Name: Joe Jeannette Alias: Joe Jennette Birth Name: Jeremiah Jennette Born: 1879-08-26 Birthplace: North Bergen, New Jersey, USA Died: 1958-07-02 (Age:78) Hometown: Union City, New Jersey, USA Stance: Orthodox Height: 5′ 10″ / 178cm Reach: 74″ / 188cm Boxing Record: click oe Jeannette (Joseph Jennette) BORN August 26 1879; North Bergen, New Jersey DIED July 2 1958; Weehawken, New Jersey (Some sources report 1956) HEIGHT 5-10 WEIGHT 185-205 lbs MANAGER Dan McKetrick Jeannette was an extremely talented fighter; On defense, he was slippery and elusive; On offense, he was a dangerous inside puncher; He was a member of the outstanding "black" foursome of the teens, along with Jack Johnson, Sam Langford and Sam McVea; Jeannette was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1967 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998 During his career, Jeannette defeated such men as Jack Johnson, Sam Langford, Sam McVea, Georges Carpentier, Black Bill (Claude Brooks), Jim Jeffords, George Cole, Al Kubiak, "Big" Bill Tate, Arthur Pelkey and Bartley Madden Joe Jennette By Ben Hawes Joe Jennette was born in North Bergen, New Jersey, on Agust 26, 1879. "Jeremiah" was the son of Benjamin F. and Mena Jennette. Joe's father was a blacksmith. Interestingly, Joe's mother was born in Bavaria, yet is listed as "black" in an 1880's census report of New Jersey. My guess, considering that the black population in Germany during the time period was extremely small, is that even if she were not "black," she would have been listed as such because of the obvious social and racial intolerance of the period. Joe was raised in a very discilpined and hard-working family. He first worked with his father as an apprentice blacksith; later, around the turn of the century, Joe began to drive a coal truck for Jagels & Bellis, a notable organization of the period. In 1904, Joe began his ring career with an exhibition against a journeyman fighter named Arthur Dickinson in Jersey City, NJ. Joe lost the decision, but held his own with Dickenson and decided to give the fight game a chance. In a 1912 interview, he credited his friends with encouraging him, but said that the main reasn for his decision to become a fighter was that he didn't have to work as hard and the compensation was just too good to pass up. Despite Joe's brief training in pugilism, he showed that he could mix it up with the best of them by fighting Jack Johnson seven times and Sam Langford three times in his first 22 fights. Joe ended up beating Jack once on a foul in 2 rounds, losing once on a 15-round decision, and drawing once over 10 rounds. The other four fights were recorded as no- decisions. As for Langford, Joe beat Sam by tko in 8 rounds, lost a 15- round decision, and, in 1907, drew over 12 rounds. Although Joe would never again fight Johnson after their 10-round draw in 1907 -- despite constant challenges while Jack was champion -- Joe and Sam Langford would fight on at least 11 other occasions. It should be pointed out that until Joe Louis became heavyweight champion, many white boxers would only rarely fight outside of their race. Accordingly, black pugilists were left to fighting each other again and again. Joe was no exception, fighting nearly half of his recorded 157 bouts against 8 to 10 other black boxers of his day. Joe's greatest accomplishments came during his three trips to Paris, France. The backlash of Johnson's victory in Australia and Jack's unwillingness to fight any other Black fighters left Joe with very few competitive and profitable bouts in the United States. Joe, hearing about the acceptance of Black fighters in Paris and the lucrative purses being offered, decided to set sail to Europe. Under the guidance of Dan McKettrick, the very worldly, educated, and resourceful editor of the New York World, Joe arrived in Paris in the early part of 1909. Joe Jeannette Website 1904 Nov 11 Morris Harris Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 1905 Mar 2 Morris Harris Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 Apr 20 Black Bill (Claude Brooks) Philadelphia, Pa LK 2 May 9 Jack Johnson Philadelphia, Pa ND 3 May 19 Jack Johnson Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 Jun 8 Black Bill (Claude Brooks) Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 Jul 6 George Cole Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 Aug 28 George Cole Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 