Joe Jeannette
(Joseph Jennette)

BORN   August 26 1879; North Bergen, New Jersey
DIED July 2 1958; Weehawken, New Jersey (Some sources report 1956)
HEIGHT 5-10
WEIGHT 185-205 lbs
MANAGER Dan McKetrick

Jeannette was an extremely talented fighter; On defense, he was slippery and elusive; On offense, he was a dangerous inside puncher; He was a member of the outstanding "black" foursome of the teens, along with Jack Johnson, Sam Langford and Sam McVea; Jeannette was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1967 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998
 
During his career, Jeannette defeated such men as Jack Johnson, Sam Langford, Sam McVea, Georges Carpentier, Black Bill (Claude Brooks), Jim Jeffords, George Cole, Al Kubiak, "Big" Bill Tate, Arthur Pelkey and Bartley Madden


Joe Jennette

By Ben Hawes

Joe Jennette was born in North Bergen, New Jersey, on Agust 26, 1879. "Jeremiah" was the son of Benjamin F. and Mena Jennette. Joe's father was a blacksmith. Interestingly, Joe's mother was born in Bavaria, yet is listed as "black" in an 1880's census report of New Jersey. My guess, considering that the black population in Germany during the time period was extremely small, is that even if she were not "black," she would have been listed as such because of the obvious social and racial intolerance of the period.

Joe was raised in a very discilpined and hard-working family. He first worked with his father as an apprentice blacksith; later, around the turn of the century, Joe began to drive a coal truck for Jagels & Bellis, a notable organization of the period.

In 1904, Joe began his ring career with an exhibition against a journeyman fighter named Arthur Dickinson in Jersey City, NJ. Joe lost the decision, but held his own with Dickenson and decided to give the fight game a chance. In a 1912 interview, he credited his friends with encouraging him, but said that the main reasn for his decision to become a fighter was that he didn't have to work as hard and the compensation was just too good to pass up.

Despite Joe's brief training in pugilism, he showed that he could mix it up with the best of them by fighting Jack Johnson seven times and Sam Langford three times in his first 22 fights. Joe ended up beating Jack once on a foul in 2 rounds, losing once on a 15-round decision, and drawing once over 10 rounds. The other four fights were recorded as no-decisions. As for Langford, Joe beat Sam by tko in 8 rounds, lost a 15-round decision, and, in 1907, drew over 12 rounds.

Although Joe would never again fight Johnson after their 10-round draw in 1907 -- despite constant challenges while Jack was champion -- Joe and Sam Langford would fight on at least 11 other occasions. It should be pointed out that until Joe Louis became heavyweight champion, many white boxers would only rarely fight outside of their race. Accordingly, black pugilists were left to fighting each other again and again. Joe was no exception, fighting nearly half of his recorded 157 bouts against 8 to 10 other black boxers of his day.

Joe's greatest accomplishments came during his three trips to Paris, France. The backlash of Johnson's victory in Australia and Jack's unwillingness to fight any other Black fighters left Joe with very few competitive and profitable bouts in the United States. Joe, hearing about the acceptance of Black fighters in Paris and the lucrative purses being offered, decided to set sail to Europe. Under the guidance of Dan McKettrick, the very worldly, educated, and resourceful editor of the New York World, Joe arrived in Paris in the early part of 1909.

Joe Jeannette Website

1904
Nov 11 Morris Harris                Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6

1905
Mar  2 Morris Harris                Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
Apr 20 Black Bill (Claude Brooks)   Philadelphia, Pa               LK  2
May  9 Jack Johnson                 Philadelphia, Pa               ND  3
May 19 Jack Johnson                 Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
Jun  8 Black Bill (Claude Brooks)   Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
Jul  6 George Cole                  Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
Aug 28 George Cole                  Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
Oct  7 Pat O'Rourke                 North Bergen, NJ               KO  5
Oct 11 Black Bill (Claude Brooks)   Wilmington, De                 KO  7
Oct 26 Jim Jeffords                 Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
Oct 28 George Cole                  Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6 
Nov  2 Black Bill (Claude Brooks)   Wilmington, De                 ND  6
Nov 25 Jack Johnson                 Philadelphia, Pa               WF  2
Dec  2 Jack Johnson                 Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
Dec 20 Walter Johnson               New York, NY                   ND  3
Dec 25 Sam Langford                 Lawrence, Ma                   TK  8

