| Jess Willard | |
| Realname: | Jess Myron Willard |
| Nickname: | Great White Hope[1] Pottawatomie Giant[2] |
| Height: | 6 ft 6+1/2 in[3] |
| Weight: | Heavyweight |
| Birth Date: | 29 December 1881 |
| Birth Place: | Saint Clere, Kansas, US |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, US |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 34 |
| Wins: | 25 |
| Ko: | 20 |
| Losses: | 7 |
| Draws: | 2 |
Jess Myron Willard (December 29, 1881 – December 15, 1968) was an American world heavyweight boxing champion billed as the Pottawatomie Giant.[2] [4] He won the world heavyweight title in 1915 by knocking out Jack Johnson.
Willard was known for size rather than skill, and though he held the championship for more than four years, he rarely defended it. In 1919, when he was 37 years old, he lost the title in an extremely one-sided loss by declining to come out for the fourth round against Jack Dempsey, who became a more celebrated champion. Soon after the bout, Willard began accusing Dempsey of using something with the effect of a knuckle duster. Dempsey did not grant Willard a return match, and at 42 years old he was KO'd, following which he retired from boxing, although for the rest of his life he continued to claim Dempsey had cheated. Ferdie Pacheco expressed the opinion in a book that the surviving photographs of Willard's face during the Dempsey fight indicate fractures to Willard's facial bones suggesting a metal implement, and show he was bleeding heavily. The matter has never been resolved, with contemporaneous ringside sports journalist reporting in The New York Times that Willard spat out at least one tooth and was "a fountain of blood" increasingly discounted in favor of a view that he had only a cut lip and a little bruising.
Jess Myron Willard was born on 29 December 1881 in Saint Clere, Kansas. In his teenage years and twenties he worked as a cowboy.[2] He was of mostly English ancestry, which had been in North America since the colonial era. The first member of the Willard family arrived in Virginia in the 1630s.
A powerfully built 6feet and 245lb, Willard did not begin boxing until the age of 27, but proved successful, defeating top-ranked opponents to earn a chance to fight for the Championship. He said he started boxing because he did not have much of an education, but thought his size and strength could earn him a good living. He was a gentle and friendly person and did not enjoy boxing or hurting people, so often waited until his opponent attacked him before punching back, which made him feel at ease as if he were defending himself. He was often maligned as an uncoordinated oaf rather than a skilled boxer, but his counter-punching style, coupled with his enormous strength and stamina, proved successful against top fighters. His physical strength was so great that he was reputed to be able to kill a man with a single punch. In a fight with Jack "Bull" Young in 1913, during the ninth round Young collapsed and died from a punch to the head. Willard was charged with second-degree murder, but was successfully defended by lawyer Earl Rogers.
On April 5, 1915, in front of a huge crowd at the new Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba, he knocked out champion Jack Johnson in the 26th round to win the world heavyweight boxing championship. Johnson later said he had intentionally lost the fight, despite the fact there is evidence of Willard winning fairly, which can be seen clearly in the recorded footage, as well as the comments Johnson made to his cornermen between rounds and immediately after the fight, and that he bet $2500 on himself to win. Willard said, "If he was going to throw the fight, I wish he'd done it sooner. It was hotter than hell out there." Johnson later acknowledged lying about throwing the fight after footage of the fight was made widely available in the United States. Shortly after the fight, Jack Johnson had actually accepted defeat gracefully saying, "Willard was too much for me, I just didn't have it."
Johnson found that he could not knock out the giant Willard, who fought as a counterpuncher, making Johnson do all the leading. Johnson began to tire after the 20th round, and was visibly hurt by heavy body punches from Willard in rounds preceding the 26th-round knockout. Johnson's claim of a "dive" gained momentum because most fans only saw a still photo of Johnson lying on the canvas shading his eyes from the broiling Cuban sun. No films of the fight were allowed to be shown in the United States because of an inter-state ban on the trafficking of fight films that was in effect at the time. Most boxing fans saw the film of the Johnson–Willard fight only when a copy was found in 1967.
