James Jackson "Jim" Jeffries (April 15, 1875 – March 3, 1953) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

and World Heavyweight Champion. He was known for his enormous strength and stamina. Using a technique taught to him by his trainer, former

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

and

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

Champion

Tommy Ryan Tommy Ryan (born Joseph Youngs; March 31, 1870 – August 3, 1948) was an American World Welterweight and World Middleweight boxing champion who fought from 1887 to 1907. His simultaneously holding records in both weight classes was a rar ...

, Jeffries fought out of a crouch with his left arm extended forward. He was able to absorb tremendous punishment while wearing his opponents down. A natural left-hander, he possessed one-punch knockout power in his left hook, and brawled his way to the top of the rankings. He is perhaps most famous for being United States "Great White Hope", since the nation expected him to come out of his retirement to beat the African-American boxer Jack Johnson, who was at the time the Heavyweight Champion. Jeffries stood tall and weighed in his prime. He could run in just over ten seconds, and could high jump over .

Early life

Jeffries moved with his family from their Ohio farm to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

at age seven. He worked for a while as a

boilermaker A boilermaker is a tradesperson who fabricates steel, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dep ...

before going into boxing. In later life, "The Boilermaker" was one of his professional nicknames.

Career

As a powerfully built and athletic teenager, Jeffries boxed as an amateur until age 20, when he started fighting professionally. In his third fight, Jeffries knocked out the highly regarded boxer Hank Griffin in the fourteenth round. Jack Johnson would subsequently fight Griffin on three separate occasions. Jeffries fought the top heavyweight contender, Gus Ruhlin, to a draw. Ruhlin was knocked down with a brutal punch at the end of the final round and was saved by the bell from being counted out. The decision was met with unfavorable reactions from the audience, many of whom felt Jeffries won. On his way to the title in 1898, Jeffries knocked out

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

, the great boxer whom

John L. Sullivan John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing ...

had refused to fight, in three rounds. This had been only the second defeat in Jackson's entire career; his first loss was from a four-round fight over thirteen years earlier around the beginning of his career. Jackson retired shortly afterward. Jeffries defeated the formidable Mexican Pete Everett by knockout in only the third round on April 22, 1898. His next fight was against the Irishman

Tom Sharkey Thomas "Sailor Tom" Sharkey (November 26, 1873 – April 17, 1953) was a boxer who fought two fights with heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries. Sharkey's recorded ring career spanned from 1893 to 1904. He is credited with having won 40 fig ...

. The fight went the full twenty rounds and Sharkey was knocked down in the eleventh round. Jeffries won the decision. After defeating the big, fast-moving, sharp-jabbing

Bob Armstrong Joseph Melton James (October 3, 1939 – August 27, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Bullet" Bob Armstrong. In the course of his career, which spanned five decades, Armstrong held numerous championship ...

, Jeffries had earned the right to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship. On June 9, 1899 in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

he defeated

Bob Fitzsimmons Robert James Fitzsimmons (26 May 1863 – 22 October 1917) was a British professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett (the man who beat John L. Sullivan) ...

by KO in the eleventh round to win the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

Championship of the World. That August, he embarked on a tour of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, putting on exhibition fights for the fans. Jeffries was involved in several motion pictures recreating portions of his championship fights. Filmed portions of his other bouts and of some of his exhibition matches survive to this day.

World Heavyweight Champion

In his first title defense, he won a twenty-five-round decision in a rematch over Tom Sharkey. Jeffries set the record for the quickest KO in a Heavyweight title fight ever, which was 45 seconds against Jack Finnegan in his second title defense. His next defense was against the former

Champion and legendary technician,

James J. Corbett James John "Jim" Corbett (September 1, 1866 – February 18, 1933) was an American professional boxer and a World Heavyweight Champion, best known as the only man who ever defeated the great John L. Sullivan (hence the " man who beat the man ...

