Chicago: National Sports Publishing Company, 1927.
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Hardcover. First edition. Introductory articles by Ed. Smith, "Tad," Damon Runyan, and Mrs. Jack Johnson. A nice, very near fine copy lacking the dustwrapper. This copy Inscribed by Lucius C. Harper, editor of the African-American newspaper *The Chicago Defender*: "To Bettise [?] Stalling with the wish that you may enjoy reading this with the same pleasure & delight I experienced in helping Jack get it into book form. Sincerely, Lucius C. Harper. July 23, 1946." Johnson's tenure as the first African-American World Heavyweight Champion, and the larger-than-life nature of both his triumphs and travails, were a source of pride and fascination for African-Americans early in the 20th Century and consternation to white boxing fans who scrambled to find "a great white hope" to oppose him. An interesting inscription that sheds light on the genesis of the creation of the book.
Item #87424
