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Why is this not mentioned?dude fought half blind and was ducked by Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey at heavyweight,was only 5'6..that is a damn impressive feat
Sam Langford is regarded as one of the best boxers of all-time and arguably the greatest boxer to never win a world title. White champions drew the color line and Jack Johnson claimed a title defense against Langford wouldn't draw.
After Jack Johnson won the World Heavyweight Championship in 1908, Langford claimed the World Colored Heavyweight Championship. With Johnson choosing to defend against white challengers, the top black fighters fought each other repeatedly. Langford fought Joe Jeannette 13 times, Sam McVea 13 times, and Harry Wills 18 times.
In the early 1920s, when Langford was half-blind, he went to Jack Kearns, the manager of World Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey, and asked for a shot at the title. Kearns said, "Sam, we were looking for somebody easier."
In his autobiography, Dempsey wrote, “There was one man . . . I wouldn’t fight because I knew he would flatten me. I was afraid of Sam Langford.”
By the end of his career, Langford could barely see. His eyes failing, Langford would fight on the inside so he could feel his opponent and know where his arms were. At the end of a round, he'd use the ropes to feel his way back to his corner. Doctors twice tried to restore his sight, but by the mid-1930s, Langford was totally blind.
In 1944, Al Laney of the "New York Herald Tribune" decided to write a story about Langford, but he had trouble finding him. Several people suggested that Langford was probably dead, but Laney persisted and finally found Langford living at a rooming house on 139th Street in New York City. Langford had 20 cents in his pocket and was subsisting on a few dollars he received each month from a foundation for the blind.
Shortly after Laney's story was published, a fund was set up for Langford. As a result, he lived relatively comfortably for the rest of his days. Langford passed away on January 12, 1956 at a private nursing home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Sam Langford is regarded as one of the best boxers of all-time and arguably the greatest boxer to never win a world title. White champions drew the color line and Jack Johnson claimed a title defense against Langford wouldn't draw.
After Jack Johnson won the World Heavyweight Championship in 1908, Langford claimed the World Colored Heavyweight Championship. With Johnson choosing to defend against white challengers, the top black fighters fought each other repeatedly. Langford fought Joe Jeannette 13 times, Sam McVea 13 times, and Harry Wills 18 times.
In the early 1920s, when Langford was half-blind, he went to Jack Kearns, the manager of World Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey, and asked for a shot at the title. Kearns said, "Sam, we were looking for somebody easier."
In his autobiography, Dempsey wrote, “There was one man . . . I wouldn’t fight because I knew he would flatten me. I was afraid of Sam Langford.”
By the end of his career, Langford could barely see. His eyes failing, Langford would fight on the inside so he could feel his opponent and know where his arms were. At the end of a round, he'd use the ropes to feel his way back to his corner. Doctors twice tried to restore his sight, but by the mid-1930s, Langford was totally blind.
In 1944, Al Laney of the "New York Herald Tribune" decided to write a story about Langford, but he had trouble finding him. Several people suggested that Langford was probably dead, but Laney persisted and finally found Langford living at a rooming house on 139th Street in New York City. Langford had 20 cents in his pocket and was subsisting on a few dollars he received each month from a foundation for the blind.
Shortly after Laney's story was published, a fund was set up for Langford. As a result, he lived relatively comfortably for the rest of his days. Langford passed away on January 12, 1956 at a private nursing home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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