Willard fought several times over the next four years, but made only one official title defense prior to 1919, defeating Frank Moran on March 25, 1916, at Madison Square Garden.
At age 37, Willard lost his title to Dempsey on July 4, 1919, in Toledo. Dempsey knocked Willard down for the first time in his career with a left hook in the first round. Dempsey knocked Willard down seven times in the first round—although it should be remembered that rules at the time permitted standing almost over a knocked-down opponent and hitting him again as soon as both gloves had left the canvas. At one point Dempsey left the ring mistakenly thinking the fight was over, and under the rules could have been disqualified, but Willard had economised by not employing professional cornermen and they failed to insist on application of the regulations. Dempsey won the title when Willard was unable to continue after the third round. In the fight, Willard was later reputed to have suffered a broken jaw, cheekbone, and ribs, as well as losing several teeth. His attempt to fight to the finish, ending when he was unable to come out for the fourth round, is considered one of the most courageous performances in boxing history. However, the extent of Willard's injuries has been highly disputed and is now unclear since multiple independent reports only a few days after the fight said that there were no traces of any damage other than a couple of bruises:To take only one representative account, according to a reporter for the Topeka Daily Capital, July 16, 1919, p. 8, who interviewed Jess when he got back to Lawrence, "The ex-champion didn't have any black eye, nor any signs that he was injured in any way."[5]
After losing his title fight with Dempsey, Willard went into semiretirement from the ring, fighting only exhibition bouts for the next four years.[2] On May 12, 1923, promoter Tex Rickard arranged for Willard to make a comeback, fighting Floyd Johnson as part of the first line-up of boxing matches at the newly opened Yankee Stadium in New York City.[7] 63,000 spectators attended the match, which the 41-year-old Willard was widely expected to lose.[7] However, after Willard took a beating for several rounds, he came back to knock down Johnson in the 9th and 11th rounds, and Willard earned a TKO victory. Damon Runyon wrote afterward: "Youth, take off your hat and bow low and respectfully to age. For days and days, the sole topic of conversation in the world of sport will be Willard's astonishing comeback."[7]
Willard followed up this victory by facing contender Luis Ángel Firpo on July 12, 1923.[7] The fight was held at Boyle's Thirty Acres in New Jersey, in front of more than 75,000 spectators. Willard was knocked out in the eighth round, and then permanently retired from boxing.
Willard parlayed his boxing fame into an acting career of a sort. He acted in a vaudeville show, had a role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, and starred in a 1919 feature film The Challenge of Chance.[8] In 1933, he appeared in a bit part in a boxing movie, The Prizefighter and the Lady, with Max Baer and Myrna Loy.[8]
Willard died on 15 December 1968, in Los Angeles, California, from congestive heart failure. He had been admitted to a hospital a week earlier for a heart condition, but left against a doctor's advice. He returned again after suffering a stroke and died 12 hours later.[9]
Having died at age 86, Willard was the longest-lived heavyweight champion in history until he was surpassed by his old foe Jack Dempsey (who died in 1983, aged 87), then by Jack Sharkey (who died in 1994, aged 91), and finally by Max Schmeling (who died in 2005 at the age of 99.
Willard's body was buried at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery, in Los Angeles.
In 2003 he was inducted posthumously into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.[4]
Willard and a dispute he had with Harry Houdini is the topic of Andy Duncan's Nebula Award nominated novella The Pottawatomie Giant.[10] In 2020, a television program Antiques Roadshow – Crocker Art Museum (Season 24, Episode 8, Part 2), showed a photograph from his 5 April 1915 championship winning match, and the commemorative pocket watch Willard carried which was valued at between $15,000 and $50,000.
