| George Godfrey | |
| Realname: | Feab Smith Williams |
| Nationality: | American |
| Nickname: | The Leiperville Shadow |
| Height: | 6feet |
| Reach: | 79.50NaN0 |
| Birth Date: | 25 January 1897 |
| Birth Place: | Mobile, Alabama |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 124[1] |
| Wins: | 97 |
| Ko: | 79 |
| Losses: | 21 |
| Draws: | 2 |
George Godfrey (II) The Leiperville Shadow (January 25, 1897 - August 13, 1947) was the ring name of Feab Smith Williams, a heavyweight boxer from the state of Alabama who fought from 1919 to 1937. He named himself after George "Old Chocolate" Godfrey, a Black Canadian boxer from the bare-knuckle boxing days who had been a top name during the John L. Sullivan era. Old Chocolate had been the fourth fighter to reign as World Colored Heavyweight Champion while the second George Godfrey was the 20th fighter to hold the colored heavyweight title.
The colored heavyweight title was recognized due to the color bar in pro boxing in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when white champions drew the color line and would not defend the title against a black man. In the heavyweight division, the color bar was adamantly defended by Old Chocolate Godfrey's contemporary, "The Boston Strong Boy", John L. Sullivan. Ironically, it remained in force even after colored heavyweight title holder Jack Johnson won the world's heavyweight title in 1908. Johnson never fought black opponents either, allegedly because such top promoters as Tex Rickard believed that a fight between two black boxers would not draw at the gate. He was also the only man to ever defeat the 7 foot 9 inch giant Gogea Mitu.
Because of the color bar in the heavyweight division that continued until the rise of Joe Louis in the 1930s, the second Godfrey Williams never fought for the world heavyweight championship, like the man he had named himself after. He did win the International Boxing Union's version of the world heavyweight championship in 1935, two years before Louis became the second black man to become the universally recognized world heavyweight champ.
Boxing's second George Godfrey fought ring legend Sam Langford three times. Godfrey, who was 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) tall and weighed between 220 and 260 lb (118 kg) during his career, dwarfed the 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Langford. Despite his advantage in size, height and weight, Godfrey was knocked out in two of the three matches in 1920 and 1921. He did manage a draw in his first bout with Langford in 1920.
Godfrey is said to have been instructed by promoters on a number of occasions to carry opponents if he wanted to receive more important fights. He was outpointed over 10 rounds in 1926 by future champion Jack Sharkey and in 1928 by Johnny Risko, but outpointed Paolino Uzcudun in 1928.
Godfrey twice won the World Colored Heavyweight Championship. When Harry Wills was stripped of the title after losing by disqualification to Jack Sharkey on October 12, 1926, Godfrey defeated Larry Gains on November 8, 1926, at Broadway Auditorium in Buffalo, New York, on a TKO in the sixth round. Godfrey made three defenses of the title, which was retaken by Gaines on August 15, 1928, in Buffalo when Godfrey was disqualified.[2]
The title was later vacated, and Godfrey won it a second time on August 24, 1931, in Toronto, Canada, when he defeated Seal Harris, whom he knocked out in the second round. He defended it three more times before losing to Obidiah "Obie" Walker on points in a 10-round fight held in Philadelphia on October 9, 1933.[3] In the interim between the two titles, he fought Bearcat Wright for the "Black Heavyweight Championship" on December 19, 1930, in Atlanta, Georgia, but the 10-round fight was a draw.
Two months before Godfrey fought Primo Carnera, Carnera fought Bombo Chevalier and it ended with extreme controversy when one of Chevalier's seconds threw in the towel. Chevalier's manager stated "the towel should not have been thrown in." In an investigation, Chevalier said he had been approached earlier about a "fake fight," but had declined. No one had expected the towel to be thrown in.[4] Carnera vs. Chevalier was depicted in the movie The Harder They Fall (1956). In response to the towel throwing controversy, seconds were forbidden from throwing in the towel in Carnera vs. Godfrey.[5] Many observers considered the 1930 Carnera fight to be fixed. According to boxing historian Herbert Goldman, Carnera was "very much mob controlled."[6] Godfrey was disqualified for an intentional low blow in the fifth round when he was clearly getting the better of Carnera.[7] In the aftermath, Godfrey lost his boxing license and half his purse, Carnera was cleared. Godfrey was the 4th boxer that year to lose his license after fighting Carnera.[8] Godfrey's suspension by the National Boxing Association, which represented 13 states, forced Godfrey out of the major sports venues and into secondary arenas and to tour the world.