. Corbett had put up a perfect defense and could have arguably won had the fight gone the distance. However, Corbett was knocked out cold from a left to the jaw in the twenty-third round of the scheduled twenty-five round fight. Jeffries later got the chance to avenge his controversial draw with Gus Ruhlin when he defended his title against him on November 15, 1901. Claims that Ruhlin quit during the fifth round are incorrect. All of the local next-day San Francisco sources agree that Ruhlin's manager, Billy Madden, threw in the towel to retire Gus during the one-minute interval between the fifth and sixth rounds. An example of Jeffries' ability to absorb punishment and recover from a severe battering to win a bout came in his rematch for the title with Fitzsimmons, who is regarded as one of the hardest punchers in boxing history. The rematch with Jeffries occurred on July 25, 1902 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. To train for the bout Jeffries' daily training included a run, 2 hours of skipping rope, medicine ball training, 20 minutes sparring on the heavy bag, and at least 12 rounds of sparring in the ring. He also trained in wrestling. For nearly eight rounds Fitzsimmons subjected Jeffries to a vicious battering. Jeffries suffered a broken nose, both his cheeks were cut to the bone, and gashes were opened over both eyes. It appeared that the fight would have to be stopped, as blood freely flowed into Jeffries' eyes. Then in the eighth round, Jeffries lashed out with a terrific right to the stomach, followed by a left hook to the jaw which knocked Fitzsimmons unconscious. Jeffries and Corbett met one last time in the ring on August 14, 1903. This time Jeffries was in total control for all ten rounds of the scheduled twenty round bout. Tommy Ryan, Corbett's chief second, threw a large palm-leaf fan into the ring to alert Referee Graney that he should stop the fight. Jeffries had his seventh and final title defense against Canadian Jack Munroe, whom he stopped in only two rounds. Jeffries broke the ribs of three opponents in title fights:

Jim Corbett Edward James Corbett (25 July 1875 – 19 April 1955) was a British hunter, tracker, naturalist, and author who hunted a number of man-eating tigers and leopards in the Indian subcontinent. He held the rank of colonel in the British Indian ...

, Gus Ruhlin and

. Jeffries retired undefeated in May 1905. He served as a referee for the next few years, including the bout in which

Marvin Hart Marvin Hart (September 16, 1876 – September 17, 1931) was the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion from July 3, 1905, to February 23, 1906. Boxing career Hart, nicknamed "The Louisville Plumber" because of his former trade, gained considerable p ...

defeated

Jack Root John Arthur Root, known professionally as Jack Root (May 26, 1875 – June 10, 1963) was an American boxer. He was the first world light heavyweight champion as well as a challenger for the world heavyweight title. He fought out of Chicago. He wa ...

to stake a claim at Jeffries' vacated title. Jeffries had never been knocked down in his prime. Jeffries had likely fought many more bouts than twenty-two at this time. Many of his fights were lost in history. Jeffries, however, had never been defeated before his original retirement.

Comeback: "The Fight of the Century"

Over five years after retiring, Jeffries made a comeback on July 4, 1910, at

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, in a match against champion Jack Johnson, who had won the

Championship in 1908 by defeating Canadian champion Tommy Burns at

Rushcutters Bay Rushcutters Bay is a harbourside Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 3 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government ar ...

in Australia. Burns was the first heavyweight champion to fight black challengers. The media put pressure onto Jeffries and promoters dangled wealth in front of him to take the fight. In addition to a guaranteed purse of $40,000 (equivalent to approximately $ in dollars), to woo the ex-champ back into the ring, promoter

Tex Rickard George Lewis "Tex" Rickard (January 2, 1870 – January 6, 1929) was an American boxing promoter, founder of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), and builder of the third incarnation of Madison Square Garden in New York City ...

had signed him to a $75,000 personal contract. After a six-year lay-off, the 35-year-old Jeffries was out of shape and had lost most of his muscle. Jeffries weighed over 330 pounds (150 kg), while Johnson was in superb physical condition. The ex-champ had to lose 110 pounds to get down to his fighting weight of 226, a Herculean task in the time he had before the fight. Previous Heavyweight Champion

(an ethnic Irish American who refused to fight African-American contenders) remarked during an interview with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' that Jeffries' personal doctor was so amazed at Johnson's physical condition that he felt Jeffries could win only if Johnson had a lack of skill on the day. While the media instigated racist remarks about winning the title for whites, Jeffries' final words before the fight were, "It is my intention to go right after my opponent and knock him out as soon as possible" His wife also commented, "I'm not interested in prizefighting but I am interested in my husband's welfare, I do hope this will be his last fight." of Jeffries on the morning of the fight depicts a relaxed man playing with his dog. Ringside seats that had been priced at $50 were being scalped at $125 each (equivalent to approximately $ in dollars). More than 1,000 spectators who were unable to get seats in the sold-out arena climbed over the walls to enter. Before the fight, which was scheduled for 45 three-minute rounds, famous boxers who had traveled to Reno to witness the contest were introduced to the crowd, including

Sam Langford Samuel Edgar Langford (March 4, 1886 – January 12, 1956), known as the Boston Tar Baby, Boston Terror and Boston Bonecrusher, was a Black Canadian boxing standout of the early part of the 20th century. Called the "Greatest Fighter Nobody Know ...

