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The longest fight : in the ring with Joe Gans, boxing's first African American champion

Title
The longest fight : in the ring with Joe Gans, boxing's first African American champion / William Gildea.
Author
Gildea, William.
Publication
New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012.

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TextUse in library Sc D 12-1420Schomburg Center - Research & Reference

Details

Description
245 p., [8] p. of plates : ill.; 22 cm.
Summary
In The longest fight, the longtime Washington Post correspondent William Gildea tells the story of the longest boxing match of the twentieth century-- between Joe Gans , the first African American boxing champion, and "Battling" Nelson, a vicious and dirty brawler-- which would stretch to forty-two rounds and last two hours and forty-eight minutes. An new rail line brought spectators from around the country, dozens of reporters came to file blow-by-blow accounts, and an entrepreneurial crew's film of the fight, shown in theaters shortly afterward, endures to this day. The longest fight also recounts something much greater-- the longer battle that Gans fought against prejudice as the premier black athlete of his time. It is a portrait of life in black America at the turn of the twentieth century, of what it was like to be the first black athlete to successfully cross the nation's gaping racial divide. Gans was smart, witty, trim, and handsome-- with one-punch knockout power and groundbreaking defensive skills-- and his courage despite discrimination prefigures the strife faced by many of America's finest athletes, including Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, and Muhammad Ali.
Alternative Title
In the ring with Joe Gans, boxing's first African American champion
Subjects
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Call Number
Sc D 12-1420
ISBN
  • 9780374280970 (hbk.)
  • 0374280975 (hbk.)
LCCN
2011040170
OCLC
756045300
Author
Gildea, William.
Title
The longest fight : in the ring with Joe Gans, boxing's first African American champion / William Gildea.
Imprint
New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012.
Edition
1st ed.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Research Call Number
Sc D 12-1420
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