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Loss | 22–5–1 | Luis Angel Firpo | KO | 8 (12), | 12 Jul 1923 | |||
| 33 | Win | 22–4–1 | Floyd Johnson | TKO | 11 (15) | 12 May 1923 | |||
| 32 | Loss | 21–4–1 | Jack Dempsey | RTD | 3 (12) | 4 Jul 1919 | |||
| 31 | Win | 21–3–1 | Frank Moran | NWS | 10 | 25 Mar 1916 | |||
| 30 | Win | 21–3–1 | Jack Johnson | KO | 26 (45), | 5 Apr 1915 | |||
| 29 | Win | 20–3–1 | George Rodel | KO | 6 (10) | 28 Apr 1914 | |||
| 28 | Win | 19–3–1 | Dan Dailey | KO | 9 (10) | 13 Apr 1914 | |||
| 27 | Loss | 18–3–1 | Tom McMahon | NWS | 12 | 27 Mar 1914 | |||
| 26 | Win | 18–3–1 | George Rodel | KO | 9 (20) | 29 Dec 1913 | |||
| 25 | Win | 17–3–1 | George Davis | KO | 2 (10) | 12 Dec 1913 | |||
| 24 | Win | 16–3–1 | Carl Morris | NWS | 10 | 3 Dec 1913 | |||
| 23 | Win | 16–3–1 | Jack Reed | TKO | 2 (10) | 24 Nov 1913 | |||
| 22 | Loss | 15–3–1 | George Rodel | NWS | 10 | 17 Nov 1913 | |||
| 21 | Win | 15–3–1 | Bull Young | KO | 11 (20) | 22 Aug 1913 | |||
| 20 | Win | 14–3–1 | Al Williams | TKO | 8 (10) | 4 Jul 1913 | |||
| 19 | Draw | 13–3–1 | Charley Miller | PTS | 4 | 27 Jun 1913 | |||
| 18 | Loss | 13–3 | Gunboat Smith | PTS | 20 | 20 May 1913 | |||
| 17 | Win | 13–2 | Jack Leon | KO | 4 (10) | 5 Mar 1913 | |||
| 16 | Win | 12–2 | Frank Bauer | TKO | 5 (10), | 22 Jan 1913 | |||
| 15 | Win | 11–2 | Soldier Kearns | KO | 8 (10) | 27 Dec 1912 | |||
| 14 | Win | 10–2 | Sailor White | KO | 1 (10) | 2 Dec 1912 | |||
| 13 | Draw | 9–2 | Luther McCarty | NWS | 10 | 19 Aug 1912 | |||
| 12 | Win | 9–2 | Arthur Pelkey | NWS | 10 | 29 Jul 1912 | |||
| 11 | Win | 9–2 | Bull Young | KO | 5 | 2 Jul 1912 | |||
| 10 | Win | 8–2 | Frank Bauer | TKO | 3 (6) | 29 May 1912 | |||
| 9 | Win | 7–2 | Bull Young | KO | 6 (10) | 22 May 1912 | |||
| 8 | Loss | 6–2 | Joe Cox | 5 (10) | 9 Oct 1911 | ||||
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Mike McKimminsky | PTS | 10 | 10 Aug 1911 | |||
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Frank Lyons | PTS | 10 | 4 Jul 1911 | |||
| 5 | Win | 4–1 | William Schiller | KO | 4 (15) | 15 May 1911 | |||
| 4 | Win | 3–1 | Al Mandino | PTS | 4 (10) | 14 Apr 1911 | |||
| 3 | Win | 2–1 | Lewis Fink | KO | 3 (15), | 24 Mar 1911 | |||
| 2 | Win | 1–1 | Ed Burke | 3 (10) | 7 Mar 1911 | ||||
| 1 | Loss | 0–1 | Lewis Fink | 10 (15), | 15 Feb 1911 |
Record with the inclusion of newspaper decisions to the win/loss/draw column.
