Part 20

But the “Old Master” of them all, who even today is conceded to have been one of if not the cleanest hitting, quickest moving, gamest staying and most scientific boxers, Colored or white, big or little, who ever one-stepped, two-stepped, waltzed and Virginia-reeled into and around a roped-circle, was the ring’s national favorite, Joe Cans of Baltimore, Md. This great little fighter, who was as much a pet of the white sporting faction as of the Colored element, took the Lightweight championship away from Frank Erne in 1892 and kept it for six years. During that time he defeated all the best men in his field and jumped over the fence into the Welterweight pastures where he gored and tossed into the air several human beings and caused many to climb up on the fence in order to keep out of his way, until they saw that his constant mad rushes had weakened his stamina and tore down his system. It was during the zenith of his fighting career that whenever Gans started from home to engage in a fight his mother would laughingly say, “Bring home the bacon, Joe.” The boy fully understood and appreciated his mother’s encouraging joke and never returned home, when in his prime, without bringing along the winner’s roll of money. Joe Gans was as game as any game rooster that ever threw defiant crows from a barnyard gate and when he was in great need of money, to get a fight he would make such vitality sapping and strength weakening weights that people wondered how he was able to stand up much less jump around and fight. And to the very last, poor, broken-bodied, but not broken spirited, Joe Gans put up one of the gamest losing battles ever fought against that greatest champion--of all times among all peoples--Death.

“Panama Joe Gans” a Colored fighter of today has added laurels to the name he has adopted by becoming Middleweight Champion. Like his late namesake he is willing at all times to give the best of them in and out of his class chances to win his title. Just because he is a champion he does not draw the “color line” against any white fighter but fights as often as four and five times a month with his championship at stake every time.

Other Colored fighters who were among the best in their times and who no doubt would have won championships in and out of their classes, had the “color lines” not been drawn around them, are; Bob Armstrong, Jack Blackburn, Bobbie Dobbs, Sam Hopkins, Young Peter Jackson, Joe Jeanette, Sam Langford, Sam McVey and Fred Morris.

Some of the present day Colored fighters who are most frequently heard about are Jeff Clark, Leo Johnson, Jamaica Kid, Kid Norfolk, Benny Ponteau, Bill Tate, Jack Thompson, Jack White and Harry Wills, challenger and dreaded foe of Dempsey.

From 1908 to 1914 the world heavyweight champion fighter was Jack Johnson, the only Colored man who ever wore that crown of ring glory and belt of fighting fame. Unlike any of the white heavyweight champions, Johnson won the title twice: first from Tommy Burns in 1908 and secondly on that memorial Fourth of July 1910, from Jim Jefferies, who along with the American public disputed Jack’s right to the title. After his complete whipping of Jefferies, the Colored fighter, proved to the entire world that he was not only the rightful holder of the title but that he was also one of the best champions the ring had ever seen. Because of his having the pantherlike movements and quickness of a Peter Jackson, the straight-arm punch of a John L. Sullivan, the scientific hit-and-get-away style of a James J. Corbett, the ring generalship and craftiness of a “Bob” Fitzsimmons and the gameness and stamina of a “Jim” Jefferies, plus his own level-headedness and cheerful fighting disposition, the best fight critics in America and Europe considered “Jack” Johnson when in his prime, as being the best all-round and equally balanced heavyweight fighter who ever crawled through the ropes to battle in a prize ring.

Regarding the Johnson-Willard fight in Havana, Cuba, at which time the heavyweight title passed from Johnson to Willard the writer quotes here an extract that is taken from the article, “Jack Johnson Tells The Truth” that was written by Juli Jones, Jr. in the August 6, 1921 issue of The Chicago Defender.

“The sporting editor of the New York Sun printed an article which stated that Jack Johnson said the Willard fight was on the level; that he did not lay down to Willard in Havana, Cuba. This statement coming from Johnson, printed in one of America’s first-class dailies, is the first good step that Johnson has taken to win the favor of the real sporting public. The present public will not stand for a crook or a bad loser. It killed Fred Fulton, a very likable man.

“Johnson in part made it quite plain when he stated if he was going to lay down to Willard he would have done so in the seventh or ninth round, and not wait until the twenty-sixth to flop. He also stated he had always fought square and that was the reason he got to the top. Johnson gives a good reason for his failure to whip Willard, a very good reason. First, he had underestimated Willard, hadn’t proper training, ran around on the ocean looking for a battle ground. These had their effects on the fight.”

