a preacher. At age 10 his family moved to Indianapolis, and from there, to Terre Haute, Indiana. Blackburn started boxing here in 1889.
Some time after this, possibly because his father did not approve of his son's chosen line of earnings, Blackburn left home. After s stay in Pittsburgh, Blackburn would then move on to Philadelphia. In Philly, Jack would fight as often as 2-3 times per week.
Nat Fleicher credits Blackburn with 167 fights, Blackburn himself estimates more than twice this number. I don't know to which extent Blackburn's career has been researched, but newspaper clippings in the aforementioned cities should certainly be looked into.
Blackburn fought the great Sam Langford on at least six occasions, the results of those fights being four draws and two no decisions. On one occasion, Blackburn is said to have fought six opponents on the same night, KO'ing three of them. These kind of nights is where Fleicher and Blackburn's opinion of how many fights he (Blackburn) had differs. Certainly he must have engaged in so called boothfights and exhibitions, not real fights that credit his ring record.
Although 5'10" tall, Blackburn never came in heavier than a welterweight. However, he would fight any man from lightweight and upwards. In 1908 he fought a six round ND match against reigning 175 lbs champion, Philadelphia Jack O'Brien.
Interestingly, Blackburn admitted to fighting with plaster of Paris on his hands when thought it necessary.
1908 was also the year in which Blackburn handled the soon-to-be heavyweight champ, Jack Johnson, in sparring in Philadelphia. Reportedly, Blackburn bloodied Johnson's nose, and when Johnson tried to straighten him out for it, Blackburn's evasive footwork kept him out of trouble, leaving the heavier Johnson looking clumsy and embarrassed. Johnson forever detested Blackbrun for this and used each and every opportunity to bad mouth Blackburn in the press after that.
Some notable names Blackburn shared the ring with during his career include Jimmy Garder whom Blackburn beat on points in 12 rounds. Gardner went on to become a welterweight champion. Another future champion at middleweight, Mike "Twin" Sullivan was held to a draw, and the great Harry Greb was engaged in a six round ND.
Blackburn also fought Joe Gans three times. Their first bout was a six round ND bout in 1903. The next year, they met in a 15 round non-title bout in Baltimore which Gans won. Gans is reported to have said that Blackburn was the only lightweight to whom he would not risk his title. Thier bout no. 3, fought in 1906, was the same reult as their first meeting.
Unless the scandal following Jack Johnson's title victory overTommy Burns in 1908 would have put a stop to it, Blackburn would have been a logical challenger for Battling Nelson's lightweight championship in 1909. But, more because of himself that Jack Johnson, it was never to happen.
In January of 1909, Blackburn arrested and convicted of manslaugther, a verdict that probably cost him his prime.
The story is that Blackburn, an alcoholic by today's definitions, was fout or a night out with his wife, Maude Pillon, and another couple, Alonso Polk and his wife. Worse for drink, Blackburn got into a row with his friends, produced a gun with which he shot Polk dead and injured the two women. For his crime, Blackburn receieved a rather mild senntence of only five years. He was released in 1913.
Though known to be a violent man, Blackburn also had good connections within the boxing establishment. Friends and fellow fighters, Jack Johnson excluded, organized a bankroll for his return to the ring. At that time, however, Johnson had guaranteed that any colored fighter was a long shot to get a title shot. A colored fighter with a manslaughter charge was even less likely to get one. For Blackburn, he had no choice or option other than to continue fighting other contenders and journeymen, never the champion.
Blackburn fought on until 1923, then retiring at age 40 after dropping a decision to Roy Pelkey. From this stage on, Blackburn made his living as a boxing trainer. Still an alcoholic though, and supposedly rerally nasty when under influence, Blackburn lost several of his proteges after they refused to have him handle them because of his drinking habits. Legendary trainer, Eddie Futch, knew Blackburn and described his like this: "He was a mean person, as mean as he looked. A lot of people were afraid of him. At the same time, he was a nice man, but when he was drinking he was hell."
Fighters who saw success with Blackburn in their corner were Sammy Mandell, who became lightweight champion, Bud Taylor who was a name at bantamweight, and of course, the great Joe Louis.
Another fighter whom Blackburn trained early in his career was one Arnold Cream, later to be known as Jersey Joe Walcott. Walcott, though, was sidelined when Blackburn received the generous offer to train Louis in Chicago.
By now Blackburn was suffering from the effects long time alcohol abuse and arthritis. Still, he would have bad periods when he went on drink binges. In 1935 Blackburn and two other men were charged with the murder of a man named Enoch Hauser. Later, he was also indicted for perjury in addition to the manslaughter charge. For some reason, the prosecutionn never went a head with the trail.
By March 1942 Blackburn's health had deterioated so much that he was not able to attend Louis' corner for the Abe Simon fight. One month later Blackburn died at age 59. An attendance of around 10 000 people attended his funeral. Joe Louis' daughter, Jacqueline is named after him.
Sorry I couldn't find out more about Blackburn's actual career. There's no question he was a very good fighter, who probably lost some of his best years due to the prision stint between 1909-1913. Who knows what the history books would have said of him had he fought in an era with less racial tension.
tonyevs wrote:It has always surprised me that more hasn`t been written about Blackburn, his life and the Louis connection alone would fill a book or three.
I agree, a well written book on this subject would be very interesting.
tonyevs wrote:Didn`t Blackburn kill the man with a knife not a gun??
How the movie directors have missed out on characters like these to make their films is just something
Jack Blackburn, Yankee Sullivan and Tiger Jack Fox had blockbuster stories to tell.
Its just so sad they are the forgotten names from boxing history.
A gun is what my info says, but I've heard he injured other people with a knife.
Don't know why no film is made about him, maybe because ther's no good guy in it.
Other fighters which I think would make good filmmaterial are Matthew Saad Muhammad and Al "Bummy" Davis.
Dec---You need to lay off whatever it is that is turning your brain to mush! Unlike you, I actually do research instead of complaining that I don't know how to look for it. Looking at a fighters record and talking about how there is no film of a fighter will never teach you anything, but then again...those who do not have the intelligence to learn from reading focus entirely on film and guessing...you know...something you are a master at!!! Hit us with some more classis...like...Ketchel the 160 pound John Ruiz...or tell us about how Winky Wright would absolutely destroy Fitzsimmons in a few rounds. That's what you are good at...outrageous comments.
Leave the actual research to me, you don't have what it takes and anyone trying to enlighten you are just wasting they're valuable time as you do not have the brain capacity to learn about boxing unless you can see it. I don't know, maybe someone could breakdown historical boxing which has no film down to your level and put together stop-clay-animation of past bouts that were never filmed...at least then you might actually learn a fact, or two about the fights and fighters instead of always having to assume...but I doubt it!!!
>>>I hear that Fightbeat has plenty of posters on your level, who give no reasons for their opinions.<<<
I pretty much knew that you would know about those types of sites, but as I have told you before...I was here a long time before you ever were and I'll be here a long time after your gone and I will always know more about boxing history than you will...there's just some things in life that you cannot change, so you just need to get over the fact and learn to live with it!
