Topeka Jack Johnson

Name: Topeka Jack Johnson
Birth Name: John Thomas Johnson
Hometown: Topeka, Kansas, USA
Birthplace: Carbondale, Kansas, USA
Died: 1940-01-29 (Age:56)
Height: 183cm
Referee: Record
Pro Boxer: Record

Topeka Jack Johnson worked in the Osage County Mines as a youth and later attended Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas--where he played shortstop on the school's baseball team. He later helped organize a team known as Jackson's Giants that played around the Chicago area. In the winter of 1906 he took up boxing in Chicago and reportedly won two matches with Jim McCormick, John L. Sullivan's sparring partner. Late in January of 1907 he fought Morris Harris twice in Philadelphia, losing the first bout but taking the newspaper decision in the second. In February of 1907 he returned to Topeka, looking for fights while considering returning to play baseball in the summer. In shape, he weighed about 190 pounds. (From an article in the Topeka State Journal, February 1907.)

Later that year (1907), he worked as Jack Johnson's traveling sparring partner while Johnson barn-stormed following his fight with Jim Flynn. He was billed as "Chicago Jack" Johnson.