Throughout his marvelous fighting career, Johnson was climbing to success under most unfavorable conditions. White fighters in winning championships have only to fight against and beat down the opponent in the ring before them. But before he even got a chance to fight for the titled belt, “Jack” had always to mentally fight race prejudice on the outside of the ring at the same time he was physically beating down his white opponent in the ring. It would be hard to find proper words to describe the great fistic career Johnson would have made for himself if he had received the same kind of unprejudiced encouragements and boostings all white champions receive. And if up to this date nearly one hundred million of white Americans consider it wonderful to have produced out of that number seven white heavyweight champion fighters--Sullivan, Corbett, Fitzsimmons, Jefferies, Burns, Willard, and Dempsey; or in other words a champion for ever fourteen million of their population: then it must be most wonderful that less than thirteen million of Colored Americans, under most unfair and persecuting conditions, have produced one heavyweight champion fighter of the world--John Arthur (“Jack”) Johnson.

For the benefit of those people who, on account of their jealousy and envy of Johnson’s fighting ability, try to defame and lower his character to the lowest, the writer would suggest the reading of the logic article--“Jack Johnson, Self-Made Man” that was written in the May 15, 1920 issue of the Chicago Defender by the able sport scribe, Juli Jones, Jr. The following is an extract from that article:

“Both races got Jack wrong. His aim in life was not to be a doctor, preacher, lawyer or Race Leader. He set out to be the best man with his fists, which he did beyond all question of doubt. We cannot find one case where Jack ruined any young girl’s future or broke up any man’s happy home; neither was he mixed up in any barroom fights. Never was he found in the gutter drunk or making a disgraceful fellow of himself, throwing away his money. On the other hand, since Jack has been self-exiled from his country, press reports from England, France, Spain and Mexico tell us that he has conducted himself in the most gentlemanly way and is welcome back in their countries at any time. How many, men who have been born under any flag could have stood what Jack has stood for the past six or eight years and still be in the limelight, handing the world a golden smile, saying, “Good will to all men.”

Now, not for one moment is the writer, in dealing with this subject, attempting to shield or cover-up any short-comings that may have occured in the private life of Jack Johnson. But, if after reading the above quotation there still be those people who continue to sneer at and belittle the upward struggles and crowning success of this professional fighter, the writer would kindly suggest that each one of such people ask himself or herself the following question:

Have I (with all my good birth, pleasant and elevating home life, early encouragements, full privileges, unnumbered opportunities, unchecked enthusiasms, unshaken determinations, wide preparations, various abilities, friendly boostings and perfect living) ever stood for one whole day upon the top round of world recognized success in my chosen life work; as “Jack” Johnson stood for six years on the top round of world recognized success in his self-selected life calling?

ROWING

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

To get rid of that “Bay Window,” Just hurry up and learn to row; And if your back is getting weak Pull on the oars once every week. --_Harrison._

Thus far have Colored athletes pushed onward. But the following are a few mentioned fields of athletics in which Colored youths have not become very active or efficient mainly because of the lack of certain facilities and sufficient appliances and accommodations for proper and seasonable trainings.

Rowing crews have not been developed in any of the Colored universities, colleges and schools to any outside recognized extent. This fact is quite explainable and excusable when it is taken into consideration that few of these institutions are located near natural and adequate bodies of water for such purposes. Bordentown School, Bordentown, N.J. and Hampton Institute, Hampton, Va., are perhaps the two most favorable exceptions in this case. Both of these schools have peaceful streams of gurgling waters that flow so near as to softly caress the oft kissed lips of their water-edged lawns.

Calmly setting upon the banks of the Hampton River, an arm of the Merrimac-Monitor famed-Hampton Roades, Hampton Institute has running before its very doors a half mile of nearly straight and unusually smooth body of water that is wide enough to float at least three crews abreast. Peacefully nestling on a high projecting hill, Bordentown School can look miles either way upon the historical Delaware as it gently flows below making a wide, graceful bend from upward Trenton to downward Camden.

There are already hopeful signs appearing which show that both of these institutions in the near future will take full advantages of their natural and wonderful water facilities by developing rowing crews that some day will be second to none in the country. By the time this stage of their rowing development has been reached, it is hoped that the racial, and sportsmanship feelings between white and Colored colleges will have become so brotherly and peacefully allied, that, the rowing crews of Annapolis will be friendly competing against Hampton oarsmen, and the shellmen of Princeton will be friendly churning the Delaware waters against the crews of the Bordentown School. And when such times do come about, the writer feels sure that the oarsmen of Hampton and Bordentown will guarantee to keep enough water between themselves (either at the bow or stern) and the shells of Annapolis and Princeton to wash away and keep down any waves of “color line” that might suddenly arise to dampen the sportsmanship and one-hundred percent Americanism atmosphere of the occasions.

SWIMMING

DIVING-TREADING-FLOATING.