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Loss | 25–7–2 | Luis Angel Firpo | KO | 8 (12), | 12 Jul 1923 | |||
| 33 | Win | 25–6–2 | Floyd Johnson | TKO | 11 (15) | 12 May 1923 | |||
| 32 | Loss | 24–6–2 | Jack Dempsey | RTD | 3 (12) | 4 Jul 1919 | |||
| 31 | Win | 24–5–2 | Frank Moran | NWS | 10 | 25 Mar 1916 | |||
| 30 | Win | 23–5–2 | Jack Johnson | KO | 26 (45), | 5 Apr 1915 | |||
| 29 | Win | 22–5–2 | George Rodel | KO | 6 (10) | 28 Apr 1914 | |||
| 28 | Win | 21–5–2 | Dan Dailey | KO | 9 (10) | 13 Apr 1914 | |||
| 27 | Loss | 20–5–2 | Tom McMahon | NWS | 12 | 27 Mar 1914 | |||
| 26 | Win | 20–4–2 | George Rodel | KO | 9 (20) | 29 Dec 1913 | |||
| 25 | Win | 19–4–2 | George Davis | KO | 2 (10) | 12 Dec 1913 | |||
| 24 | Win | 18–4–2 | Carl Morris | NWS | 10 | 3 Dec 1913 | |||
| 23 | Win | 17–4–2 | Jack Reed | TKO | 2 (10) | 24 Nov 1913 | |||
| 22 | Loss | 16–4–2 | George Rodel | NWS | 10 | 17 Nov 1913 | |||
| 21 | Win | 16–3–2 | Bull Young | KO | 11 (20) | 22 Aug 1913 | |||
| 20 | Win | 15–3–2 | Al Williams | TKO | 8 (10) | 4 Jul 1913 | |||
| 19 | Draw | 14–3–2 | Charley Miller | PTS | 4 | 27 Jun 1913 | |||
| 18 | Loss | 14–3–1 | Gunboat Smith | PTS | 20 | 20 May 1913 | |||
| 17 | Win | 14–2–1 | Jack Leon | KO | 4 (10) | 5 Mar 1913 | |||
| 16 | Win | 13–2–1 | Frank Bauer | TKO | 5 (10), | 22 Jan 1913 | |||
| 15 | Win | 12–2–1 | Soldier Kearns | KO | 8 (10) | 27 Dec 1912 | |||
| 14 | Win | 11–2–1 | Sailor White | KO | 1 (10) | 2 Dec 1912 | |||
| 13 | Draw | 10–2–1 | Luther McCarty | NWS | 10 | 19 Aug 1912 | |||
| 12 | Win | 10–2 | Arthur Pelkey | NWS | 10 | 29 Jul 1912 | |||
| 11 | Win | 9–2 | Bull Young | KO | 5 | 2 Jul 1912 | |||
| 10 | Win | 8–2 | Frank Bauer | TKO | 3 (6) | 29 May 1912 | |||
| 9 | Win | 7–2 | Bull Young | KO | 6 (10) | 22 May 1912 | |||
| 8 | Loss | 6–2 | Joe Cox | 5 (10) | 9 Oct 1911 | ||||
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Mike McKimminsky | PTS | 10 | 10 Aug 1911 | |||
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Frank Lyons | PTS | 10 | 4 Jul 1911 | |||
| 5 | Win | 4–1 | William Schiller | KO | 4 (15) | 15 May 1911 | |||
| 4 | Win | 3–1 | Al Mandino | PTS | 4 (10) | 14 Apr 1911 | |||
| 3 | Win | 2–1 | Lewis Fink | KO | 3 (15), | 24 Mar 1911 | |||
| 2 | Win | 1–1 | Ed Burke | 3 (10) | 7 Mar 1911 | ||||
| 1 | Loss | 0–1 | Lewis Fink | 10 (15), | 15 Feb 1911 |
Jess Willard was a 6th great-grandson (9th generation descendant) of the Massachusetts colonist Simon Willard (1605–1676).
See main article: Descendants of Simon Willard. (1605–1676)
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