MARVIN HART-TRUE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
By Matt Donnellon
This article attempts to redress the lack of information
on this great fighter of the first decade of the twentieth century and tries to
evaluate his true position in pugilistic history.
Marvin Hart was born on
September 16th 1896 in Jefferson County, near Louisville, Kentucky.
His father Samuel was born in Pennsylvania and was noted for his strength and
fearlessness. His mother was a Kentuckian and she too was tall and muscular.
Marvin soon found that he excelled at wrestling and fighting. He was also an
excellent footballer and played left end for the Louisville Athletic club
football team. Finishing school at eighteen, the youngster started learning his
trade as a plumber. He was to be twenty-three before he entered the profession
that made him famous.
Marvin never boxed formally as an amateur but a Professor
Gearhardt, at that time physical instructor at the Young Men’s Hebrew
Association, had been giving him boxing lessons. Hart was challenged to a bout
with a local named Joseph Eichenberger. Marvin enlisted another local boxer,
Charles Slusher to train the now twenty three year old while Eichenberger
sought the help of William Schiller. Schiller, however knocked out his
protégé in sparring, prompting his retirement and Schiller took his place
against young Hart.
The date of this debut is uncertain, usually been listed as
December 12th 1899 but listed as January 17th 1900 in the
only contempory record that I found. Hart weighed only 158 to his opponents 190
for the scheduled twenty rounder. The result is not in question, a six round KO
win for the aspiring champion. He repeated the dose a month later, this time in
four stanzas.
Next up was Charles Meisner who had a reputation that,
while in the regular army, he had whipped all the soldiers that thought they
could fight. He fell in one and “Australian Tommy” Williams went the
same way, in two.
Marvin stuck to his home patch of Louisville for the rest of the
year and closed it out with 5 stoppage wins over Louis Seifker, Harry
Rogers, Kid Hubert (twice), and Peter Trainor. Hubert and
Hart boxed at 156 pounds in their first clash at the Nonpareil Athletic Club,
Lexington with Hart the winner on a sixth round disqualification.
A step up in class was required and came in the form of Al Weinig.
Al stood 6 feet 1 inch and tipped in at around 190 pounds. He had wins over Jim
Daly, Dick O’Brien, and “Doc” Payne and would follow up the Hart fight by
beating Dick Moore, Jim Scanlon, Dan Creedon, Billy Stift, John Willie, Jim
Jeffords and Jack McCormack. After a tough battle during which Weinig had the
best of the early fighting, at the Music Hall, the man from Buffalo hit the mat
three times in round eleven of the scheduled twelve and was counted out on the
last visit.
The Kentucky man was on a roll and the useful “Australian”
Jimmy Ryan went out in eight a month later. Ryan boasted a draw with Jack
Root, about whom more anon. Next came another step up, in the form of another
conqueror of Jimmy Ryan, Tommy West. Billy Stift, Joe Walcott, Dick
Moore, Charlie Stevenson, Jack Bonner, George Byers, Billy Hanrahan, Frank
Craig, “Doc” Payne and Philadelphia Jack O’Brien had all fallen to the little
man from Wales.
The bout took place at the Southern Athletic Club and West,
despite weighing only 158 to his opponents 165 was the betting favorite. He was
coming off a middleweight title loss to the great Tommy Ryan and hoped to
garner a quick win. It was not to be, and from the thirteenth on, West was down
numerous times before referee Tim Hurst brought proceedings to a halt in round
16 of a mooted 20.
Dan Creedon, one time big
hope from New Zealand was on the come back trail, Frank Craig, Alec Greggains,
Frank Childs, Nick Burley, Al Weinig and England’s Jem Smith were just some of
the top men he had defeated in his long career. In a savage fight at the
Southern A.C. set for 25 rounds, Hart still gaining weight at 170 pounds, sent
his man, 167 pounds, crashing to the canvas in round three. The bell saved him
in round five but a right hook sent Dan down and out in the sixth. His corner
tried to revive him by sprinkling water during the count and this led to an
all-out melee. The police soon cleared it all up.
Big Jack Beauscholte was trotted
out next and lasted into the tenth before Marvin’s career met its first hiccup.