I worship this my hobby’s call, And all youths ought to learn it all In water that is deep and wet Where confidence they can beget So as to rescue one’s own life And other folks in drowning strife --_Harrison._

General swimming as a recreation and pastime by the Colored people in the United States has in the past been sadly neglected for some excusable and some unexcusable reasons. The chief excusable reasons have been that with few exceptions they have not had access to the places where they could indulge in this sport and that they did not have the money with which to promote and construct such places for themselves. The main, unexcusable reason has been that they, with but few exceptions, were too timid and scared of drowning to enter water deep enough and stay there long enough to learn how to swim.

For instance, the writer several years ago made personal investigations among many Colored fishermen, oystermen and crabmen who live along the shores of and spend the biggest part of their lives on the Chesapeake Bay in little boats that every year are numerously overturned by sudden squalls and storms. And to his great and painful surprise he learned from those men themselves that the majority of them could not swim a stroke, while among those who had learned to swim, but few had confidence enough in themselves to believe they could even swim a half or one mile. And yet those men daily risked their lives and ventured out upon that deep and uncertain body of water without attempting to revive and develop that valuable and necessary instinct that is born in every human being and every dumb animal. As the result of such thoughtless neglect of their own personal welfare, many of those cheerful, honest, frugal, hard-working, plain-living and law-abiding people are drowned each year because of their not knowing how to swim.

But today, through the cities’ public recreation ponds being opened to Colored youths, the increased erections of Y. M. C. A.’s and Y. W. C. A.’s of the Colored branches with modernly inclosed pools, Colored universities, colleges and large schools gradually constructing gymnasiums containing up-to-date natatoriums, and business men of the Race buying and improving seashore hotel resorts with beach bathing privileges such as Dale’s at Cape May, N. J., Bay Shore near Old Point Comfort, Va., Fitzgerald and Ovington Hotels and Walls’ beach at Atlantic City, N. J., and Idlewild, Ill., a new interest in learning the art of swimming is being increasingly aroused among Colored people throughout America. When fine swimming centers such as the Chicago Wabash Avenue Y. M. C. A. puts before its Race boys the placards and advertisements--“One Thousand Boys Wanted To Learn How To Swim”, it shows that Colored swimming instructors are using every persuasive means to get their youths interested and skilled in this most useful and refreshing pastime. These teachers fully realize that when their art is rightly learned and properly performed it not only brings into exercise practically every muscle of the body but also enables its possessor when necessary to save his own as well as the lives of others. Thus, with these encouragements, interests, facilities, privileges and proper instructions rapidly increasing; it is not “building castles in the air” to prophesy that within a reasonable length of time the Negro race in America will produce a Colored Norman Ross and a Colored Ethelda Bliebtry as champion swimmers.

SKATING.

DUTCH ROLL FIGURE EIGHT-GRAPE-VINE TWIST

Great are my joys on skating night, When moonshine* flows in streams so light, While some strong lassie keeps my stride As o’er smooth ice we fancy glide. (*I mean the moonshine from the sky And not from raisins, corn nor rye.) --_Harrison._

When in future winters young men and women of the Race are justly admitted to the ice-skating rinks; they sensibly decide to spend less of their time in hot-stuffy parlors, etc., and with ice skates stay out more in the free, fresh, health renewing air upon the parks’ frozen lakes and streams: they will certainly find among themselves a talented skater who may later build up to a white Chas. Jewtraw, short distant; a Mrs. F. F. MacMillian, fancy; or a J. F. Donohue, long distant, ice skating champions.

TENNIS

IT’S ALL IN THE GAME

This is a pastime full of fun And makes the players jump and run; But when the ladies “serve” “love all”, Some fellows’ hearts begin to crawl. --_Harrison._

As they are constantly laying out and regularly using new private and club tennis courts all over the country, the Race will in due time mould one of its Tally R. Holmes into a Wm. T. Tilden or Jay Gould championship quality; just as it will some day take one of its Miss Slowes or Miss Channels and bloom her into a Mrs. Molla Bjurstedt Mallory top-rung record holder.

GOLFING

“TEE-OFF” AND “FORE”

While it is called rich people’s game Poor folks should learn it just the same; And tramp the meadows and the hill To let fresh air their lungs to fill: But if too poor to hire a caddy Then use instead your sweetheart’s Daddy. --_Harrison._

When the Colored people become enough interested in golf to take advantage of the privileges that are today granted to them on several public links, and which privileges will increase as time goes on; they will then begin to forward one of their Jim Barnes or Robert Balls into a champion Jock Hutchinson, just as they will some day discover and begin to develop a Colored woman into a championess Aleca Stirling.