Godfrey would go to Europe later in his career and win the International Boxing Union World Heavyweight title. In late 1934, the IBU had ordered world champion Max Baer to defend his title against the reigning European champion, Pierre Charles of Belgium. When Baer instead opted to fight James J. Braddock, they withdrew recognition of him as champion.
Subsequently, the IBU matched Charles with Godfrey for their version of the title with the fight taking place in Brussels, Belgium on October 2, 1935. Godfrey won a fifteen-round decision on points, but did not press any claim to the championship and it was inactive for the next two years. The IBU then recognized Baer's successor Braddock, as champion.
Godfrey died on August 13, 1947, in his home and was found a week later, aged 50. His funeral was attended by many boxers, including former heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, former light heavyweight champion Jack Root, former middleweight champion Gorilla Jones, and others included footballer Dick Donald and boxing manager Mike McNulty.[9]
In 2003, Godfrey was named to the Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
In 2007, he was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Godfrey had a brief career in movies making five motion pictures from 1926 to 1937. His most famous role was as the cook in Paramount Pictures's 1926 Old Ironsides. His final role was as himself in MGM's Big City which starred Spencer Tracy.
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 126 | Loss | 98–21–2 | Hank Hankinson | TKO | 8 (10), | Aug 10, 1937 | ||
| 125 | Win | 98–20–2 | Billy Wells | KO | 2 (10), | Aug 11, 1936 | ||
| 124 | Win | 97–20–2 | Pierre Charles | PTS | 15 | Oct 2, 1935 | ||
| 123 | Loss | 96–20–2 | Motzi Spakow | DQ | 4 (10) | Jun 15, 1935 | ||
| 122 | Win | 96–19–2 | Dumitru Pavelescu | KO | 2 (10) | Jun 7, 1935 | ||
| 121 | Win | 95–19–2 | Piet van Gool | PTS | 10 | Dec 12, 1934 | ||
| 120 | Win | 94–19–2 | Arthur Meurant | TKO | 5 (10) | Dec 6, 1934 | ||
| 119 | Win | 93–19–2 | Hans Schonrath | TKO | 3 (10) | Nov 14, 1934 | ||
| 118 | NC | 92–19–2 | Mauro Galusso | NC | 3 (10) | Aug 25, 1934 | ||
| 117 | Win | 92–19–2 | Giacomo Bergomas | KO | 6 (10) | Aug 18, 1934 | ||
| 116 | NC | 91–19–2 | Andres Castano | NC | ? (10) | Jul 14, 1934 | ||
| 115 | Win | 91–19–2 | Valentin Campolo | PTS | 10 | Jun 30, 1934 | ||
| 114 | Loss | 90–19–2 | Obie Walker | PTS | 10 | Oct 9, 1933 | ||
| 113 | NC | 90–18–2 | Bearcat Wright | NC | 6 (10) | Feb 10, 1933 | ||
| 112 | Win | 90–18–2 | Tiger Jack Fox | PTS | 10 | Jan 31, 1933 | ||