It came in the unlikely form of former
amateur middleweight star “Wild” Billy Hanrahan. Hanrahan had drawn with
George Byers and taken Joe Walcott into the twelfth round as well as starching
Kid Carter in twelve and winning and losing against Jack Bonner but nothing in
his record hinted at what was about to happen. They met at the Auditorium in
Louisville and from the outset Hart looked out of sorts. He was to claim later
that he was drugged and while this was a common defense in those days,
contemporaneous accounts bear out that Marvin seemed ill at ease and lacking a
confident air before the first bell. Whatever the reason, the 175 pound “Wild”
Bill caught him cold, knocking him down with a right to the neck. A dazed Hart
got to his feet to be met by a left to the body and a right to the point of the
jaw which ended his interest in the proposed twelve rounder as Tim Hurst tolled
the fatal ten.
This defeat has never been adequately explained, as Hart
never again showed any signs of either a nervous disposition or a “glass” chin.
Marvin went quickly about rebuilding his shattered career and picked no less an
opponent that the hard-hitting Billy Stift. Stift wasn’t much of a boxer
but he hit as hard as a mule. Weinig, West, “Mysterious” Billy Smith and George
Byers were some who had felt his power. After a hard and fast three rounds, it
was the man from Chicago who bit the dust.
The experienced Dick O’Brien came to the Empire
Athletic Club in April 1902. Craig, Weinig, Sandy Ferguson, Ed Binney, “Scaldy”
Bill Quinn and Bobby Dobbs were the big wins on his résumé as well as a draw
with Kid McCoy. He was completely outclassed by the hard-hitting Kentuckian and
after three rounds of hitting to the face and body. Hart knocked his hapless
victim out with a right hand to the solar plexus. The impressive winner threw
punches “with such rapidity that it was impossible to keep count of them”.
Kid
Carter was the next to test the
Louisville comer and a tough test it promised to be. In an up and down career
the then twenty two year old held wins over George Cole, Billy Hanrahan, Joe
Walcott, and Jack Bonner. More significantly, he was coming off two great wins
in 1902 over the great Joe Choynski (KO1) and Al Weinig. After eight and a half
rounds of terrific fighting Hart knocked out the Kid with a tremendous left to
the jaw, delivered when he himself seemed almost ready to fall. Both men were
severely battered and the winner was bleeding freely from the mouth and nose
and his face and right eye were badly swollen. Carter maintained he never met
any opponent who could take punishment like Hart.
In August Billy Stift was again beaten, this time
after six rounds of “awkward fighting” in a disappointing showing. It took Hart
four rounds to get going and then he started landing his straight left and “by
rough work held his advantage”. The fight marked two milestones however, it was
Marvin’s first “away” contest, having been held in Chicago and it was also his
first bout to go to a decision.
October 16 saw Kid Carter renew acquaintances with
Hart, this time at the Penn A.C. in Philadelphia over six rounds in a no
decision affair. Again, it was a crowd pleaser and the honors were fairly even
though the tough Louisville lad had the edge.
Jack Root from
Chicago now crossed paths with Hart for the first time. Born in Austria in 1876
he amassed a brilliant record going 46 fight undefeated against all the top
middle and heavyweights of the period. The names of the men he defeated are a
who’s-who of the period and were littered with former foes of Harts. Root is
lightly regarded today but very few, if any, fighters in the history of the
light-heavyweight division have better records. Stift, Jim Ryan, Craig,
Greggains, West, Dick O’Brien, Creedon, Byers, Carter, and George Gardiner were
just a sample of his victims. Australian Jimmy Ryan and Tommy Ryan had draws
against Root and it was the outstanding George Gardiner that snapped his streak
in August 1902.
Root bounced back with a win over Kid Carter but many felt
the Kid deserved the decision. Hart felt that he was ready for Root. He was
wrong.
Root
took the six round decision in the Glicman Theatre, under the auspices of the
Lyceum Club, Chicago, even though Marvin always maintained that he got a raw
deal against the local hero. Accounts at the time said that Root was just too
fast and cute for the stronger southerner.
Nothing
daunted, Hart was engaged for a six round no decision affair with “Philadelphia”
Jack O’Brien at the Penn Art club in that man’s hometown. George Cole, Yank
Kenny, Craig and Choynski numbered amongst Jack’s many scalps and Jack was
moving with the big boys having tackled the dangerous Peter Maher in a couple
of close no-decision affairs.
O’Brien
was a cautious operator and felt that Hart was too strong for him. He insisted
that Hart agree not to KO him, Hart agreed but Jack wanted his opponent to put
up a forfeit. Hart refused, simply because he hadn’t got the money anyway. Jack
then demanded that Hart’s purse be frozen in the event of the unthinkable
happening and O’Brien been kayoed, Hart again refused whereupon the crafty
Philadelphian announced to the crowd that Hart, the heavier by fifteen pounds,
was too big for him to tackle. Marvin, seeing a badly needed payday, going down
the drain, relented and Jack promptly went back to the crowd and bravely (!)
agreed to go against the heavier man! O’Brien had the better of it early on but
in the fifth Hart forgot himself and forced the issue. In the last, he drove
O’Brien to the mat for a nine count and the lighter man ran and hugged until
the bell saved O’Brien; - and Hart!