, a black boxer who was unable to secure a title fight, even from Jack Johnson. The greatest applause went to

Jake Kilrain John Joseph Killion (February 9, 1859 – December 22, 1937), more commonly known as Jake Kilrain, was a famous American bare-knuckle fighter and glove boxer of the 1880s. Early life Kilrain found employment as a teenager in Somerville, Mas ...

, who had battled John L. Sullivan back in the bare-knuckle days. At three minutes to one P.M., Johnson entered the ring (his contract provided that he would always be first to enter the ring, to satisfy a superstition of his). The thermometer read 110° Fahrenheit, which meant the match would be even more brutal due to heat. Jeffries soon joined Johnson in the ring. Rickard served as referee. (Johnson and Jeffries could not agree on a referee, and Rickard's publicity-minded offers to President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

and writer

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

to serve as referee were declined. Rickard took the position although he had never refereed a prize fight before.) In the first three rounds, the boxers sparred to feel each other out. Johnson, having read that no one could tie Jeffries up on the inside due to his power, told the press that not only would he do so, but that he planned to neutralize Jeffries' power by twisting his arms behind him. Toward the end of the fourth round, he did just that, pinning Jeffries' arms in back of him for a moment, but Jeffries broke the clinch. Johnson landed a solid overhand right to Jeffries' head just before the bell. Johnson began dominating the fight in rounds five through twelve, as his opponent faded in the heat and from Johnson's onslaught. The heat began to get to Johnson, too, by round 13, but he was still the stronger and younger man in the ring. Toward the end of that round, he delivered a right and a right uppercut to Jeffries' head that took their toll. In the next round, Jeffries eluded Johnson, who stalked him all over the ring. In round 15, Johnson went after Jeffries and caught him against the ropes with a right upper-cut, followed by three left uppercuts that sent the ex-champ to the canvas for the first time in his career. He could no longer put up a defense and, as Jeffries got up, Johnson hit him with a left hook that sent him to the canvas and through the ropes, putting his torso outside the ring. Helped to his feet by one of his seconds and a fan, as soon as Jeffries was back in the ring he was rushed by Johnson, who knocked him down again with a right to the head. As Rickard moved in to separate the fighters, Jeffries got up, but his manager had entered the ring to stop the fight and save his fighter from being knocked out. Johnson retained the title by a

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

. Johnson later remarked that he knew the fight was over in the 4th round when he landed an uppercut to Jeffries' face and saw the look in his eyes. "I knew what that look meant," he said. "The old ship was sinking."

commented for ''

'' after the fight that Johnson won deservedly, fairly, and convincingly:

Later years and death

In his later years, Jeffries trained boxers and worked as a fight promoter. He promoted many fights out of a structure known as "Jeffries Barn", which was located on his alfalfa ranch at the southwest corner of Victory Boulevard and Buena Vista, Burbank, California. (His ranch house was on the southeast corner until the early 1960s.) Jeffries Barn is now part of

Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In 2015, it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. It features 40 ...

, a

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

amusement park. Seven years after suffering a stroke, Jeffries died on March 3, 1953, in bed at his home, in the presence of his niece Lillian Bull. Bull had been living with Jeffries as his housekeeper and he had instructed her to call a doctor. Jeffries died before the doctor arrived. The doctor, William M. Nethery, attributed his death to a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

caused by

coronary thrombosis Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart at ...

. His body was interred in the

Inglewood Park Cemetery Inglewood Park Cemetery, 720 East Florence Avenue in Inglewood, California, was founded in 1905. A number of notable people, including entertainment and sports personalities, have been interred or entombed there. History The proposed est ...

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

Legacy

Today, the legacy of Jeffries is widely forgotten. However, he was once considered one of the greatest Heavyweight Champions of all time by many fellow boxers and boxing experts: *

Willie Ritchie Willie Ritchie (born Gerhardt Anthony Steffen, February 13, 1891 – March 24, 1975), was the World lightweight champion from 1912 to 1914. Gerhardt Anthony Steffen was born in San Francisco, California on February 13, 1891. He began his bo ...

and Tommy Burns, former Light Heavyweight, Lightweight and Heavyweight Champions, respectively, rated Jeffries as the greatest heavyweight. *

said of Jeffries, "The thing the always impressed me was the speed the youngster had, and he weighed two-hundred-twenty-five pounds. I hold that Jeffries was the greatest Heavyweight Champion of them all." *

