On This Day: George Godfrey The Black Shadow of Leiperville Remembered

By Peter Silkov 

George Godfrey, the ’Black Shadow of Leiperville’ was an outstanding heavyweight boxer who fought the best heavyweights of the 1920s and 30s. Godfrey stood 6’ feet 3” inches and weighed between 210 and 250, and despite his size, he was surprisingly fast.  He also had a devastating punch, and although he possessed these attributes, Godfrey was held back during his career due to his colour.

Due to the colour bar, Godfrey was never able to fight for the genuine World heavyweight championship, and for much of his career, he had to face his fellow coloured fighters. When he was matched with white contenders, Godfrey was often 'handcuffed' and told to ‘carry’ them or even to lose. There are a number of fights that Godfrey lost suddenly when he had been winning; usually getting himself disqualified with low blows.   In addition to this Godrey was the victim of a number of very dubious decisions when fighting white opponents.  With such obstacles in front of him it could be said that Godfrey's career is all the more impressive. 

Born Feab Smith Williams in Mobile, Alabama, on January 25, 1897, Godfrey moved to Leiperville, Pennsylvania, where he resided for most of his career.

Williams took on the name George Godfrey to honor the original George ‘Old Chocolate’ Godfrey, who was a great contender in the 1880s and 90s. Unfortunately, Godfrey would be as much a victim of his colour as was his namesake, ‘Old Chocolate.’ For much of his career he was trained by Jack Blackburn, the famed ex-lightweight contender, who would later train Joe Louis.

Godfrey's official career started in 1919, at the age of 22, but it is likely that he had fights previous, but have not been recorded.  His career really started in earnest after he met up with the legendary Sam Langford, who then took him on as a sparring partner. Godfrey then accompanied Langford  in his travels, for a number of months, as Langford continued to take on all-comers. Godfrey's official record tells us that he would fight Langford for real in just his second professional contest, and hold his employer to a draw.  Godfrey would carry on fighting top liners for the rest of his career.  At least the top fighters who would face him.  No reigning world champion would ever put his title on the line against Godfrey. Interestingly, Jack Dempsey, who would spend his whole title reign avoiding Sam Langford and Harry Wills, did not draw the colour line when it came to sparring partners, and took on Godfrey as a sparring partner when he was getting ready to defend his world heavyweight title against Tommy Gibbons.  However, Godfrey is rumored to have floored or even koed Dempsey during one sparring session, and his services were quickly canceled, with the official line being that Godfrey had injured his ribs.

Despite the colour bar, which Godfrey had to deal with throughout his career, his record still holds an impressive list of the many of the top heavyweights, both black and white, of the 20s and 30s.  Including men like Bill Tate, Jack Renault, Tut Jackson, Fred Fulton, ‘Tiny’ Jim Herman, Jack Sharkey, Larry Gains, ‘Bearcat’ Wright, Jack Roper, Jim Maloney, Paulino Uzcudun, Johnny Risko, Primo Carnera, Seal Harris, Jack Gross, Tiger Jack Fox, Obie Walker, and Pierre Charles.

One of the reasons why many of these fighters agreed to fight Godfrey was due to the fact that he was such a draw with the fans, because of his size and his ability.  Boxing fans were both thrilled and fascinated with him. Indeed, when he traveled to Europe to fight he was a sensation.  For this reason, Godfrey's opponents were well paid when they got into the ring with him, due to him being such a big draw. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Godfrey, despite the fact that during his career he should have earned a fortune. Unfortunately Godfrey's manager, Jimmy 'Baron' Dougherty, who handled all his business and booked his fights for him, saw Godfrey as a meal ticket before anything else, and took full advantage of Godfrey's lack of formal education, and the ability to either read or write.

Godfrey won the World ‘Coloured’ Heavyweight title on November 8, 1926, when he stopped Larry Gains in 6 rounds. He would hold this title until August 15, 1928, when he lost to Larry Gains in 3 rounds on a disqualification. In February 1931 he would win the vacant Mexican Heavyweight title against Ricardo Rosel and held it until June 1932 when he vacated it. Godfrey regained the World ‘Coloured’ Heavyweight title on August 24, 1931, when he knocked out Seal Harris in the 2nd round.  Godfrey’s 2nd reign lasted until October 9, 1931, when he was out-pointed over 10 rounds by Obie Walker.

In the early 30s, as his boxing career began to wane, Godfrey took up wrestling to supplement his boxing career, and at times would feature on mixed wrestling and boxing shows, and would feature in a wrestling match and then a boxing match on the same night.  Godfrey also took part in some films in the early 30s, and received much praise for his performances. 

Godfrey won another version of world title on October 2, 1935, when he beat Pierre Charles for the IBU World heavyweight title on points over 15 rounds. Godfrey never defended this title after he was stripped by the IBU for not paying his sanctioning fee.

In his last fight on August 10, 1937, he lost to Hank Hankinson on a 8th round stoppage.  Godfrey retired with a final record of (99-21-2, 81koes.)

Unfortunately retirement was not kind to George Godfrey, as he began suffering from ill health. He suffered a stroke in 1938, and was also troubled by heart and kidney aliments. In addition to this, Godfrey was also nearly penniless, having been mercilessly ripped off by his own manager. What little he had been given of his earnings was long gone. When he was well enough Godfrey made ends meet by working odd jobs, such as working as a bouncer at night clubs, while living in a tiny hotel room.

George Godfrey died of heart disease on August 13, 1947, at the age of 50.

Looking beyond his 'handcuffed' performances, it is safe to say Godfrey's true ability would have seen him will the World heavyweight title had he been granted a shot during his prime. 