All-in
-all 1902 was a good year and on the domestic front, he had married the pretty
Florence Zeigler on September 2nd. On the fighting front, he had
moved to a level just behind the big boys. In Mick Paul’s brilliant
retrospective computer ratings, he comes in at joint tenth with Kid Carter at
the end of ’02.
The
men ahead of him are impressive. Jeffries, Fitz, Ryan, Johnson, Gus Ruhlin,
Root, Gardiner, O’Brien and “Denver” Ed Martin.
1903
saw a continuation of the good form with a four round disqualification win over
capable Jack Bonner. Jack knocked his man through the ropes in the
second but them resorted to butting Hart in the stomach. Referee George Siler
promptly awarded the verdict to Hart. Bonner, too, had mixed with the best and
had scored wins over Burley, West, Joe Butler, Dick O’Brien, Creedon, Dick
Moore, Yank Kenny and Hanrahan.
A
return with “Philadelphia” Jack O’Brien in that man’s city saw the fighting
plumber having the best of it with his superior strength and harder hitting.
O’Brien always had trouble with Hart and never wanted any part of a decision
fight over a long number of rounds with him. Marvin wasn’t as big and slow as
the usual heavies that Jack bewildered with his skill and speed but yet he had
the strength, stamina and punching power of the bigger men. Jack was down in
the fifth and the bell was a welcome relief at the end of the sixth as he was
all in.
Irishman
George Gardiner, the future light-heavyweight champion of the world (he
would win the title in his next fight with a KO of Jack Root) was the next in
line. Like Root, O’Brien and Hart he had a tremendous record. Carter, Craig,
Walcott, Byers, Maher, Weinig, Stift were some of the names on his plus side
and he had given the outstanding Jack Johnson a good argument over the twenty
round distance six months earlier. A great and close contest went to the wire
until Hart broke his hand and had to retire in the twelfth of a set-for twenty.
George hit faster and oftener, Marvin hit harder and was the stronger.
The
great Joe Choynski was engaged in a six round no-decision battle in
Philadelphia. Joe had mixed with the best, champions Corbett, Fitz, Jeffries,
Johnson and near champs like Sharkey, Maher, Ruhlin and McCoy and had held his
own with them all. He was on the slide now but after six rounds of fast,
furious and skillful action, most observers felt honors were even.
Edward
“Kid” Carter re-entered the fray in December ’03 in Boston
and another mighty struggle ensued. Peter Maher, John Willie and Joe Butler had
bit the dust against the “Kid” since their last encounter and this one was to
be a classic. It took place at the Criterion Athletic Club, and was a savage
affair. Carter was knocked down in the third and clinched to survive. From
there to the ninth, it was warfare but Hart had the better of it. Carter opened
a bad cut over Hart’s left eye, which bled freely but from that point to the
finish in the fifteenth round Hart repeatedly floored the Kid. With one minute
left in the fight referee Buckley waved off the action to save Carter from
serious harm after he was knocked down twice in that round.
1904
saw Hart back at the Criterion Club, against the local man George Gardiner
who had won and lost the light-heavyweight crown since last fighting Hart,
beating Root and losing to Fitz. They fought fifteen furious rounds and at the
finish, it was declared a draw. The decision was not a popular one, for it was
the opinion of all that Hart had the best of it, droping the Irishman twice in
the second. In all other rounds, he punched his opponent around the ring and
completely outclassed him.
John
Willie, another useful journeyman was the next
obstacle in Chicago and in a poor performance, honors were even at the end of
the six no-decision rounds. Hart came down sick after the fight and this may
account for the poor performance. Willie was no slouch, however, as his wins
over Weinig and Beauscholte testify. It took a rally in the last round to earn
Hart the draw.
The
biggest top class fighter of the time was John “Sandy” Ferguson who at
six feet three and 197 pounds was a formidable foe. Dick O’Brien, Bob
Armstrong, “Klondyke” Haynes, Joe Walcott and George Byers were men who had
succumbed to his tough, no-nonsense style. The venue for his clash with Marvin
was the Whittington Park Athletic Club, Hot Springs, Arkansas, before a large
crowd. Hart forced the fighting at all times but caught a lot of left jabs to
the face. Ferguson sent him to the floor for a seven count in the seventh round
but as he often did, Hart finished well in the latter part. Swings, uppercuts
and kidney punches swung the closest of contests in the favor of the lighter
man at 185 pounds. Hart had started a 2 to 1 favorite.