1906
Jan 16 Jack Johnson                 New York, NY                   ND  3
Mar 14 Jack Johnson                 Baltimore, Md                   L 15
Apr  5 Sam Langford                 Chelsea, Ma                     L 15
Sep  6 Black Bill (Claude Brooks)   Philadelphia, Pa               KO  4
Sep 20 Jack Johnson                 Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
Nov 26 Jack Johnson                 Portland, Me                    D 10
Dec  9 Jack Johnson                 New York, NY                    L  3

1907
Jan 11 Sam Langford                 Lawrence, Ma                    D 12
Feb 10 Jim Jeffords                 Portland, Me                   KO  7
          -Some sources report 2/11/07
Mar  7 "Young" Peter Jackson        Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
          -Some sources report 3/08/07
Apr 15 Sam McVea                    New York, NY                   ND 10
Jun 11 Black Bill (Claude Brooks)   New York, NY                   TK  4
Sep 30 Morris Harris                Rochester, NY                  TK 13
          -Some sources report 10/13/07 in "Philadelphia, Pa"

1908
Jan  3 Jack Johnson                 New York, NY                    D  3
Jan 13 Joe Phillips                 New York, NY                   KO  3
Jan 13 Griff Jones                  New York, NY                   KO  3
          -The previous 2 bouts were held the same date
Jan 27 Jim Jeffords                 New York, NY                   KO  2
Feb 17 George Cole                  New York, NY                   KO  4
Mar  3 Sam Langford                 Boston, Ma                      D 12
Mar  9 Sam Campbell                 New York, NY                   TK  6
May  8 Jim Barry                    New York, NY                   ND  6
Sep  1 Sam Langford                 New York, NY                   ND  6
Sep 15 John "Sandy" Ferguson        Boston, Ma                      W 12
Dec  7 Morris Harris                Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6

1909
Jan 23 Ben Taylor                   Paris, Fr                      KO  3
Feb  6 Charley Croxon               Paris, Fr                      TK  2
Feb 20 Sam McVea                    Paris, Fr                       L 20
Apr 17 Sam McVea                    Paris, Fr                      TK 49
May  1 Jack Scales                  Paris, Fr                      KO  1
May 22 John "Sandy" Ferguson        Paris, Fr                       W 20
       Bob Fitzsimmons              Paris, Fr                      EX   
       Bob Fitzsimmons              London, Eng                    EX   
May 27 Fred Drummond                London, Eng                   SCH   
          -This bout was scheduled but not held; Drummond did not show
May 27 Trooper Cooke                London, Eng                    TK  2
May 27 Harry Shearing               London, Eng                    TK  4
          -The preivous 2 bouts were held the same date
Jun 22 John "Sandy" Ferguson        Boston, Ma                      L 12
Aug 27 John "Sandy" Ferguson        New York, NY                   TK  8
Sep 18 Al Kubiak                    Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
Oct 30 Al Kubiak                    Paris, Fr                      KO  5
          -Some sources report "KO 10"
Nov 13 Sid Russell                  Paris, Fr                       W 15
Dec 11 Sam McVea                    Paris, Fr                       D 20

1910
May 24 Andrew Morris                Boston, Ma                     TK  3
Jun  3 Jim Smith                    New York, NY                   ND 10
Jun 16 Jim Stewart                  New York, NY                   ND 10
Jul  1 Morris Harris                New York, NY                   ND 10
Sep  6 Sam Langford                 Boston, Ma                      L 15
Sep 30 Morris Harris                New York, NY                   ND 10
Nov 10 Black Bill (Claude Brooks)   New York, NY                   KO  5

1911
Jan 10 Sam Langford                 Boston, Ma                      L 12
Feb  8 Jim Barry                    Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
Mar 16 Jim Barry                    New York, NY                   ND 10
Apr 20 Al Kubiak                    New York, NY                   KO  9
Jul 25 Al Kubiak                    New York, NY                   KO  3
Aug  1 Tony Ross                    New York, NY                   ND 10
Aug 23 Dummy Maxson                 New York, NY                   KO  1
Aug 29 Dan "Porky" Flynn            New York, NY                   ND 10
Sep  5 Sam Langford                 New York, NY                   ND 10
Nov 30 Bill Watkins                 Albany, NY                     KO  1
Dec  7 Joseph "Jewey" Smith         New York, NY                   KO  3
Dec 11 "Young" Jack Johnson         Memphis, Tn                    KO  4
Dec 15 Nat Dewey                    Chattanooga, Tn                 W  8
Dec 18 Al Mitchell                  Memphis, Tn                    KO  4
Dec 21 "Topeka" Jack Johnson        New Orleans, La                KO  3
Dec 26 Jack "Twin" Sullivan         Buffalo, NY                    ND 10

