Cold Open

It’s the evening of May 10th, 1888, at a boxing ring in Boston, Massachusetts.

18-year-old George Dixon walks from his corner of the ring and squares up to his opponent, 21-year-old Tommy “Spider” Kelly. As the two boxers stare into each other’s eyes, the crowd cheers in anticipation. Because whoever wins tonight will be named the World Bantamweight Champion.

But for George, there’s even more riding on this bout. Like many Boston fighters, Spider is a white Irish American. But George is Black—and there’s never been a Black world champion in boxing, or any other sport.

George widens his stance, raises his chin, and then lifts his fists.

The bell sounds, signaling the start of the first round.

George hops from foot to foot, watching his opponent move, and sizing up his speed and reach.

Spider throws the first blows, but George ducks and blocks with ease. The two men continue to spar, neither landing a definitive hit. But when they circle each other, George notices that Spider favors his right arm, leaving his left side undefended. So, George feints with his left hand, and Spider reacts…George then surprises him with a right hook. Spider staggers back.

A handful of Black spectators at the back of the crowd erupt into cheers. But it’s too early for George to celebrate: Spider quickly goes back on the offensive and lands a few hard blows of his own. This will be no easy victory.

The contest between George Dixon and Tommy “Spider” Kelly will be so close that neither fighter will concede or be knocked out. Even after the referee adds an extra three rounds, the bout will still end in a draw. It’s a result that will leave the championship title in question, and it’ll take another two years and a journey across the Atlantic before George Dixon is finally named World Bantamweight Champion on June 27th, 1890.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is June 27th, 1890: Boxing’s First Black World Champion.

Act One: A chance encounter

It’s the summer of 1886 in a photographer’s studio in Boston, two years before George Dixon’s world championship bout against Tommy “Spider” Kelly.

16-year-old George elbows open the door and lugs a heavy crate into the center of the room. It’s a hot day, and the windowless studio is stuffy. Sweat sticks George’s shirt to his back as he gently sets down the box. It’s full of glass plates used to take photographs, and it’s George’s job as a photographer’s assistant to prepare the studio between sittings.

George lifts a plate from the box and carefully slides it into a camera, which stands on a tripod in front of a painted backdrop. As he wipes his brow, the photographer and his next client enter the room.

The photographer has a new commission, taking pictures of boxers to help promote their upcoming fights. But George is surprised to find that this fighter is different from the other. He’s smaller, around 5 feet 4 inches, not much taller than George. He’s also Black, and George has never seen a Black boxer before.

This boxer removes his shirt and stands bare-chested in tight cotton pants with a red sash at his waist. The photographer asks the boxer to pose for the camera. But unlike the other fighters who’ve stood static with their fists raised, the Black boxer actually throws a few punches against an imaginary opponent. George admires his quick, graceful movements and the power behind them.

The photographer seems impressed too, and he moves toward the boxer to adjust his stance. But as he does so, the photographer trips on the camera’s stand. The tripod topples sideways and is about to hit the ground when George leaps forward and catches it.

George sets it upright again, as the photographer breathes a sigh of relief. But George’s speedy reactions haven’t just saved his boss a small fortune in equipment repairs—they have also caught the attention of the boxer.

When the shoot is over, the boxer gives George a nickel and commends him on his quick reflexes. He suggests that George give boxing a go—his speed would be a strong advantage in the ring. George isn’t so sure. He doesn’t think there’s much call for a 5-foot, 3-inch boxer who weighs only 87 pounds. But the boxer says that George could be a bantamweight—a new class for lighter fighters.

Later that day, George is standing in the darkroom, sliding glass plates into a developer solution. And as the images of the Black boxer become visible, he imagines his own face in them and feels a thrum of excitement. He sets the plates out to dry and puts up his hands, emulating the stances of the man in the images. He throws a few punches, just like he’d seen the boxer do earlier that day. The movement feels easy and natural, so George decides to give boxing a try.

Several days later, George visits a local boxing club for the first time. Initially, no one gives him a second glance. George is small, thin, and wiry. Even to qualify as a bantamweight, he must secretly slide lead weights into his shoes.

But even with this extra weight, George is fast on his feet. And he discovers he has natural defensive skills and a strong left hand. Soon, George is training every spare moment he can.

And all his hard work pays off. He catches the eye of a promoter who frequents the gym. This man offers to take George on as a client, quickly organizes his first professional fight. George wins by knockout in just three rounds. And from then on, he only gets better.

By the time he fights Tommy “Spider” Kelly for the World Bantamweight title less than two years later, George has never lost a bout. He doesn’t manage to beat Spider, but the fight ends in a draw after nine rounds. Leaving him still technically undefeated, George tries to claim the title of World Bantamweight Champion. But across the Atlantic, English boxer Edwin “Nunc” Wallace declares that he deserves the title more than George.

As a Black athlete in a sport run by white men, George knows that there’s little chance of the boxing authorities taking his side. The only way to make sure of his claim will be to beat his English rival. So, George Dixon will have to sail across the Atlantic to settle the matter in the ring.

Act Two: Out of the Shadows

It’s 5 PM, on June 27th, 1890, at the Pelican Boxing Club in London, England, two years after George Dixon’s fight against Tommy “Spider” Kelly.

In a cramped dressing room, 20-year-old George dodges, punches, and blocks an imaginary opponent. It’s a routine he calls “shadowboxing,” and he uses it to train his reflexes, perfect his footwork, and anticipate his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. This novel approach has helped George win fight after fight over the years, and he hopes it’ll give him the competitive advantage again in tonight’s bout against Edwin “Nunc” Wallace.