Back
to Philadelphia for a date with another big heavy, the Akron Giant Gus
Ruhlin for a six round no-decision clash at the National Athletic Club.
Steve O’Donnell, Maher, Joe Goddard, Sharkey were the caliber of men that Gus
had fought and beaten and he even had a draw with the champion Jeffries. Hart
entered the affray against the three inches taller Ruhlin with an injured left
hand but it bothered him little as he dominated the early exchanges before
dumping his adversary in the fourth, for a nine count with a big right hand. In
the last round, the men went toe to toe in a fast and furious finish after
which it was generally felt that Hart had the better of it.
They
met again a month later at the Eureka Athletic and Sporting Club in Baltimore.
This time over twelve rounds and Gus had trained hard in the meantime but the
result was much the same, though some felt that Gus was worth a draw this time
around.
At
this point in time Hart was just about the top white contender for Jeffries
title and a contest was arranged for early 1905 with the other logical
contender, the top black heavyweight, Jack Johnson. Woodard’s Pavillion,
San Francisco was the meeting place of the two hopefuls. Twenty rounds of hard
fighting ensued with Hart the aggressor and Johnson the superior in strength
and skill. Harts dogged approach and body punches won the day and he was
awarded the decision by referee Alec Greggains. Speaking afterwards Greggains
said, “Hart won because he was aggressive throughout the fight. He wanted to fight
continually. Johnson, in my opinion, dogged it”. Johnson would later claim that
the sight of a revolver in the lap of a ringsider encouraged him to ease up on
Hart but after retirement he gave Marvin his due, saying he was one of his
toughest men he ever met.
Breaking
his own Southern induced color bar had pushed our man to the very head of the
contenders for championship honors.
A
date with John Willie on May 8th at the Washington Sporting
Club in Philadelphia marked time for Hart and he had little difficulty beating
his opponent, hitting him at will in a rather poor contest before a small
crowd. His next contest was to be a different kettle of fish, Hart’s manager,
Jack McCormack, secured a world title fight with Jack Root on July 3rd
at Reno, Nevada.
Since
his win over Hart, Jack had defeated Kid McCoy to win the first generally
recognized light-heavyweight title and then lost it to Gardiner. However, he
had since avenged this reversal and also topped the up-and-coming Fireman Jim
Flynn. All this conspired to make him the clear leader in the betting.
The
retired champion Jim Jeffries acted as referee in this contest to find his
successor and Root weighed in at 171 pounds to Harts 190. in what was to prove
a good fight, Root started fast and his speed won him most of the early rounds
while Hart looked for the body. Round seven saw a steady assault by Jack,
culminating in Hart crashing to the floor from a big right hand just before the
bell. Without much doubt, if he had been caught earlier in the round he would
not have survived.
It
was a tribute to his recuperative powers that he came out in the eight and took
the action to Root and by the tenth was starting to score heavily with right
hand swings. Twelve proved to be the faithful number for the Austrian as a
tremendous right to the chest resounded through the theatre and smashed Root to
the floor where he remained for the duration of the full count. $3,200 accrued
to Marvin as his end of the purse but more importantly, Hart was world
champion!
Hart’s
right to be considered a true linear champion has often been questioned but at
the time all agreed that he was either number one or two in the pecking order
and his win over Root was universally acclaimed. He had proved himself superior
to all the leading contenders, Root, Gardiner, O’Brien, Carter, Johnson and
Ruhlin. The retrospective regarding of Hart’s achievements and abilities stem
from Johnson’s victory over Burns. The best way to diminish the “Negro’s” win
was to denigrate Burns as a fighter, and if Tommy was no good, then it followed
that neither was Hart. The truth was that Burns was a great fighter and
probably a good match for any champion up to that time, Jeffries excepted.
Pat
Callahan, a miner from Butte was engaged for a four
round non-title tilt in his hometown in Montana. Despite conceding a great
weight difference to the champion, he is credited with putting Hart to the
canvas in the opening round. He paid the price in the next as the aggressive
Hart put him to sleep.
Tommy
Burns, a five feet seven inch Canadian, had risen the ranks
to challenge Hart for the title. The lightly regarded contender was a two to
one underdog for their clash at the Pacific Athletic Club, Los Angles before
4,000 fight fans. Tommy started nervously in the opener but from there to the
finish, he out boxed a bloody and increasingly rough and frustrated Hart in all
rounds except the tenth and twelfth. The decision of referee Charles Eyton was
a formality.
