Jack Blackburn
Jack Blackburn (* 20th May 1882 in Versailles , Kentucky as Charles Harvey Blackburn , † 24. April 1942 in Chicago , Illinois ) was an American boxer in the Welter and lightweight and one of the best boxing coach at all. He was the first coach of heavyweight star Joe Louis and was also Louis' longtime coach.
Boxing career
Blackburn competed against some of the best of his era; for example against his compatriots Joe Gans , Sam Langford and Harry Greb . He often fought boxers who were much taller and more physically robust than him, including even heavyweights. In total, Charles Harvey Blackburn completed 385 fights. Charley Rose rated him as the third greatest lightweight of all time.
Convicted of manslaughter
In 1909 Blackburn was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for manslaughter . In prison, Blackburn gave boxing lessons to a guard and his children.
Blackburn was released early after 4 years and 8 months for good conduct.
Coaching career
Blackburn was initially skeptical of Louis' potential, believing that a black heavyweight would have few options. Even so, Blackburn agreed to coach Louis. He also trained George Godfrey , Sammy Mandell , Bud Taylor and Jersey Joe Walcott, among others . He also trained Sailor Friedman for his title fight against Mickey Walker in 1925.
He trained Hockbones and Kid Mazza , which is why he was referred to in the newspaper article The Arizona Republic as "Old Hockbones".
Hall of Fame
In 1992 Blackburn was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as a trainer .
Web links
- Jack Blackburn in the International Boxing Hall of Fame
- Jack Blackburn in the BoxRec database
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Blackburn, Jack |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Blackburn, Charles Harvey (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American boxer and boxing coach |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 20, 1882 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Versailles , Kentucky , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 24, 1942 |
| Place of death | Chicago , Illinois , United States |