| 111 | Loss | 89–18–2 | Walter Cobb | UD | 10 | Dec 29, 1932 | ||
| 110 | Win | 89–17–2 | Walter Cobb | PTS | 10 | Dec 12, 1932 | ||
| 109 | Win | 88–17–2 | Al Fay | TKO | 8 (20) | Oct 24, 1932 | ||
| 108 | Win | 87–17–2 | Roy Clark | KO | 5 (20) | Sep 5, 1932 | ||
| 107 | Win | 86–17–2 | Gene Stanton | KO | 3 (?) | May 31, 1932 | ||
| 106 | Win | 85–17–2 | K.O. Willis | KO | 2 (?) | May 31, 1932 | ||
| 105 | Win | 84–17–2 | Texas Tanner | KO | 2 (?) | May 30, 1932 | ||
| 104 | Win | 83–17–2 | Billy Williams | KO | 1 (4) | May 24, 1932 | ||
| 103 | Win | 82–17–2 | Kid Moran | KO | 2 (5) | May 19, 1932 | ||
| 102 | Win | 81–17–2 | Harry Johnson | KO | 1 (5), | May 19, 1932 | ||
| 101 | Win | 80–17–2 | K.O. Harper | KO | 2 (10) | May 10, 1932 | ||
| 100 | Win | 79–17–2 | Flash Ryser | KO | 2 (10) | May 3, 1932 | ||
| 99 | Loss | 78–17–2 | Jack Gross | PTS | 10 | Nov 17, 1931 | ||
| 98 | Win | 78–16–2 | Seal Harris | KO | 2 (10), | Aug 24, 1931 | ||
| 97 | Win | 77–16–2 | George Gemas | KO | 2 (?), | Jul 13, 1931 | ||
| 96 | Win | 76–16–2 | Ricardo Rosel | KO | 1 (20), | Feb 23, 1931 | ||
| 95 | Win | 75–16–2 | Salvatore Ruggirello | KO | 1 (10), | Jan 1, 1931 | ||
| 94 | Draw | 74–16–2 | Bearcat Wright | PTS | 10 | Dec 19, 1930 | ||
| 93 | Win | 74–16–1 | Seal Harris | KO | 3 (5) | Dec 8, 1930 | ||
| 92 | Win | 73–16–1 | Seal Harris | KO | 4 (10) | Nov 7, 1930 | ||
| 91 | Win | 72–16–1 | Jack Leslie | KO | 3 (10) | Aug 29, 1930 | ||
| 90 | Win | 71–16–1 | Arthur De Kuh | KO | 4 (10) | Aug 26, 1930 | ||
| 89 | Win | 70–16–1 | Elijah Lee | KO | 2 (10) | Aug 20, 1930 | ||
| 88 | Win | 69–16–1 | Frankie Simms | TKO | 2 (12) | Jul 8, 1930 | ||
| 87 | Loss | 68–16–1 | Primo Carnera | DQ | 5 (10), | Jun 23, 1930 | ||
| 86 | Win | 68–15–1 | Jack Rozier | TKO | 1 (10) | May 16, 1930 | ||
| 85 | Win | 67–15–1 | Roy Clark | KO | 7 (10) | Mar 24, 1930 | ||
| 84 | Win | 66–15–1 | Jack Gross | TKO | 5 (10) | Mar 10, 1930 | ||
| 83 | Win | 65–15–1 | Tom Hawkins | KO | 3 (?) | Dec 23, 1929 | ||
| 82 | NC | 64–15–1 | Jimmy Byrne | NC | 7 (10) | Nov 7, 1929 | ||
| 81 | Loss | 64–15–1 | Long Tom Hawkins | DQ | 3 (10) | Aug 13, 1929 | ||
| 80 | Win | 64–14–1 | Ralph Smith | TKO | 2 (10) | Jul 15, 1929 | ||
| 79 | Win | 63–14–1 | Chuck Wiggins | TKO | 7 (12) | Jun 26, 1929 | ||
| 78 | Win | 62–14–1 | Jimmy Byrne | TKO | 7 (10) | Jun 3, 1929 | ||
| 77 | Win | 61–14–1 | Farmer Lodge | KO | 2 (10) | Apr 15, 1929 | ||
| 76 | Win | 60–14–1 | Bill Hartwell | KO | 2 (10) | Apr 5, 1929 | ||
| 75 | Win | 59–14–1 | Francisco Cruz Coelho | KO | 2 (10) | Jan 14, 1929 | ||
