Jersey Joe Walcott Biography - Born In Merchantville, New Jersey, Blackburn Takes Over As Trainer, Loses To Four Top-ranked Fighters
1914-1994
American boxer
One of the most persistent boxers of the 20th century, Jersey Joe Walcott refused to give up his dream of winning the world heavyweight title. Long after most boxers would have abandoned all hope, Walcott battled on. On July 18, 1951, he became, at the age of thirty-seven, the oldest boxer ever to become the heavyweight champ, knocking out Ezzard Charles in the seventh round to finally take the title he had so long pursued. For more than four decades, he held the distinction of being the oldest boxer to win the heavyweight title, until 45-year-old George Foreman won the crown in 1994. After retiring from the ring, Walcott remained active in boxing as a referee and later became chairman of the New Jersey State Boxing Commission. Sadly, his tenure in the latter position was marred by charges that he had taken bribes. Despite this stain on his reputation, Walcott will forever stand as an inspiration to dreamers everywhere that perseverance can pay off.
Additional Topics
He was born Raymond Arnold Cream in Merchantville, New Jersey, on January 31, 1914. When he was only thirteen years old, his father, an immigrant from Barbados, died. Young Walcott quit school and began looking for any kind of work he could find to help
Jersey Joe Walcott
support his family. Not long thereafter, he stopped in one day at Battling Mac's Gym in Camden, New Jersey, where…
Over the next several years, Walcott fought in dozens of matches, winning most of them but losing occasionally. However, boxing failed to provide a dependable source of income. After he married and started a family, Walcott was forced more and more to take jobs outside the ring to make ends meet. His ring career took a positive turn after the unschooled Walcott began to work with trainer Jack Blac…
The situation grew even gloomier for Walcott in the latter half of the 1930s. Four times during that period, he squared off against one of the ten top-ranked fighters—Al Ettore in 1936, Tiger Jack Fox in 1937 and 1938, and Abe Simon in 1940—in his weight class, only to lose every match. By the early 1940s, Walcott was working in the Camden shipyards, and his boxing career seemed all …
Prominent boxing promoter Mike ("Uncle Mike") Jacobs in late 1947 set up what was supposed to be a ten-round charity exhibition match between World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis and Walcott. It turned into a title match after the New York State Athletic Commission ruled that any match of more than six rounds with Louis had to be for the title. Odds makers gave Walcott little chance …
In 1950 Walcott won his first four matches of the year, only to lose to Rex Layne on November 24. He also lost his first rematch with Charles on March 7, 1951. But on July 18, 1951, Walcott made boxing history when he knocked out Charles in the seventh round to become the oldest boxer ever to win the world heavyweight title. In 1952, Walcott fought a series of exhibition bouts with Jackie Burke be…
Ezzard Charles won the National Boxing Association heavyweight crown in a fifteen-round decision over Jersey Joe Walcott on June 22, 1949. But two years later, on July 18, 1951, Walcott turned the tables on Charles, knocking him out to take the heavyweight title for himself. The following year, Charles failed in an attempt to recapture the title from Walcott, who lost it barely three months later …
"Ezzard Mark Charles." Dictionary of American Biography: Supplement 9: 1971-1975. New York: Scribner, 1994. "Joe Walcott." Almanac of Famous People, 6th edition. Detroit: Gale Group, 1998. Davis, Samuel. "Jersey Joe Walcott Is Remembered." Philadelphia Tribune (March 4, 1994). Jefferies, Eddie. "Ex-Heavyweight Champ's Calling Card Was Perseve…
Citing this material
Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.
Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.
User Comments Add a comment…
7 months ago
Alice Scarduzio
My sister Ruth & I went to Borough Jr. High with Jersey Joe's daughters. I remember him working with juveniles and being a very firm but fair man. When he won the title our entire street (Segal) celebrated. He was a man & father his children can be very proud of.
about 1 year ago
Judith E. Gardner » judithe50 ((at)) hotmail dot com
I did not know much about boxing when I was growing up.I do recall vividly that "Jersey Joe" was the talk of the neighborhood.He lived across the street from me and my family in Camden,New Jersey.I was only two years old when he clinched the title,however he was quite the celebrity and he was the subject of many conversations decades later .He was also known later on for his work in the community.I cherish the memories of the old Cooper Street neighborhood(which no longer exists).