“George Godfrey (boxer born 1853)”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Biography

Early life

George was born to William Godfrey and Sarah Byers in an area of Charlottetown known as the Bog, a poor part of the West End. The year after Godfrey was born, his father was convicted for petty larceny and served two weeks in jail for stealing a cow.^[3]

He first received boxing instructions while still residing in Charlottetown, from Dick Cronin. Godfrey then left Canada to find employment as a porter in Boston's silk importing offices. After winning in the heavyweight class at a local boxing competition in 1879, he began boxing professionally.^[3] At a fighting weight of 175 pounds on a {{convert|5|ft|10|in|cm|abbr=on}} frame, he would be considered a light-heavyweight by modern standards. However, despite being undersized and rather old at 27 years of age to begin prizefighting, Godfrey would go on to achieve tremendous success inside the boxing ring.^[4]

Professional career

Godfrey went 4-0-4 in his first eight fights, which included a draw with famed pugilist Jake Kilrain. In just his ninth pro bout, he won the World 'Colored' Heavyweight Champion by beating Charles Hadley via sixth-round knockout on February 23, 1883. On August 24, 1888, at age 36, Godfrey faced off against world renowned Australian boxer Peter Jackson in San Francisco, California. He would end up losing the bout by technical knockout in the nineteenth round, subsequently losing the World 'Colored' Title.^[5] Godfrey had two more bouts with the much heavier Kilrain after their initial draw, losing both of them via knockout. He also faced Ireland's Peter Maher and California Joe Choynski towards the latter part of his career, almost 40 years old, also losing those matchups.^[7] It was during the last stages of his career, as the years took their toll and his ring skills visibly faded, that the unenlightened press of the day took to calling him by the deprecatory sobriquet of "Old Chocolate".

Godfrey spent nearly his entire career chasing eventual World Heavyweight Champion John L. Sullivan, who repeatedly refused to fight black contenders. However, in 1881 a story surfaced that a bare-knuckle fight against Sullivan had been scheduled but was stopped by the Boston police due to boxing being illegal in the state.^[3] This enhanced Godfrey's notoriety and earned him some high-profile matchups with some of the top pugilists of his time period, including the likes of Kilrain, Maher, Jackson and Choynski.^[5]

Among the notable fighters that Godfrey beat were Charles Hadley, C.C. Smith, England's "Denver Ed" Smith, McHenry Johnson ("Minneapolis Star"), Irish Joe Lannon, Canada's Patsy Cardiff, Steve O'Donnell of Australia and Joe Doherty.^[7]

Death

Godfrey died of Tuberculosis on October 19, 1901 at his house in Revere, Massachusetts. He had reportedly accumulated considerable real estate in both the Chelsea and Revere areas at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife Clara J. Godfrey, and his son George Godfrey Jr.^[6]^[7]

Notable bouts

See also

References

1. ^Cyber Boxing Encyclopedia - George (Old Chocolate) Godfrey CyberBoxingZone.com Retrieved on 2014-04-30
2. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.peisportshalloffame.ca/inductees/george-godfrey/ |title=George Godfrey | Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame | PEI Sports Hall of Fame |publisher=Peisportshalloffame.ca |date= |accessdate=2014-05-06}}
3. ^¹²{{cite web |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=6739 |title=GODFREY, GEORGE |last=Hornby |first=Jim |work=Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 13 |publisher=University of Toronto/Université Laval |year=1994 |accessdate=2014-05-06 }}
4. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/george-godfrey-was-boxing-pioneer |title=George Godfrey was a boxing pioneer | African American Registry |publisher=Aaregistry.org |date= |accessdate=2014-05-06}}
5. ^¹{{cite book|author1=Colleen Aycock|author2=Mark Scott|title=The First Black Boxing Champions: Essays on Fighters of the 1800s to the 1920s|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CoweAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA30|date=31 January 2011|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-4991-0|pages=30–}}
6. ^Boston Herald (Boston, Massachusetts), October 19, 1901.
7. ^{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85292145 |title=George Byers "Old Chocolate" Godfrey (1853 - 1901) - Find A Grave Memorial |publisher=Findagrave.com |date= |accessdate=2014-05-06}}
8. ^¹²George Godfrey's Professional Boxing Record. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 2014-05-18.

External links