The Manassa Mauler
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey, nicknamed Kid Blackie, and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927 and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926.
He’s one of the first superstars of modern sports. Dempsey was the icon of the roaring ’20s. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, which included the first million-dollar gate. He fought in what was the first broadcasted World Heavyweight Boxing Championship fight, in which he knocked out Georges Carpentier in the fourth round.
One of the most devastating and ferocious fighters in his or any generation. He changed the sport and was considered the bridge of the old school age of pugilism to the modern, era. He would be the inspiration for fighters that came after him including Mike Tyson, who based his ferocious look and style on Dempsey.
Humble Beginnings...
Born in Manassa, Colorado on June 24, 1895, William Harrison “Jack” Dempsey, who was one of 13 children, grew up in poverty. As a child, he honed his street fighting skills by fighting guys who made fun of him for his high-pitched voice. By the time he was a teenager, fighting was second nature.
Yearning to escape a life of struggle, he left home in his teens and lived as a hobo. As a nomadic traveler from 1911 to 1916, clinging on to the brake beams underneath freight trains. He’d tie his legs and hands to the rods with bandanas so he wouldn’t fall off. Railroad policemen would patrol trains for hobos, and one time they found Jack Dempsey and beat him repeatedly over the head nearly to death.
Dempsey traveled to various mining towns of Colorado and beyond under the name “Kid Blackie.” He challenged the biggest men he could find. Many times these miners took a good look at a long, lanky Dempsey, and figured he was easy money, but more times than not, Dempsey would knock them out.
Jack Dempsey came up in a time when Boxing was much more brutal than it was today. Open weight class bouts were common, but a young Dempsey overcame the seeming mismatched bouts despite the tremendous size and weight discrepancies.
Win lose or draw, Dempsey kept fighting. “When I was young, I got knocked down plenty… I wanted to stay down, but I couldn’t because I had to collect that two dollars for the win. I had one fight where I was knocked down eleven times! But I got up to win. I had to get up, I was hungry. Someday, when you haven’t eaten for two days, you’ll understand.”
The only fight he was ever knocked out in, he hadn’t eaten in four days…
Rising in the Ranks
Turning pro at age 19, Dempsey began climbing the ranks sometimes fighting up to 21 times a year to reign victorious in over 80 professional fights by the meager age of 24. He racked up 26 first-round knockouts.
The Heavyweight champion, Jess Willard was a giant of a man at 6’6 and 245 lbs. He was, by and large, the favorite to beat the challenger, Dempsey. It was a modern adaptation of “David vs Goliath”. It ended up being one of the worst beatings in boxing history. After just 3 rounds, Jack Dempsey was the Heavyweight Champion of the world.
At the height of the roaring ‘20s, Dempsey was a star. Jack and his promotional team commercialized the sport. His bouts were an entertainment extravaganza. 120 thousand spectators came to see Dempsey in arenas that were built just for his bouts.
Dempsey was perhaps best known for his thrilling knockout victories, many of which occurred in just seconds of the fight’s onset.
There was much controversy that surrounded Dempsey throughout his career. He was unfairly stigmatized as a draft-dodging slacker who avoided the first world war.
Despite the debate about him, his fights sold out.
Before Dempsey, many fighters were more defensive-oriented and rarely threw combinations. Dempsey’s style of offensive brutality drew record crowds and changed the game. He was an advancing, bobbing, and weaving maestro of destruction. Every punch was brutal and with malicious intent. He could take down his opponents with either hand, or either punch. People were not used to this form of fighting and the world fell in love with him.
He would be a victim of his own success.
