Sam McVea
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Name: Sam McVea
Alias: The Oxnard Cyclone
Birth Name: Samuel E. MacVea
Hometown: Oxnard, California, USA
Birthplace: Waelder, Texas, USA
Died: 1921-12-23 (Age:37)
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 179cm
Reach: 191cm
Pro Boxer: Record
Sam McVea (sometimes spelled "McVey") was managed by Billy Roche (1902-03), Spider Kelly (1904), Frank Carillo (1906-07), Frank Bernard (1907) and Billy McClain (1912).
McVea held the World Colored Heavyweight Championship.
McVea fought Sam Langford 15 times, Battling Jim Johnson 7 times, Harry Wills 5 times and Jack Johnson 3 times.
According to the San Francisco Call in a pre-fight report of his third fight with Jack Johnson, A Dr, Tillman tape-measured McVey and stated he was six feet tall with a reach of 77".
McVea took part in a mixed-fighting-style bout against London-based jiu-jitsu master Judoka Tano Matsuda in Paris on December 31, 1908. At the beginning of the fight, McVea charged across the ring, feinted with his left, and ripped a right uppercut to the chin of Matsuda, knocking him out cold. The fight lasted ten seconds.
In his later years, McVea worked as a trainer and sparring partner for both black and white fighters training for important contests.
McVea died of pneumonia at a hospital in New York City. His funeral and grave marker were paid for by three-time opponent Jack Johnson, who called McVea "the toughest man I ever fought."
On his draft card and his passport application he lists his birth date as 24 Feb 1884, although his grave says 17th May 1884.