| 74 | Loss | 58–14–1 | Al Walker | DQ | 3 (10) | Jan 7, 1929 | ||
| 73 | Win | 58–13–1 | Jim Sigman | KO | 2 (10) | Dec 12, 1928 | ||
| 72 | Win | 57–13–1 | Clem Johnson | KO | 3 (?) | Dec 3, 1928 | ||
| 71 | Win | 56–13–1 | Bud Gorman | TKO | 3 (10), | Nov 12, 1928 | ||
| 70 | Win | 55–13–1 | Benny Hill | KO | 1 (10) | Oct 12, 1928 | ||
| 69 | Win | 54–13–1 | Pierre Charles | KO | 2 (10), | Aug 31, 1928 | ||
| 68 | Win | 53–13–1 | Tut Jackson | TKO | 4 (10) | Aug 21, 1928 | ||
| 67 | Loss | 52–13–1 | Larry Gains | DQ | 3 (10), | Aug 15, 1928 | ||
| 66 | Loss | 52–12–1 | Johnny Risko | PTS | 10 | Jun 27, 1928 | ||
| 65 | Win | 52–11–1 | Paulino Uzcudun | PTS | 10 | Feb 28, 1928 | ||
| 64 | Win | 51–11–1 | Joe White | TKO | 1 (8) | Jan 23, 1928 | ||
| 63 | Win | 50–11–1 | Soldier Jones | KO | 1 (10) | Dec 26, 1927 | ||
| 62 | Win | 49–11–1 | Andre DeRosa | KO | 2 (10) | Dec 5, 1927 | ||
| 61 | Win | 48–11–1 | Jack Townsend | PTS | 4 | Nov 22, 1927 | ||
| 60 | Win | 47–11–1 | Clem Johnson | KO | 1 (8) | Nov 21, 1927 | ||
| 59 | Win | 46–11–1 | Tom Sayers | KO | 1 (10) | Oct 31, 1927 | ||
| 58 | Win | 45–11–1 | Monte Munn | TKO | 4 (12), | Sep 14, 1927 | ||
| 57 | Win | 44–11–1 | Henry van Patten | KO | 2 (10) | Sep 8, 1927 | ||
| 56 | Win | 43–11–1 | Jim Maloney | KO | 1 (10), | Aug 15, 1927 | ||
| 55 | Win | 42–11–1 | Neil Clisby | KO | 7 (10) | Jul 5, 1927 | ||
| 54 | Win | 41–11–1 | Jake Kilrain | PTS | 10 | Jun 23, 1927 | ||
| 53 | Win | 40–11–1 | Long Tom Hawkins | KO | 7 (10) | May 13, 1927 | ||
| 52 | Win | 39–11–1 | Jack Roper | TKO | 5 (10) | May 5, 1927 | ||
| 51 | Win | 38–11–1 | Leon Chevalier | KO | 4 (10) | Apr 18, 1927 | ||
| 50 | Win | 37–11–1 | Jack Roper | KO | 9 (10) | Apr 6, 1927 | ||
| 49 | Win | 36–11–1 | Tony Fuente | TKO | 2 (10) | Mar 29, 1927 | ||
| 48 | Win | 35–11–1 | Ralph Smith | TKO | 9 (10) | Mar 8, 1927 | ||
| 47 | Win | 34–11–1 | Cowboy Billy Owens | TKO | 8 (8) | Dec 3, 1926 | ||
| 46 | 33–11–1 | Bearcat Wright | NC | 10 (10) | Nov 23, 1926 | |||
| 45 | Win | 33–11–1 | Larry Gains | RTD | 6 (10), | Nov 8, 1926 | ||
| 44 | Win | 32–11–1 | Jack Townsend | DQ | 6 (10) | Nov 1, 1926 | ||
| 43 | Win | 31–11–1 | Bob Lawson | PTS | 6 | Sep 23, 1926 | ||
| 42 | Loss | 30–11–1 | Jack Sharkey | PTS | 10 | Sep 21, 1926 | ||
| 41 | Win | 30–10–1 | Tiny Jim Herman | UD | 10 | Aug 24, 1926 | ||
| 40 | Loss | 29–10–1 | Chuck Wiggins | DQ | 7 (10) | Jun 9, 1926 | ||
| 39 | Win | 29–9–1 | Sully Montgomery | DQ | 7 (10) | Jan 6, 1926 | ||
| 38 | Win | 28–9–1 | Martin Burke | PTS | 10 | Dec 23, 1925 | ||
