(SPORTS BOXING) [JOHNSON JACK] RITCHIE NORMAN In the Sunshi

Sale 2239 - Lot 486

Unsold

Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500

(SPORTS--BOXING.) [JOHNSON, JACK]. RITCHIE, NORMAN. In the Sunshine, In the Glooming. Two panel pen and ink cartoon, depicting the legendary boxer, knocked out by Jess Willard, 11x14 inches, matted. Np, circa 1915

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Jack Johnson (1878-1946) the first African-American world heavyweight champion, was viewed by many whites with outright hatred. Johnson's defeat of James Jeffries, who had come out of retirement in 1910 to "reclaim the heavyweight championship for the white race," caused race riots across the country. Novelist Jack London had called out for a "The Great White Hope," and Johnson seemed to be virtually unbeatable. Another Great White Hope was needed. On April 5, 1915, in front of a huge crowd at the new Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba, after 26 grueling rounds in sweltering heat, Jess Willard knocked Johnson out to win the world heavyweight boxing championship. Johnson, his vanity wounded, later claimed to have intentionally lost the fight, but Willard is widely regarded as having won fairly. Willard said, "If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he'd done it sooner. It was hotter than hell out there." This cartoon appeared in the Boston post in 1915 following the fight.