Marvin
licked his wounds and boxed a lively four rounds no decision bout with southpaw
Mike Schreck in Madison Square Garden in New York. After the fight Hart
reckoned he had learnt enough to master his difficult and awkward opponent,
Schreck was the “Spinks Jinx”, the Mike “the Bounty” Hunter, the Jimmy Young of
the era. The man from Ohio held a win over Burns as well as Willie and
Gardiner. He was to prove to be Marvin’s nemesis.
1907
started with a pair of victories in Hot Springs. The first was a very
impressive two round demolition job on his old foe from the early Louisville
days, Harry Rogers. A big right hand did the trick.The second opponent
was the once great Peter Maher, perhaps the biggest hitter of the
period. He was well over the hill at this time and only once in the first round
did he connect with his famous right swing, which visibly affected Hart. The
man who had laid low Choynski, Slavin, Goddard, Ruhlin, Godfrey and hundreds
more was but a shadow of his former self and a body blow sent him to the mat at
the gong. The Kentuckian then struck but two blows in the second and the
Irishman wisely lay down.
This
activity saw Hart line up a big contest at Tonopah, Nevada, with Mike
Schreck, advertised for the world heavyweight title. Since their first
clash, Schreck had knocked out Rogers, Ben Tremble, John Willie and Tony Ross.
It was a terrific scrap with Hart the aggressor and Schreck giving as good as
he got, the right wrist that Marvin had broken against Gardiner gave out in the
sixth but still he gamely fought on. Mike was nearly put away in the eighteenth
but rallied in the next two and Hart was a sorry sight at the end of the
twentieth. Half way through the next, Hart’s seconds threw in the sponge and
referee George Siler awarded the fight to Schreck. Hart was never the same
fighter again after this punishing contest and neither was Schreck.
Ten
months later, Hart re-entered the ring to score a win over John Willie
in a scheduled twenty at Hot Springs. Willie was disqualified by referee “Doc”
Hottum of Memphis for hitting Hart on the ear after a break in the forth round.
He then boxed a draw with old foe Kid Hubert in the Kid’s home base at
Lexington before tackling the top-flight contender, Jack “Twin” Sullivan.
Sullivan had just started to slip but in his time had defeated Burns, Burley, Schreck,
Billy Squires and had crossed gloves with almost every top Middle and Heavy of
that time. He should have added Marvin to his list of victories as he was well
on top of their scheduled twelve round bout at the Armory in Boston, when a
body blow doubled Hart up. He claimed a foul and referee Dan Donnelly agreed
and awarded him the contest. Another six rounder with John Willie .in a
no decision affair closed out 1908.
1909
saw Hart score his last victory at the West Side A.C. McDonoughville, New Orleans
over Tony Ross. Ross, himself, had been a leading contender, and had
beaten Schreck and Gardiner. Marvin won on a thirteen round disqualification.
Ross would fight world champion Jack Johnson three months later and would go on
to record good wins over Frank Moran and “Sandy” Ferguson.
Mike
Schreck broke Harts jaw in the third at Terre Haute before he was rescued by
his seconds and he had his swan song against the big “white hope” Carl Morris
in December 1910. Swan song is hardly the appropriate word as Hart weighed a
career high of 212 pounds to his opponents 235 and after been blasted to the
floor he survived to the middle of the third before his corner mercifully
called finis to his career.
After
retiring, the former champion pursued his hobbies of plumbing and farming on
his property on the Barnstown pike. He took particular delight in raising
Plymouth Rock chickens. He also acted as referee at many boxing contests. In
the later part of his career, he operated a tavern at 466 East Market Street in
downtown Louisville. Marvin was not blessed with any children and passed away
at his Fern Hill home, after an illness lasting nine months, on September 17th,
1931. Reportedly, he died of an enlarged liver and blood pressure problems. He
is buried with his wife Florence who died in 1967, in Resthaven Cemetery six
miles south of Louisville.
Marvin
Hart was a modest man and very underrated today, both in contrast to
Louisville’s other more famous heavyweight champion.
The
epitaph on his headstone says a lot. “Champion Heavyweight Boxer of the World
1905 to 1906. A friend of countless hundreds. A man among men, an ideal of
children, a clean fighter whose example will continue to inspire the coming
generations.”
Sources:
Marvin Hart-The fighter and the Man by David Nicolaou. (Boxing Illustrated, May
1973)
Contemporary
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