1912
Jan 19 Griff Jones                  Utica, NY                      KO  3
Feb 18 Morris Harris                Philadelphia, Pa               ND  3
Feb 18 Chuck Carleton               Philadelphia, Pa               ND  3
          -The previous 2 bouts were held the same date;
          Some sources report 2/19/12
Feb 27 Andrew Morris                New Haven, Ct                  TK  6
Mar 13 Nat Dewey                    New York, NY                   TK  7
Apr  1 Griff Jones                  New York, NY                   TK  4
          -Some sources report "TK 6"
Apr  4 Black Bill (Claude Brooks)   Lewiston, Me                   KO  3
May 24 George "Boer" Rodel          Plymouth, Eng                  KO 11 
Jun 15 Black Bill (Claude Brooks)   Brooklyn, NY                   WF  6
Jul 15 Jeff Madden                  New Bedford, Ma                TK  4
Jul 15 Mickey McDonough             New Bedford, Ma                TK  2
          -The previous 2 bouts were held the same date
Jul 29 "Battling" Jim Johnson       Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
Aug  9 Hank Griffin                 Scranton, Pa                   KO  3
Aug 19 Jeff Madden                  New York, NY                   TK  2
Aug 20 "Big Bill Tate               Newark, NJ                     KO  2
Aug 20 "Battling" Jack Brooks       Newark, NJ                     KO  2
          -The previous 2 bouts were held the same date
Aug 30 Griff Jones                  Rockaway, NY                   KO  3
Sep  2 Jeff Clark                   Pittsburgh, Pa                 ND  6
Sep  9 Tony Ross                    New York, NY                   WF  7
Sep 11 K.O. Brown (Valentin Braun)  Brooklyn, NY                   EX  3
Oct 30 "Battling" Jim Johnson       New York, NY                   ND 10
Nov 27 George Christian             Columbus, Oh                   KO  8
Dec  6 Chuck Carleton               New York, NY                   TK  2

1913
Jan  1 "Battling" Jim Johnson       Brooklyn, NY                   ND 10
Jan 17 Jeff Clark                   Joplin, Mo                     ND 10
Jan 21 "Battling" Jim Johnson       Providence, RI                 WF 15
Jan 24 Chuck Carleton               Easton, Pa                     KO  1
Feb  2 Jack Thompson                                                L 20
Feb 10 Jack Reed                    Hazleton, Pa                   TK  2
Mar 17 Jack Reed                    Long Island City, NY           TK  3
Apr 16 George "Kid" Cotton          Philadelphia, Pa               TK  4
May 21 Black Bill (Claude Brooks)   Brooklyn, NY                   ND 10
Jun 23 Jeff Clark                   Memphis, Tn                    NC  8
Jun 27 Al Benedict                  Joplin, Mo                     TK  3
Jul  1 Harry Wills                  New Orleans, La                ND 10
Jul  4 Nat Dewey                    Savannah, Ga                    W 10
Jul 22 John Lester Johnson          New York, NY                   ND 10
Oct  3 Sam Langford                 New York, NY                   ND 10
Dec 20 Sam Langford                 Paris, Fr                       L 20

1914
Feb 21 Alf Langford                 Paris, Fr                      KO  7
Mar 21 Georges Carpentier           Paris, Fr                       W 15
Apr  8 Andrew "Thunderbolt" Johnson Liverpool, Eng                 KO  4
May  2 Kid Jackson                  Paris, Fr                      KO  7
May  4 Colin Bell                   London, Eng                     W 20
Jun  9 Harry Wills                  New Orleans, La                ND 10
Jun 16 Silas Green                  Brooklyn, NY                   TK  3
Jul  1 "Battling" Jim Johnson       New York, NY                   ND 10
Jul 15 "Battling" Jim Johnson       New York, NY                   ND 10
Aug  1 Black Bill (Claude Brooks)   Brooklyn, NY                   TK  9
Aug  4 "Battling" Jim Johnson       New York, NY                   ND 10
Aug 11 "Big Bill Tate               Rockaway, NY                   TK  6
Sep 12 Jim Kruger                   Martins Ferry, Oh              KO  2
Oct  1 Sam Langford                 New York, NY                   ND 10
Nov 10 "Battling" Jim Johnson       Boston, Ma                      D 12
Dec 14 "Big Bill Tate               Brooklyn, NY                   ND 10