An Athletic Dawn of To-morrow

Today fresh air is free: but how long will it be? (We better snuff it while it’s pure Before the airplanes leave no more.) needed] Young folks should stay more in pure airs And outdoor sports seek for health cares; And lessen more house party ’fairs Held in hot rooms stuffed with stale airs. --_Harrison._

The writer recently received from Mr. Chas. H. Williams, Head of the Physical Culture Department of Hampton Institute, a graduate of that institution as well as Harvard University and one of the most successful Colored athletic directors in the country, official letters and architectural drawings relative to a campaign having already been launched by Hampton Institute to raise funds for the construction of a thirty thousand dollar modernly equipped athletic field. When this pioneer movement for Negro field sports is completed and opened for general inspection and national track meets; it will then, as the Mecca in America for Colored field sports, most certainly arouse unbounded interests, inspirations and determinations in the minds of visitors from other Colored schools that do not possess such advantages. And as those visitors turn homeward bound their enthusiasms are going to be elevated to such high and lasting hopes and longings that they will dreamingly hear, until materially heeded, conscience voices from the clouds above that will softly and encouragingly whisper; “Go thou likewise and do the same.” Thus a real athletic dawn will eventually light up and spread over many Negro schools in such ways as to enable them in due time to turn out athletes who will surprise the world by making unheard-of and unbelievable new track records. For instance, as Edward O. Gourdin, the Colored and greatest track athlete Harvard University has ever had, did July 23, 1921 at the Harvard Stadium when, in competing against Great Britain’s best athletes, he made a new running broad jump world record by leaping 25 feet 3 inches. In making that wonderful jump he beat Peter O’Connor’s then world record of 24 feet 11¾ inches that track athletes all over the world for the past 20 years had repeatedly tried but always failed to beat until Gourdin, a Negro, came along and did the trick by over a clear margin of 3 inches.

After reading the foregoing pages of Negro success in athletics, Colored youths have every right to become inspired to redouble their efforts in trying to win even more first places along these lines. But if a Colored athlete should at any time just before entering a severe, critical and history making contest suddenly become discouraged and heavy-hearted, because of his race and color; he should remember that:--

The swiftest and most valuable piece of horse-flesh in the world (Man-O-War) is not white, but is a light-red bay, and from the firm tread of his feet, prancing swing of his legs, proud carriage of his body, beautiful arch of his neck, graceful poise of his head, and fearless look in his eyes, shows he is neither ashamed of his horsehood nor his well-colored natural coat. So this three-year-old colt did not fret and worry about his brunette complexion nor the odds in years against him as he nearly divorced his body from his shadow in winning the Canadian race that gave him the title, “King of the turf”, seventy-five thousand dollars in money, and a five thousand dollar gold cup that otherwise would have gone to the four-year-old British colt, Sir Barton.

ON THE STAGE

CHARLES L. GILPIN

The sun first drowned the night from day, As it came from depths to light the way; And Charles S. Gilpin did first bob up To damp race feelings in banquet’s cup.

To-day on Thespian mount he stands One black with nine white in these lands; And his Broadway light has lit the ways For more of his Race in serious plays. --_Harrison._

BERT WILLIAMS

Second to none as a natural-born actor, Bert Williams to-day is a leading factor, When on the stage in humorous moods Feeding Broadway with amusement foods. --_Harrison._

Reinold Wolf, (white) one of the leading stage critics of today, wrote of Bert Williams as being “The greatest comedian on the American Stage.” Years back this noted actor was a partner in the famous “Abyssinia” Williams & Walker Company. For several years he has been a star actor in The Zeigfield Follies, a leading white high-class Vaudeville Company. The instant that Williams appears before the footlights, whether he moves, stands still or doesn’t do either, he captures his audience, and when with a word-speaking look, a suggestive motion and a life-pictured song he is always able to bring down a most dignified house in uproarious laughter; it is no wonder that he has been titled the Harry Lauder of the Negro race. For years the Columbia Phonograph Co., has been reproducing Mr. Williams’ songs on their records that are in great demand, especially his ever-popular songhit “Parson Eatmore”.

Aida Overton Walker, at the time of her death, was mentioned by some of the New York papers as having been the Lillian Russell of the Negro race. Appearing first as a chorus dancer in “Isham’s Octoroons” she through untiring and ceaseless work improved her acting until she reached her highest dancing feature in the interpretation of “Salome”, which acting was said to have been of a Mary Garden standard. In their primes and times, Aida and her talented husband, George Walker were the dancing Castles of that period, and no couple, Colored or white, before or since, have been able to excel them in their world-famed “Cake Walks” that they executed by invitation before most of the kings and queens in Europe. Her singing of “Why Adam Sinned”, “It’s Hard to Love Somebody When Somebody Don’t Love You”, and “If You Ain’t Got No Money, Well, You Needn’t Come Around”, had not been equaled by any singer in that line until our present and famous Mamie Smith first daintly tripped forth and with those hypnotizing smiles of hers caused the audience to quiver and tremble from the crown of its head to the sole of its feet while listening to her life-action singings of “That Thing Called Love”, “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down” and “It’s Right Here For You.”