Ring Magazine named Godfrey in their top 100 punchers list in 2003 and in 2007, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Copyright © 2016 The Boxing Glove, Inc. Peter Silkov Art. All Rights Reserved.

Book Review: The Sundowners: the History of the Black Prizefighter 1870 - 1930

 

The Sunday Book Review by Peter Silkov

“The Sundowners: the History of the Black Prizefighter 1870 - 1930 (Volume 2, Part 1)”  

Written by Kevin R. Smith

One of the prime examples of this is the history of the black fighter in boxing. There is no other, so-called, sport in existence, which so clearly illustrates the struggle for racial equality, as does the history of boxing.  Ever since coloured fighters first began to throw punches in the ring, back in the bare-knuckle days of Bill Richmond and Tom Molineaux, boxing has offered a way out. Yet, at the same time, a reinforcement of the racial confinements under which these men were forced to live during their daily lives. Black fighters proved their worth with their pugilistic endeavors, and in many cases became favourites with white audiences. They also struck fear, often into the same people who so enjoyed watching them fight. 

George Godfrey

 As a sport, boxing is unique in the endless amounts of fascinating stories that the lives of its protagonists provide to the interested reader. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that boxing is more than just a sport, it is a way of life, a calling for those who take it up. It has often been said that you can’t play at boxing. Over the many years of it’s history, there have been innumerable boxers, many known and many relatively unknown, but all with often fascinatingly individual stories to tell.  Many boxers’ life stories often break beyond the boundaries of simply boxing itself. Boxer’s lives have often been microcosms of the lives of those watching them fight.

 The lot of the black boxer during the 19th and early 20th century was not an easy one. Many top white fighters stated the colour bar as reason enough not to fight the top coloured fighters. Often these men were forced to fight each other countless times in order to maintain a living. The black race enjoyed a breakthrough in the late 1890s and early 1900s, when George Dixon, the first coloured world champion, won world titles at Bantamweight and Featherweight. Joe Walcott soon followed by winning the welterweight crown and Joe Gans the lightweight title in the early 1900s. These breakthroughs for the black race culminated in Jack Johnson taking boxing’s greatest prize, the World heavyweight championship in 1908.  However, Johnson’s victory would turn out to be bittersweet for his people, and other black fighters for years to come, as the white race was so disturbed by the loss of their most prestigious boxing title. As a result of Johnson’s world title reign, the Black fighter was excluded and discriminated against even more, and this would not begin to change until the days of Joe Louis.

“The Sundowners: The History of the Black Prizefighter 1870 - 1930 (Volume 2, Part 1)” written and published by Kevin R. Smith, provides an encyclopedic guide to the many black fighters who fought during the late 19th and early 20th century.  Many of these fighters’ names have almost been completely lost to history, while others will be familiar to the boxing history student.  In both cases, Smith provides enlightening biographical details about the fighter’s lives, both in and outside, of the boxing ring. Every fighter featured inside this book has at least a page devoted to his life and boxing career; many have biographies several pages long. Each man’s ring record and photograph accompany these biographical notes.

The photographs themselves make this a very fascinating and beautiful book; there are literally 100s of rare photos, many never before seen. The men portrayed in this book are in many ways very different and unique from each other. One major factor these boxers have in common is the fact that they are black fighters who tried to make their mark in the world. Because of their colour, they faced many hurdles throughout their boxing careers, not just in the ring, but outside of it too.

George Byers

 The life stories of these men are often bittersweet and disheartening, yet, uplifting at the same time. Many of them arose from poverty to find fame and riches, despite their colour, racism, and bigotry of the time. Yet, some of these men inevitably fell back into the very poverty and hardship from which they had originally began, and could escape from only fleetingly. 
 
 
Some of these boxers were terribly treated by white managers who saw them as little more than pieces of meat to make money, though it can also be said that this was a fate not reserved solely for the black fighter, but experienced by the white fighters as well. One telling aspect of this book is that, despite the undoubted class and in some cases, greatness of these black fighters, very few of them ever gained a genuine world title shot during their fistic careers. This is perhaps the most damning evidence of how these fighters were forever, during their careers and lives, restricted due to their race. They could have popularity, fame and fortune even, up to a point, but in most cases, they were not allowed to fight for the world titles.

Some of the better known of the dozens of fighters portrayed in this book are Frank Craig, Kid Norfolk, George Godfrey, Bobby Dobbs, Eladio Valdez, George Byers, Jeff Clarke, Frank Childs, Esteban Gallard, Jack Blackburn and Ramon Castillo. They are just a clutch of the many boxers whose names and fighting careers are brought back to life within these pages. Kevin Smith does an admirable job in this book of fleshing out fighters whom to many have only been faded names in boxing history. Many of the fighters portrayed in here have been almost totally forgotten and ignored as time has gone by; their achievements and toil within the boxing ring long since discarded…until now.

Kid Norfolk

In addition to the writing of Smith, a number of the biographies in this book are written by Ralph H. Cathcart, who is the son of one of the outstanding fighters within these pages, Ramon Castillo (real name Ramon Grenot Cathcart.)

Together, both Smith and Cathcart have provided an informative, entertaining, and often enlightening history of the black fighter in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  We find out more than just about these men’s boxing careers, but also about their lives outside of boxing, and the hurdles in which they had to overcome in order to try and make a better life for themselves. These are stories of triumph and defeat, success and failure. For most of the fighters in these pages the good times lasted only as long as their boxing peaks and then the inevitable slide downhill were often devastating.

This book is a tremendous asset for anyone interested in some of the most important aspects of boxing history. Perhaps it also represents a final victory for all of the men within its pages too. After many years with their records and lives condemned to obscurity, they have finally been remembered again.