Home |  PublicationsEncyclopedia |  Willard, Jess

The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture The Oklahoma Historical Society Oklahoma City, Oklahoma January 15, 2010

WILLARD, JESS (1881–1968).

World heavyweight boxing champion from 1915 to 1919, Jess Willard was born on December 29, 1881, and raised in Pottawatomie County, Kansas. He became a pugilist in Oklahoma, and his first eight professional bouts were staged there. Willard gained, and lost, the title in two of the most dramatic and controversial heavyweight fights ever. In April 1915 he knocked out Jack Johnson, the first African American heavyweight champion, in a grueling, twenty-six-round contest in Havana, Cuba, winning acclaim from the mainstream public for restoring the title to the white race. In July 1919 Willard relinquished the championship to Jack Dempsey in the "Massacre at Toledo" when, having absorbed probably the most frightful pummeling ever administered in a heavyweight-title fight, he was unable to leave his corner for the fourth round. At six feet, six inches the tallest heavyweight champion, Willard was nicknamed "the Pottawatomie Giant."

Willard did not enter the ring until he was twenty-nine. First employed as a cattle puncher and horse and mule handler, he had moved to Elk City, Oklahoma, by 1910, and he worked as an overland freighter. On a clothes-buying trip to Oklahoma City late that year, Willard encountered J. D. Brock, who, impressed with his size and strength, encouraged him to consider prizefighting and became his first manager. In 1911 Daily Oklahoman sports editor Charles Brill began publicizing Willard as a "white hope." The "big freighter's" seven consecutive Oklahoma victories started him on the path to contention.

Willard defeated Johnson in the longest heavyweight title bout under Marquis of Queensberry rules. Most ring authorities discount Johnson's claim to have thrown the fight. Willard derived considerable financial benefit from the title by appearing in circuses and Wild West shows, including the Miller Brothers' 101 Ranch Wild West Show, but defended the crown only once before meeting Dempsey. Willard's failure to enlist during World War I displeased many.

He attempted a comeback four years after losing the title but retired when Luis Firpo knocked him out. Well into the 1960s Willard charged that Dempsey's gloves were loaded in their 1919 title fight, but few boxing experts believed it. Jess Willard died on December 15, 1968.

Stephen H. Norwood

Bibliography

Arly Allen, "Jess Willard and Carl Morris: Heavyweight Boxing in Oklahoma," The Chronicles of Oklahoma 83 (Winter 2005–06).

Sam Andre and Nat Fleischer, A Pictorial History of Boxing (New York: Bonanza Books, 1989).

Roger Kahn, A Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring '20s (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999).

New York Times, 16 December 1968.

Randy Roberts, Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes (New York: The Free Press, 1983).


Citation

The following (as per The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition) is the preferred citation for articles:
Stephen H. Norwood, “Willard, Jess,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=WI014.

Published January 15, 2010

Copyright and Terms of Use

No part of this site may be construed as in the public domain.

Copyright to all articles and other content in the online and print versions of The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History is held by the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS). This includes individual articles (copyright to OHS by author assignment) and corporately (as a complete body of work), including web design, graphics, searching functions, and listing/browsing methods. Copyright to all of these materials is protected under United States and International law.

Users agree not to download, copy, modify, sell, lease, rent, reprint, or otherwise distribute these materials, or to link to these materials on another web site, without authorization of the Oklahoma Historical Society. Individual users must determine if their use of the Materials falls under United States copyright law's "Fair Use" guidelines and does not infringe on the proprietary rights of the Oklahoma Historical Society as the legal copyright holder of The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and part or in whole.