, the great fighter who fought from lightweight to heavyweight, advertised to fight any man in the world, except Jim Jeffries. *

, heavyweight top contender, thought that Jeffries would have beaten

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), 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. ...

and

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...

on the same night. He said Jeffries was strong like a bull and quick on his feet like a cat. Sharkey called Jeffries the greatest fighter of all time. * Jack Johnson, the only man to beat Jeffries, stated in an interview with ''Ring Magazine'' that he thought Jeffries was the greatest. In another interview, Johnson said Jeffries would beat both Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis. However, in turn, Jeffries said after their bout: "I could never have whipped Johnson at my best. I couldn't have hit him. No, I couldn't have reached him in 1,000 years." *Jack Dempsey, the great Heavyweight Champion, once said: "Jim Jeffries was a tough gun. If we could have gotten in the ring together, each at our best... I probably would have had my chin knocked off." * William Brady, who managed both Jim Jeffries and Jim Corbett, remarked about Jeffries: "There was never a man better fitted anatomically, physically, and temperamentally for the role of World's Heavyweight Champion." *

Nat Fleischer Nathaniel Stanley Fleischer (November 3, 1887 – June 25, 1972) was a noted American boxing writer and collector. Career Fleischer was born in New York City. After he graduated from City College of New York in 1908, Fleischer worked for the '' ...

, founder of ''Ring Magazine'' and The Ring Record book, described Jeffries: "One of the most formidable fighting machines the prize ring ever produced." *Dan Morgan, fight manager for forty years, who saw them all, rated Jeffries as the all-time best. Morgan called Jeffries a "Champion of Champions". *

, famed sportsman and promoter, held the view: "Big Jim will always live in my memory as the greatest heavyweight boxer of his time. While he reigned supreme, he gave all a chance. He did not know the meaning of the word fear." *W. W. Naughton, sportswriter of the day, records: "To sum up his qualities of ringsmanship, it may be said he is fairly talented in every branch of self-defense. He boxes cleverly, defends himself well, and strikes a hard blow. But back of all these are the qualities which have made him a champion, magnificent strength and wonderful endurance." *Dewitt Van Court, boxing instructor and athletic director of the

Athletic Club wrote: "I was with James J. Jeffries when he first started to box. I was with him when he won the Championship. I was with him when he lost it. Besides being the greatest Heavyweight Champion that ever lived, he is today and has been all his life, a man among men, a true friend with a heart as big as his body." The city of Burbank embedded a small bronze plaque in the sidewalk at the site where James Jeffries died. The plaque was located on the southeast side of Buena Vista ~150 yards south of Victory Boulevard, before being stored at Burbank City Hall, and now is located at the Gordon R. Howard Museum. Jeffries Avenue that runs parallel between Burbank and Victory Blvds in the city is named after him. James J. Jeffries was elected to the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

in 1990.

Professional boxing record

Selected filmography

*''

Kid Speed ''Kid Speed'' also known as ''The Four Wheeled Terror'' is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by Larry Semon and featuring Oliver Hardy. Plot A group of young men are tuning up their race cars and sportsters in a small garage. Danger ...

'' (1924) *''

One Round Hogan ''One-Round Hogan'' is a lost 1927 American boxing-drama film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by Howard Bretherton. It starred Monte Blue and Leila Hyams. Blue also appears in the 1925 prequel called '' Hogan's Alley'', w ...

'' (1927) *''

Beau Broadway ''Beau Broadway'' is a lost 1928 American drama silent film directed by Malcolm St. Clair and written by F. Hugh Herbert, George O'Hara and Ralph Spence. The film stars Lew Cody, Aileen Pringle, Sue Carol, Hugh Trevor and Heinie Conklin. The ...

'' (1928) *'' Rain or Shine'' (1930) *''

The Fighting Gentleman ''The Fighting Gentleman'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code sports drama film directed by Fred C. Newmeyer with William Collier, Jr. and Josephine Dunn in the leads.Pictorial History of the Talkies, p. 60 c.1958 by Daniel Blum (19 ...

'' (1932) * '' Midnight Patrol'' (1932)

References

External links

James J. Jeffries - CBZ Profile
* *
Brieg article on James J. Jeffries as a Laurel & Hardy player
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffries, James J. 1875 births 1953 deaths Boxers from California American boilermakers Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery Heavyweight boxers Sportspeople from Burbank, California World heavyweight boxing champions World boxing champions International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees American male boxers People from Fairfield County, Ohio Deaths from coronary thrombosis