As the British Bantamweight and Featherweight champion, Nunc is the only serious contender standing between George and the world championship. It’s taken two years for their managers to agree terms, but finally a deal has been made that’s seen George travel across the Atlantic to fight at the Pelican Club, London’s most prestigious boxing venue.

The two men's fight has attracted huge attention from the press in Britain and America, and over 800 spectators have turned up to watch. George gets his first glance of them when he enters the arena. The most expensive seats at the ringside are crowded with wealthy aristocrats in top hats and evening wear. The rest of the club is packed out with boxing fans, reporters, bookmakers, and gamblers—and judging by the heckles and jeers aimed at George, almost everyone in the crowd is rooting for their fellow countryman Nunc Wallace.

After the boxers touch gloves, the bell rings, and the noise of the crowd falls away. George and Nunc circle each other, slowly throwing a few careful jabs. Both men are evenly matched. But there’s no limit placed on the number of rounds, and as the bout goes on, George starts to wear Nunc down.

George’s skill and stamina impresses the British public, and the taunts slowly turn to grudging respect, then even applause. Then, finally, in the 18th round, George gets through Nunc’s defenses and hits him with a barrage of blows. Nunc leans back against the ropes and raises his hand, conceding. George lifts his fists in the air as the crowd rises to its feet. Because now, no one can dispute George’s position as World Bantamweight Champion.

George returns to Boston a hero. He’s celebrated by the city’s Black community, and he’s determined to use his status as a world champion to improve the lot of all African Americans. So for the next few fights, he insists that Black patrons be allowed to sit ringside rather than being restricted to seats at the back. He opens boxing clubs in Black districts of Boston and New York. And he trains talented young Black fighters himself, teaching them the techniques that took him to the top.

Then in 1892, George returns to England to win the World Featherweight title, and for a time, he’s a champion at two weights. He writes a book that introduces the concept of shadowboxing. He wins dozens of fights, travelling from New York to Philadelphia, to San Francisco, each time performing in front of packed crowds. George even sets up his own vaudeville troupe and tours North America. As part of the entertainment, he participates in hundreds of exhibition fights, and thousands of spectators are willing to pay to see one of the world’s best boxers in action.

But George’s exploits don’t win over everyone. He faces racial abuse and discrimination on a regular basis—and not just from those outside the ring. On January 9th, 1900, George faces American Terry McGovern for another defense of the World Featherweight Championship. It’s a title George has held for most of the past seven years, but this fight is his toughest yet. He holds his own until the sixth round, when Terry’s relentless jabs to the face begin to take their toll. Then, in the eighth round, George’s manager throws in the towel, but the referee rules that George lost by a technical knockout. George is disappointed. This is the first time that he has ever suffered a knockout defeat.

He blames the decision on a racist referee and decides to quit the world of boxing to try something new. He takes the money he’s earned from fighting and opens a saloon in New York City.

But the White Elephant, as George calls his bar, will prove to be a prophetic name. George will take to drinking his own stock, and after being his own best customer for six months, the business will fail and take George’s savings with it. To make a living, George will be forced to return to the ring—but now, he’ll have to keep fighting until the bitter end.

Act Three: The bitter end

It’s January 4th, 1908, at the Bellevue Hospital in Boston, eight years after George Dixon lost the World Featherweight title.

37-year-old George opens his eyes and immediately closes them again as the bright light in the room sends a shooting pain through his head. His mouth is dry, his tongue is swollen, and he’s trembling with sweat. George groans. He’s in a familiar place—the hospital ward reserved for alcoholics.

After returning to the ring, George found that his six-month drinking binge as a saloon owner had taken its toll. He’d lost the speed and power that made him famous, and he was a shadow of the champion boxer he used to be. He then suffered a series of defeats, and as George numbed the pain of his losses with the bottle, his performances in the ring got even worse. The demands of his relentless boxing schedule and repeated head traumas took their toll, too, and George began to suffer from mood swings and occasional violent outbursts. Two years ago, he couldn’t even hold his own as a journeyman fighter and was forced out of pro boxing. Now, he spends most days blackout drunk, scrapping on the street to earn a few dollars.

Realizing he's in a hospital bed, George tries to sit up, but the pain is excruciating. He cries out, and a nurse comes over with a cup of water and a spoonful of morphine. As the drug takes hold, George sinks back onto the bed.

A few minutes later, the attending doctor comes to George’s bedside. He has bad news. George’s liver is badly damaged, his brain is swollen, and he has several broken ribs. The doctor tells him that there is little they can do except make him comfortable and hope George’s body has enough strength left to recover on its own.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t, and George dies in Bellevue Hospital only two days later. But the death of the former champion won’t go unnoticed or unmourned. Friends in the boxing world will organize an exhibition fight to pay off George’s hospital bill and give him an honorable burial—they’ll carry forward the memory of the gutsy fighter who pioneered shadowboxing, inspired a generation of young athletes, and became the first Black world champion on June 27th, 1890.

Outro

Next on History Daily. June 30th, 1908. A mysterious explosion shakes a remote part of Russia, puzzling scientists and sparking a search for answers.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Gabriel Gould.

Supervising Sound Designer Matthew Filler.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Lauren Sudworth.

Edited by Scott Reeves.

Managing producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.