Oct 7 Pat O'Rourke North Bergen, NJ KO 5 Oct 11 Black Bill (Claude Brooks) Wilmington, De KO 7 Oct 26 Jim Jeffords Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 Oct 28 George Cole Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 Nov 2 Black Bill (Claude Brooks) Wilmington, De ND 6 Nov 25 Jack Johnson Philadelphia, Pa WF 2 Dec 2 Jack Johnson Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 Dec 20 Walter Johnson New York, NY ND 3 Dec 25 Sam Langford Lawrence, Ma TK 8 1906 Jan 16 Jack Johnson New York, NY ND 3 Mar 14 Jack Johnson Baltimore, Md L 15 Apr 5 Sam Langford Chelsea, Ma L 15 Sep 6 Black Bill (Claude Brooks) Philadelphia, Pa KO 4 Sep 20 Jack Johnson Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 Nov 26 Jack Johnson Portland, Me D 10 Dec 9 Jack Johnson New York, NY L 3 1907 Jan 11 Sam Langford Lawrence, Ma D 12 Feb 10 Jim Jeffords Portland, Me KO 7 -Some sources report 2/11/07 Mar 7 "Young" Peter Jackson Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 -Some sources report 3/08/07 Apr 15 Sam McVea New York, NY ND 10 Jun 11 Black Bill (Claude Brooks) New York, NY TK 4 Sep 30 Morris Harris Rochester, NY TK 13 -Some sources report 10/13/07 in "Philadelphia, Pa" 1908 Jan 3 Jack Johnson New York, NY D 3 Jan 13 Joe Phillips New York, NY KO 3 Jan 13 Griff Jones New York, NY KO 3 -The previous 2 bouts were held the same date Jan 27 Jim Jeffords New York, NY KO 2 Feb 17 George Cole New York, NY KO 4 Mar 3 Sam Langford Boston, Ma D 12 Mar 9 Sam Campbell New York, NY TK 6 May 8 Jim Barry New York, NY ND 6 Sep 1 Sam Langford New York, NY ND 6 Sep 15 John "Sandy" Ferguson Boston, Ma W 12 Dec 7 Morris Harris Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 1909 Jan 23 Ben Taylor Paris, Fr KO 3 Feb 6 Charley Croxon Paris, Fr TK 2 Feb 20 Sam McVea Paris, Fr L 20 Apr 17 Sam McVea Paris, Fr TK 49 May 1 Jack Scales Paris, Fr KO 1 May 22 John "Sandy" Ferguson Paris, Fr W 20 Bob Fitzsimmons Paris, Fr EX Bob Fitzsimmons London, Eng EX May 27 Fred Drummond London, Eng SCH -This bout was scheduled but not held; Drummond did not show May 27 Trooper Cooke London, Eng TK 2 May 27 Harry Shearing London, Eng TK 4 -The preivous 2 bouts were held the same date Jun 22 John "Sandy" Ferguson Boston, Ma L 12 Aug 27 John "Sandy" Ferguson New York, NY TK 8 Sep 18 Al Kubiak Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 Oct 30 Al Kubiak Paris, Fr KO 5 -Some sources report "KO 10" Nov 13 Sid Russell Paris, Fr W 15 Dec 11 Sam McVea Paris, Fr D 20 1910 May 24 Andrew Morris Boston, Ma TK 3 Jun 3 Jim Smith New York, NY ND 10 Jun 16 Jim Stewart New York, NY ND 10 Jul 1 Morris Harris New York, NY ND 10 Sep 6 Sam Langford Boston, Ma L 15 Sep 30 Morris Harris New York, NY ND 10 Nov 10 Black Bill (Claude Brooks) New York, NY KO 5 1911 Jan 10 Sam Langford Boston, Ma L 12 Feb 8 Jim Barry Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 Mar 16 Jim Barry New York, NY ND 10 Apr 20 Al Kubiak New York, NY KO 9 Jul 25 Al Kubiak New York, NY KO 3 Aug 1 Tony Ross New York, NY ND 10 Aug 23 Dummy Maxson New York, NY KO 1 Aug 29 Dan "Porky" Flynn New York, NY ND 10 Sep 5 Sam Langford New York, NY ND 10 Nov 30 Bill Watkins Albany, NY KO 1 Dec 7 Joseph "Jewey" Smith New York, NY KO 3 Dec 11 "Young" Jack Johnson Memphis, Tn KO 4 Dec 15 Nat Dewey Chattanooga, Tn W 8 Dec 18 Al Mitchell Memphis, Tn KO 4 Dec 21 "Topeka" Jack Johnson New Orleans, La KO 3 Dec 26 Jack "Twin" Sullivan Buffalo, NY ND 10 1912 Jan 19 Griff Jones Utica, NY KO 3 Feb 18 Morris Harris Philadelphia, Pa ND 3 Feb 18 Chuck Carleton Philadelphia, Pa ND 3 -The previous 2 bouts were held the same date; Some sources report 2/19/12 Feb 27 Andrew Morris New Haven, Ct TK 6 Mar 13 Nat Dewey New York, NY TK 7 Apr 1 Griff Jones New York, NY TK 4 -Some sources report "TK 6" Apr 4 Black Bill (Claude Brooks) Lewiston, Me KO 3 May 24 George "Boer" Rodel Plymouth, Eng KO 11 Jun 15 Black Bill (Claude Brooks) Brooklyn, NY WF 6 Jul 15 Jeff Madden New Bedford, Ma TK 4 Jul 15 Mickey McDonough New Bedford, Ma TK 2 -The previous 2 bouts were held the same date Jul 29 "Battling" Jim Johnson Philadelphia, Pa ND 6 Aug 9 Hank Griffin Scranton, Pa KO 3 Aug 19 Jeff Madden New York, NY TK 2 Aug 20 "Big Bill Tate Newark, NJ KO 2 Aug 20 "Battling" Jack Brooks Newark, NJ KO 2 -The previous 2 bouts were held the same date Aug 30 Griff Jones Rockaway, NY KO 3 Sep 2 Jeff Clark Pittsburgh, Pa ND 6 Sep 9 Tony Ross New York, NY WF 7 Sep 11 K.O.