The Great White Hopes by Graeme Kent

Author:Graeme Kent
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780752496153
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2013-03-27T16:00:00+00:00

The first semi-official gathering of some of the White Hopes occurred on 11 May 1911 at the National Sporting Club in New York. Promoter Tom O’Rourke announced that, in order to produce a Caucasian heavyweight capable of challenging Jack Johnson, he was bringing together the cream of the white heavyweights in a knockout tournament. In the same month the influential sporting newspaper the Police Gazette commented approvingly on his efforts: ‘Tom O’Rourke is the only promoter who is making a rational effort to develop new material in the professional heavyweight division with a view to bringing out a man capable of battling against Johnson and winning back the title of champion for the white race.’

O’Rourke was a charlatan and conman of sufficient calibre to maintain the reluctant admiration of such hard men as Coffroth and Curley. He broke into the game as manager and promoter of a number of black fighters in the lower weight divisions whom nobody else wanted to look after; in the ring parlance of the time, black boxers ‘did not draw flies’. O’Rourke compensated for his altruism by taking 50 per cent of his fighters’ purses and by forcing them to box to orders. Even as early as the turn of the century, when the phrase ‘anything goes’ could be said to have been the motto of professional boxing, O’Rourke was famed for his wheeling and dealing and was often accused of ‘fixing’ the results of the fighters he managed in order to engineer betting coups. The Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin of 8 February 1900 was so incensed by the manager’s finagling that it accused O’Rourke of choreographing many of the bouts in which his fighters were involved:

The following is a list of some of the battles that have taken place within a year over which there have been charges of crookedness, wrong decisions or some kind of foul play.

In all of them Tom O’Rourke has been a prominent factor, either as manager of one of the principals or manager of the club. In several cases it has been clearly shown that the battles were ‘fakes’ expressly made for betting purposes . . .

Walcott vs. Lavigne

Sharkey vs. Corbett

West vs. Bonner

Walcott vs. Creedon

etc. etc.

San Francisco, Oct 29, 1897

Lennox Club, Nov 22, 1898

Lennox Club, Jan 17, 1899

Lennox Club, April 25, 1899

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