The Almost Champions; Hall of Fame Fighters Who Never Won a Title

by B. R. Bearden

20.09 - The Boxing Hall of Fame is the Valhalla of the Sport Boxing. Enshrined there are the Great Ones, the Champions who etched their names in granite with the fire of their deeds. The relics of legends are on display; a glove worn by Dempsey, a robe with Joe Louis across the back, yellowed newspaper accounts of battles fought in crude rings under blazing suns before the First World War would usher in the age of unrestricted warfare.

There are not only fighters, but trainers and promoters, newspapermen and historians, the men who built the sport through word and deed outside the ring. Of the fighters, most are champions, holders of belts or titles, but there are some who never held a single title, who never defeated a champion in a bout where the championship was on the line. These men are in the Hall not based on titles they held, but on the other great fighters they met, and sometimes, because they might have been champion if they'd not be shut out of the picture.

Some were black fighters in an era when white fighters could draw a color line and refuse to fight them, others were just too good, so that champions of the time avoided them. And some had opportunities but simply failed when the chance came around.

It is hard, now, to sift through the old records and discover the true reason certain fighters never made it to the very top. To often it's easier to fall back on vagaries such as "color line" or "feared by the champion" to explain why a man didn't get his chance. Sometimes the simple cliches are correct, other times, factors were at work in the background which are now lost to the ages. When we watch the complex negotiations involved now, such as what it took to put together the Lewis-Tyson fight, we should consider such things also happened 100 years ago even though we can no longer dig out the details.

As hard as it was to find a venue for Lewis-Tyson, it wasn't the standard for our time. But, there was a time when every major fight had to overcome such geographical challenges. One region banned boxing altogether, while another allowed only knockouts or else declared all fights "No Decision". A black fighter might find it hard to get a bout with a white champion while a white champion such as Jack Dempsey found it hard to fight in certain areas because he didn't serve in the military during World War I. Being Jewish could be a problem in an era when being anti-Semitic was considered reasonable, so early Jewish fighters changed their names and denied their religion in order to fight. The same was done by immigrants, depending on their country of origin. And there were always the corrupt politicians and boxing commissioners who expected something slipped under the table to sanction a bout within their sphere of influence. Many of Dempsey's fights
came about only after promoter Tex Rickard spread money around to the right people. With all those usual suspects lined up, here's a look at some men who made the Hall of Fame without a championship to call their own.

Sam Langford
Called the Boston Tar Baby in an age when the overt racism of such terms was accepted, Langford fought the best black fighters of his time. He launched his career with a single fight in 1902. At only 5'9", Sam would fight opponents from lightweight to heavyweight with little regard for their size or skill. In only his first full year as a pro, 1903, Langford defeated lightweight champion and All-Time great Joe Gans (Gans's title was not on the line). The next year he fought the original Joe Walcott to a draw. In 1906 he defeated Joe Jeanette, then 3 weeks later lost a 15 round decision to future heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. Though some would later claim he knocked Johnson down and almost beat him, newspaper accounts the day after the affair say the only one knocked down was Langford, and twice at that. He fought tough white contender Fireman Jim Flynn three times from
1908-1910, with a draw and two KOs to his credit. Seven years later, Flynn would KO Jack Dempsey in one round, though there has always been speculation it was a fixed fight. (Dempsey took care of Flynn in one in the rematch)

In 1910 Langford met the great middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel in a non-title fight, a bout which ended in a NCND6. Newspapers of the time reckoned Ketchel the winner by a narrow margin. Six months later Ketchel was murdered, ending any possibility of a rematch.

1911 saw Sam defeat light heavyweight champion Philadelphia Jack O'Brien, but again the title wasn't wagered on the outcome. (In fact, O'Brien held the light heavyweight title from 1905-1912 without defending it a single time! Mostly he campaigned at heavyweight, but also the light heavyweight title was held in such low regard that few fighters cared to challenge for it)

He met Harry Wills, a solid 6'4", 220 pound heavyweight 18 times! Wills knocked Langford out twice and won the newspaper decisions in most of the other bouts. He also fought former Great White Hope (of the Jack Johnson reign) Fred Fulton, another huge heavyweight at 6' 4 ½", but lost on points.

When Jack Johnson was heavyweight champion, he refused to fight Langford again, drawing his own color line. Though most experts of the time felt Johnson would handle Langford handily, he was still a dangerous opponent and not worth the risk.

Stories persist that Langford repeatedly begged Dempsey for a title shot and was always turned down by Doc Kearns, the Manassa Mauler's manager. "Sorry, Sam, but we're looking for something easier," Doc is always quoted as saying. Perhaps he did, and if he did, perhaps it was more out of kindness than any fear of Dempsey losing to Sam. For by the time Dempsey was champion, Sam was 36 years old, at least, and beginning to go blind.

