James Burke: A Brief Biography

Matthew Alexander Henson was the first 1955. He was the son of two freeborn black sharecroppers. Henson was married twice to first wife, Eva Flint and second wife, Lucy Ross. They didn’t have any children. He fathered his only African American Artic explorer. He was born August 8, 1866 in Nanjemoy, Maryland and died March 9, child, Anauakaq, with Akatingwah (Biography). Matthew Henson was best known as the co-discoverer of the North Pole with Robert Edwin Peary in 1909. Henson displayed great character and he was very important to American History. Even though Henson had an impact on society, he also had some issues to deal with along the way.

Walter Prescott Webb was a historian and author. He reconstructed the past to understand the present. Webb became the president of the TSHA (Texas State Historical Association) in 1939. He came up with an idea to create an encyclopedia of Texas history, which was published as the ‘Handbook of Texas’ in January 1, 1952. He also wrote many books, some of them being The Texas Rangers and The Great Frontier, and won the Loubat Prize for The Great Plains.

Clarence Henry was a big name in boxing (he is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame-elected the year before he died- and while boxing, he won various heavyweight titles). He was a heavyweight fighter, who packed a heavy punch despite his light weight of 185 pounds (he was also six feet, one inch tall). He fought in a total of 41 fights, six losses, one draw, nineteen knockout wins (34 total wins). Some of the fighters Henry beat include: Jimmy Bivins, Willie Bean, “Irish” Bob Murphy, Albert Thompson, Charlie “Doc” Williams, and Rusty Payne.

Elliott J. Gorn’s The Manly Art is a unique book that tells readers the origins of boxing in American culture. The book was published in 1986 by Cornell University Press, the book discussed the development of boxing and American society. Gorn takes sport history, a commonly misunderstood and misinterpreted topic and wrote a book that not only was easy to read but allowed readers to gain knowledge on the sport. Gorn says “To understand prize fighting, I have discovered, is necessarily to understand something about nineteenth-century America. Ideology, ethnicity, social class formation, violence, urbanization, gender roles, religious world views, productive relationships, all are a part of sports history in general and boxing in particular.” (Gorn, pg. 12)

Boxing is a sport where the will to win is just as important as the strength to win. James J. Braddock had this will to win which is expertly portrayed by Russell Crow in Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man. Braddock symbolized the nation’s unwillingness to give in to the terrible times during The Great Depression and its fight to remain standing.

James Braddock was a light heavyweight boxer who was forced to retire after breaking his hand in the last fight on September 25th, 1933. He began working as a laborer at the dock because he had no other source of income to support his family, and struggling to make money in order to pay for the heating and electric bills and buy food. James still had a dream to box, and months after retiring from boxing, Joe Gould wanted him to be a last-minute substitute to fight against the second-rank contender. James ended up winning, which nobody expected. After his last win, he was back to boxing. He constantly won fights after that.

n the 1970's, Australian Bernard King invented the nasty TV judge. Decades before Red Symons, Piers Morgan and Simon Cowell, Bernard pioneered the acerbic comment, the withering criticism, the derisive stare, and he was better, nastier, funnier, bitchier... than all of them put together.

Ronald Schechter and Liz Clarke recently released a book entitled Mendoza The Jew: Boxing, Manliness, and Nationalism. Based on a true story, the graphic novel follows prizefighter Daniel Mendoza. Born in 1765, Mendoza’s role in the British community was very limited. Many Jews were banned in Britain until after 1656. Even so, after the banning was unenforced, most Jews flew “under the radar” and lived in some of the poorest parts in England. Although they were technically part of society, they were treated as if they were not. Throughout the course of the book, we see the struggle that Daniel Mendoza goes through to achieve his goals. Here, we follow Mendoza on his journey to success.

Did you know that Joe Louis’s mom made him take violin lessons, but Joe would secretly take is boxing gloves with him to practice boxing (Joe Louis)? Joseph Louis Barrow, also known as Joe Louis and the “Brown Bomber,” was a heavyweight boxer that held the champion crown for over 12 years (Joe Louis The Official Website). He had his time of struggles and hardships, but he never let them get in the way of his determination and hard work for what he loved.

I believe Bob Shaw is a hero. I think he is a hero because he showed many of the characte-

"Obviously, we knew how great of a boxer he was, but I think that was only 20 percent of what made him as great as he was," James told reporters in Oakland, Calif. during a press conference for the NBA Finals. "What he stood for, I mean, it's a guy who basically had to give up a belt and relish everything that he had done because of what he believed in and ended up in jail because of his beliefs. It's a guy who stood up for so many different things throughout the times where it was so difficult for African-Americans to even walk in the streets."

William Dempsey started fighting when his older brother Bernie taught him how to fight. When Bernie was 12 years old his family moved to Utah. He dropped out of 8th grade and started working. By the age of 17, Bernie developed into a skilled boxer. Bernie quit work and decided he could make money in prizefights in mining towns. Bernie had his first fight in a small town against an opponent known for his one punch knockout accuracy and power. During the fight, Bernie landed a powerful strike that put his opponent out. After the fight, the local organizer Hardy Downey insisted that Bernie should fight again. After a few fights Bernie got better, continued to teach his brother William, and fight under the name of Jack Dempsey. One day before one of “Jack’s” fights, Bernie got sick and

Boxing in the 1960’s was one of the biggest sources of entertainment to most American’s. Back in the 60’s one could compare a heavyweight championship fight to our modern day super bowl. If American’s didn’t have a television, they would be standing by their radios listening. Unfortunately during the same time period race relations were at an all-time low. Boxing was integrated, although black boxers were still under pressure to conform to white America’s social limitations. One man stayed true to himself, so that others would find courage to do the same.

Cassius clay, one of the world’s most distinguished boxers, was born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 7, 1942. Clays work ethic was apparent even in the early years of his life. As a child, he raced the school bus to school each morning. His friends would wave to him as the lead fluctuated based on the school bus’ stops. This work ethic extended to the classroom. Because of a learning disability, Clay had to work extra hard in school to not fall behind. Clay grew up with racial segregation all around him. These injustices sparked a passion in him to change the way people viewed African Americans: “I wanted to show that color didn’t matter”(Muhammad Ali: An American Legend). Clay’s boxing career began because of an incident when he was 12 years old. He and a friend rode their bikes to the Columbia Auditorium for The Louisville Home Show. When they were ready to go home, Clay discovered that his bike was stolen. Filled with rage, Clay wanted to retaliate. He found police officer, Joe Martin, who told him, “You better learn how to fight before you start challenging people that you’re gonna whoop” (Hauser 18). Martin became his coach, and although Clay never found the thief, he found a love of boxing that would continue throughout his life. Between the ages of 12 and 18, Clay

and won all two of his fights by knockouts. In recent years, in American football there have been more