Details
JOHNSON, JACK (1878-1946). Photograph inscribed and signed ("Jack Johnson"), by Birmingham Smallwares (copyright caption from negative), n.p., n.d. [circa 1910]. 138 x 87 mm. (5 7/16 x 3 7/16 in.) including margins, mounted on heavy card (to size), some wear to corners and edges. A three-quarter-length standing portrait of the pugilist in workout shorts with hands on hips, inscribed on the lower portion of the image: "Yours Truly Jack Johnson."
"On Christmas Day, 1908, in Sydney, Australia, he became the first black boxer to win the heavyweight championship. In racist reaction, some cried for a 'white hope' to retrieve the title, which in fact Johnson held until defeated by Jess Willard in 1915. James Earl Jones played the role of the boxer in the broadway play The Great White Hope"--W.M.
"On Christmas Day, 1908, in Sydney, Australia, he became the first black boxer to win the heavyweight championship. In racist reaction, some cried for a 'white hope' to retrieve the title, which in fact Johnson held until defeated by Jess Willard in 1915. James Earl Jones played the role of the boxer in the broadway play The Great White Hope"--W.M.