While there is no doubt Langford was denied several deserved shots at titles, it's also very likely the two heavyweight champions most often mentioned, Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey, would have beaten Sam Langford. Half blind and way past his prime against Dempsey could have been brutal and despite the wails of some, it's probably best such a mis-match never occurred.

Young Stribling
Born into a family of vaudeville performers, William L. Stribling was being put into boxing "shows" by the age of five. His mother determined he'd be a boxer, and a good one, and started him on arm and leg exercises by the age of two. By age 16 he was fighting as a pro, putting in 25 fights that first year. Eventually he was suspended from school for having too many absences. It didn't bother his parents, as Ma was his trainer and Pa his manager; they hired a tutor and hit the road.

Stribling was a contradiction. He was always in tremendous shape and could punch, yet he often was content to coast through a fight. He knocked out 125 opponents, surpassed only by Archie Moore, yet was disqualified several times for everything from hitting low to pushing and clinching. In fact, some called him by the derogative nickname "Willie-the-Clinch". He and his opponent were arrested after one fight on charges of "participating in a sham/framed fight" and both times he fought future heavyweight champion Primo Carnera the fights were supposedly fixed (Each man got one win and one loss on DQs).

He defeated future light heavyweight champion Tommy Loughran twice and then current light heavyweight champion Maxie Rosenbloom in his last match, though the title wasn't bid. But against champions with the title up for the taking he faltered. When Tunney retired, Stribling fought Jack Sharkey in an elimination bout but lost on points over 10 rounds. He lost a light heavyweight bid against Paul Berienbach and another heavyweight chance against Max Schmelling who KO'd him in the 15th.

In all, Stribling fought 285 bouts with only 12 losses, a record that should have led to a title but didn't. It's possible Pa Stribling matched him too carefully, causing him to falter in the tough fights.

Eleven days after defeating Rosenbloom, was killed after a car struck him as he road home on his motorcycle. He was 28 years old, and the possibility of a title still there for young Young Stribling.

Patrick "Packey" McFarland
Of all the men who might have been champion, none seemed more sure of a title than lightweight McFarland. He lost his 7th pro bout, then didn't lose again for the remaining 101 fights of his career. (Records don't agree. The Hall of Fame says 104 bouts, other sources say 99 fights. All agree to only 1 loss). In his first 45 fights he was 44-1-0.

A true victim of the "No Decision" era, McFarland would fight 7 times against future Hall of Famers only to have 6 of the bouts end with "ND". The Frawley Law brought in the era of No Decision in 1911. Prior to that year, McFarland had 63 fights with 51 wins, 7 ND, 4 draws, and 1 loss. From that point on he fought 41 additional fights with 12 wins, 1 draw, and 28 No Decisions!

Lightweight champion Battling Nelson refused to give Packey a shot, though they almost went to fists outside the Hotel Astoria in New York City. He defeated future lightweight champion Freddie Welsh once and drew twice and finished his career with another ND against future Hall of Fame middleweight Mike Gibbons, never once being allowed a contest with a reigning champion.

Harry Wills
Going down in legend, if not strictly the truth, as the man Dempsey wouldn't fight, Harry Wills is something of an enigma. Some think he was so good that Dempsey avoided him, while boxing experts and promoters of the time didn't see Wills as a serious challenge for the champion. The truth is obscured in the murk of the past, but there is evidence that Dempsey at least twice agreed to a match with Wills only to have outside forces prevent the fight. In 1922, Jack Dempsey personally placed an article in the newspapers asking for legitimate challengers, offering to fight two men in one night, saying, "If I have to do that to get fights, then that's the program. Meanwhile, I'm hoping some promoter can come up with the right guarantee for a match between Harry Wills and myself."

Again in 1925 Dempsey told reporters, "I will fight Harry Wills for any promoter who can induce Paddy Mullins (Wills' manager) to sign a fair contract for a match."

The right promoter of the era was Tex Rickard, but Rickard had promoted fights during Jack Johnson's reign, including the Reno Nevada match between Johnson and Jeffries, and steadfastly refused to match a black man against the reigning heavyweight champion. "There's no money to be made with a Negro heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson proved that," he would say many times in one variation or another.

While Wills long sought the chance to fight Dempsey, and Dempsey agreed, others worked to see that the fight never happened. Promoter Floyd Fitzsimmons guaranteed Wills a down payment of $50,000 for a fight with Dempsey while the champ would get $300,000 (Both would get additional money as percentage of the gate, Dempsey's total to be one million dollars). The two fighters and representatives met September 28, 1925, to seal the deal. After signing, Wills was given his $50,000 check but Dempsey was told, "You' ll get your money tomorrow."