| 37 | Win | 27–9–1 | Fred Fulton | KO | 5 (10) | Dec 18, 1925 | ||
| 36 | Win | 26–9–1 | Battling Owens | KO | 3 (15) | Dec 14, 1925 | ||
| 35 | Win | 25–9–1 | Martin Burke | PTS | 10 | Sep 29, 1925 | ||
| 34 | Win | 24–9–1 | Mike Conroy | TKO | 2 (10) | Aug 26, 1925 | ||
| 33 | Win | 23–9–1 | Tiny Jim Herman | TKO | 3 (10) | Aug 4, 1925 | ||
| 32 | Win | 22–9–1 | Jack Renault | PTS | 10 | Jun 6, 1925 | ||
| 31 | Win | 21–9–1 | Sam Baker | KO | 4 (10) | Apr 14, 1925 | ||
| 30 | Win | 20–9–1 | Vic Alexander | TKO | 6 (10) | Mar 21, 1925 | ||
| 29 | Win | 19–9–1 | Tut Jackson | KO | 5 (12) | Feb 26, 1925 | ||
| 28 | Win | 18–9–1 | Soldier George Jones | KO | 2 (10) | Jan 30, 1925 | ||
| 27 | Win | 17–9–1 | Joe White | TKO | 1 (10) | Dec 1, 1924 | ||
| 26 | Loss | 16–9–1 | Jack Renault | PTS | 10 | Sep 8, 1924 | ||
| 25 | Loss | 16–8–1 | Jack Townsend | DQ | 1 (12) | Jul 19, 1924 | ||
| 24 | Win | 16–7–1 | Jack Thompson | TKO | 3 (10) | Jun 23, 1924 | ||
| 23 | Win | 15–7–1 | Farmer Lodge | KO | 3 (10) | May 12, 1924 | ||
| 22 | Loss | 14–7–1 | Tom Cowler | DQ | 2 (10) | Mar 31, 1924 | ||
| 21 | Loss | 14–6–1 | Battling Owens | DQ | 5 (12) | Dec 13, 1923 | ||
| 20 | Win | 14–5–1 | Rough House Ware | KO | 1 (10) | Dec 7, 1923 | ||
| 19 | Win | 13–5–1 | Bill Tate | KO | 7 (12) | Nov 2, 1923 | ||
| 18 | Win | 12–5–1 | Buddy Jackson | TKO | 2 (8) | Sep 17, 1923 | ||
| 17 | Loss | 11–5–1 | Jack Renault | KO | 11 (12) | Mar 9, 1923 | ||
| 16 | Win | 11–4–1 | Clem Johnson | PTS | 12 | Feb 27, 1923 | ||
| 15 | Win | 10–4–1 | Jim Pearson | KO | 1 (6) | Feb 21, 1923 | ||
| 14 | Win | 9–4–1 | Jack Thompson | TKO | 5 (12) | Dec 5, 1922 | ||
| 13 | Win | 8–4–1 | George Ward | KO | 5 (8) | Oct 20, 1922 | ||
| 12 | Win | 7–4–1 | K.O. Gordon | KO | 2 (?) | Jan 1, 1922 | ||
| 11 | Loss | 6–4–1 | Sam Langford | KO | 1 (12) | Aug 17, 1921 | ||
| 10 | Loss | 6–3–1 | Jack Thompson | KO | 4 (?) | Feb 15, 1921 | ||
| 9 | Win | 6–2–1 | Young Norfolk | KO | 1 (?) | Feb 1, 1921 | ||
| 8 | Loss | 5–2–1 | Sam Langford | KO | 2 (10) | Nov 17, 1920 | ||
| 7 | Loss | 5–1–1 | Battling Norfolk | KO | 5 (6), | Nov 1, 1920 | ||
| 6 | Win | 5–0–1 | Charlie Jude | KO | 1 (?), | Aug 30, 1920 | ||
| 5 | Win | 4–0–1 | Baby Doll Green | KO | 5 (?) | Jul 19, 1920 | ||
| 4 | Win | 3–0–1 | Bill Tate | PTS | 10 | Jul, 1920 | ||
| 3 | Win | 2–0–1 | Battling Gahee | PTS | 15 | Jun, 1920 | ||
| 2 | Draw | 1–0–1 | Sam Langford | PTS | 10 | May, 1920 | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Eddie Jamison | KO | 1 (?) | Dec, 1919 | ||
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