How tall was James J. Corbett?

[tonyevs]

I have been lucky enough to been given his `The Roar Of The Crowd` and looking through the pictures in there I could not help notice how big he looks.

There are photo`s of him with Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney and Georges Carpentier and even though he is an old man in the pics and the said boxers are in their prime Corbett still looks quite a bit bigger than them all.

In most books it is said that all are basically the same heigth (6`1"), apart from Georges who is a couple of inches shorter.

If any of you have the book just take a look at the difference, I`d guess he is atleast 2" taller..and don`t people shrink with age??

[Jaclem]

..the ring record book lists corbett at 6'1"......but i don't have the faith in those stats i used to have. when you stop to think about it, fighters are weighed in but their height isn't measured, so where does THAT stat come from? the fighter himself? the fighter's manager or a guess from sports writers? i know gerry cooney's height varied a few inches from fight to fight and he was too old to get taller and too young to get shorter. same for lennox lewis. i suppose the best we can do is what 's been posted here....if we get a chance to see them together just try to make some kind of estimate.

[tonyevs]

How do you post pics? I`d scan them for you to see but don`t know how to post them..

If you looked at the pics you would see what I meant, they are stood side by side yet Corbett looks taller

[Jaclem]

...decagon...thanks for the answer..but who did the measuring? (I'll not ask how often "pretty often" is because this is not a hostile reply.)

[tonyevs]

In a 1894 newspaper issue they had a tale of the tape between Peter Jackson and Jim Corbett.

The article had Jackson being 6`1/2" tall....and went on to say he was a full inch SHORTER than Corbett.

I think this shows that the newspapers of the day couldn`t even report the facts of a measuring tape correctly because every other source I have read has Jackson taller than Corbett.

[The Great John L]

I think this shows that the newspapers of the day couldn`t even report the facts of a measuring tape correctly

Unlike our crack media today.

BTW, how many threads have there been about the length of Ali's or Foremans, or Holmes reach? Seems there are even discrepancies with todays measurements, so I guess with all of our progress we still can't report the facts of a measuring tape correctly.

[Jaclem]

..jerry quarry once said he never saw one of those tales of the tape that was accurate.

decagon...thanks...but i have never been shy about asking or doing anything.

[Cap]

Not sure if it relates to this, but I saw a copy of Harry Wills' passport and he was listed as 6' 2", not 6' 4" as I used to see in some magazines.

There's a famous photo of Bob Fitzsimmons and Jim Jeffries standing shoulder to shoulder, and Fitz seems taller despite being listed as about 5' 11" in most histories. Either Fitz was at least 6' 3" or Jeff wasn't anywhere near 6' 2".

Cap

[pound per pound]

Not sure if it relates to this, but I saw a copy of Harry Wills' passport and he was listed as 6' 2", not 6' 4" as I used to see in some magazines.

There's a famous photo of Bob Fitzsimmons and Jim Jeffries standing shoulder to shoulder, and Fitz seems taller despite being listed as about 5' 11" in most histories. Either Fitz was at least 6' 3" or Jeff wasn't anywhere near 6' 2".

Cap

I know a thing or two about photography. When people walk or bend their knees, then lose a few inches in height. If the snap shot is taken at the right moment, one can look far shorter than one is. Angles can make one look shorter or taller. The famous Dana photo you refer to is not a good benchmark for the above reasons that I mentioned

The best way to measure up is with the knees locked and people standing shoulder to shoulder.

Corbett looks about 6'1" to me.

[Rory McCloskey]

yeah 6 1 is aout right..maybe closer to 62?