The next day, Fitzsimmons gave Dempsey a check for only $25,000, saying, "It's all I got right now Jack." Dempsey had the promoter accompany him to a Chicago bank to have the check cashed. There wasn't a penny in the account. Dempsey took the next train back to his home in California. As far as I've ever heard, Wills did get to keep his $50,000 but Dempsey received nothing for the botched match-up.

Meanwhile, Harry contented himself with fighting the other top black fighters of the era. He seemed to have Langford's number, knocking him out twice and winning most of their 18 meetings. He also fought Sam McVey 4 times; losing once, KO'ing McVey once, and getting a ND and NC. He lost on a foul to Jack Sharkey and had a 12 round ND-W against Luis Angel Firpo, who had knocked Dempsey out of the ring before being knocked out himself in the second round. He fought Big Bill Tate, Dempsey's main sparring partner, 5 times, with 2 KO's, a decision, a draw, and a loss on DQ.

Would Wills have beaten Dempsey given the chance? It's unlikely. He was big but he was slow, the kind of fighter Dempsey loved to fight. Firpo said he was more of a wrestler than a boxer and ringside observer and master sports writer Grantland Rice wrote, "Wills is not a fighter in Dempsey's class, or even close." Hall of Fame trainer Ray Arcel (trainer of Jim Braddock, Ezzard Charles, Tony Zale, Roberto Duran, and Larry Holmes) said, "He didn't hit anywhere near as hard as Dempsey and he didn't move anywhere near as smoothly as Carpentier. I would rate Wills as a very good journeyman."

Joe Jeannette
A superb black fighter who was barred from fighting for a title by both white and black heavyweight champions. During his prime years, Jack Johnson was champion, and Johnson refused to risk his title in a bout with another black fighter, especially Jeanette, who he had fought seven times, with a win, a loss, a draw, and four no decisions.

So, Jeannette was left to fight other black fighters, some of them many times. He met Langford 15 times, with a 3-6-2 result and 4 ND. He fought Sam McVey 5 times, Morris Harris 4 times, Black Bill 10 times, Jim Johnson 9 times, and Harry Wills 3 times.

He fought Sam McVey in Paris for 50 rounds in 1909, winning on TKO when McVey couldn't continue. In 1914 he took a 15 round decision from a young Georges Carpentier, who would go on to fight Jack Dempsey (KO'd in 4).

It was Jeannette's misfortune to fight when he did, with Johnson holding the crown for 7 years of his career, his best years. Bitter at Johnson for refusing to give him a shot, he said, "Jack forgot about his old friends after he became champion and drew the color line against his own people."

Peter Jackson
As the 19th century wound down, Jackson arrived in the United States from Australia in search of boxing fame. Unfortunately, the heavyweight champion was John L. Sullivan, who proclaimed he "would never fight a Negro" when presented Jackson as a possible opponent. Barred from the title, Jackson fought across the United States, then traveled to England where he won the British Empire Heavyweight Championship in 1892.

In 1891 he had fought a 61 round draw with future heavyweight champion Jim Corbett and in 1898 he was knocked out in 3 rounds by another future champion, Jim Jeffries. Peter Jackson died of tuberculosis in 1901, having fought two future champions but never given the opportunity to fight a
current world champion.

Joe Choynski
Never weighing more than 172 pounds, Choynski held his own against some of the greatest heavyweights at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was undoubtedly a very skilled boxer, for some of those he fought were the architects of what was called "scientific" boxing. He fought future heavyweight champion Jim Corbett three times, with a result of a NC, a KO in the 27th, and a decision loss. He fought to draws with two other future heavyweight champions, Bob Fitzsimmons and Jim Jeffries. (Jeffries outweighed him by 50 pounds)

In 1901 he knocked out future champion Jack Johnson in 3 rounds, but both were arrested for fighting a "mixed race" match. During their four weeks in jail, Choynski taught Johnson the fine points of boxing. Jack Johnson himself would later credit Choynski with teaching him techniques that served him well during his career.

He also fought middleweight champion Kid McCoy four times, getting a ND, a draw, a decision loss, and KO'd in 4 out of the series.

Though he lost 14 of his 79 fights, it can be said that half those losses came from champions or future Hall of Famers. In fact, Choynski stepped into the ring 14 times against Hall of Fame fighters, roughly 17% of his fights.

Possibly the explanation for his lack of a title is timing. He fought all but the final full year of his career when there was no light heavyweight title, forcing him to constantly step in with champions-to-be who were bigger. Had he come along a decade later, he might well have dominated the new light heavyweight division.

And there you have seven men who probably would have won a title if circumstances had allowed them the chance. They deserve to stand in the Hall of Fame next to the champions, proving you don't have to have a gaudy belt to be an All-Time Great.