1915
Jan 11 John Lester Johnson          New York, NY                   ND 10
          -Some sources report 1/12/15 at "Brooklyn, NY"
Feb  1 "Big Bill Tate               New York, NY                   KO  2
Feb 26 Larry Williams               Montreal, Que, Can             KO  5
Mar 19 Cleve Hawkins                Montreal, Que, Can             ND 10
Apr  9 Arthur Pelkey                Montreal, Que, Can             TK  8
Apr 13 Sam Langford                 Boston, Ma                      W 12
Apr 19 "Battling" Jack Brooks       New York, NY                   KO  4
Apr 27 Sam McVea                    Boston, Ma                      D 12
May 10 "Battling" Jim Johnson       Montreal, Que, Can             ND 10
May 14 "Battling" Jack Brooks       New York, NY                   KO  5
Jul  2 Bill Watkins                 New York, NY                   ND 10

1916
Feb 26 Silas Green                  Montreal, Que, Can             KO  6
Mar 24 George "Kid" Cotton          New York, NY                   KO  2
May 12 Sam Langford                 Syracuse, NY                   LK  7
Aug  4 Dan "Porky" Flynn            Rochester, NY                  ND 10
Aug 17 Jim Smith                    New York, NY                   KO  5
Aug 19 Jack Driscoll                Brooklyn, Mo                   KO  3
          -Some sources report "St. Louis, Mo";
          Some sources report "Washington Park, Mo" 
Sep  5 Jumbo Wells (Jack Hubbard)   Watertown, NY                  KO  5
Dec  4 Tony Ross                    Arlington, Pa                  KO  3

1917
Jul  6 Tango Kid                    Brooklyn, NY                   KO  6
Jul 20 Andre Anderson               Brooklyn, NY                   ND 10
Sep 14 Sam Langford                 Toledo, Oh                     ND 12
Sep 15 Gabe Gulart                  New York, NY                   ND 10
          -Some sources report 9/17/17
Dec 19 George Christian             Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6

1918
Apr 15 Jack Thompson                Philadelphia, Pa               ND  6
Jul 19 Kid Norfolk                  Jersey City, NJ                ND  8
Aug 10 Jim Coffey                   New York, NY                   EX  3
Aug    "Battling" Jim Johnson       Newark, NJ                     ND  8
Oct 17 Jim Coffey                   Brooklyn, NY                   EX  3
Oct 18 Kid Norfolk                  West Hoboken, NJ               ND  8
Nov 22 Jim Coffey                   New Haven, CT                  ND  4
Dec  2 Andy Schmader                Hoboken, NJ                    ND  8
Dec  8 Andy Schmader                Jersey City, NJ                ND  8

1919
Feb 10 Tom Cowler                   Jersey City, NJ                ND  8
May  1 Clay Turner                  Jersey City, NJ                ND  8
May 23 Tom Cowler                   Buffalo, NY                    ND 10
Oct 30 Harry Wills                  Jersey City, NJ                ND  8
          -Some sources report 10/20/19
Nov 11 Bartley Madden               Bayonne, NJ                    WF  4
       
          -Jeannette retired and became a referee in New Jersey; 
           He was also proprietor of a boxing gymnasium in West 
           Hoboken, NJ which is now part of Union City, NJ; 
           Subsequently, he converted the gym into a garage 
           and operated a fleet of rental limousines

1922
Jun  1 Harry Gibson                 Orange, NJ                      D  6

1945
Nov 27 Jack Johnson                 New York, NY                   EX  3
          -Jeannette and Johnson boxed one-minute rounds
           at a World War II Bond Rally


*** The Following Bouts Are Reported But Not Confirmed ***

1904
       Bill Gorman                                                 KO   
          -Some sources report this bout

1907
Jun 11 Morris Harris                New York, NY                   TK  4 



Record courtesy of Tracy Callis, Historian, International Boxing Research Organization
 
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