Sam McVea
(Samuel E. MacVea)
(Samuel E. McVey)

BORN   May 17 1884; Waelder, Texas
DIED December 23 1921; New York, New York (Some sources report December 22 1921)
HEIGHT 5-10 1/2
WEIGHT 205-220 lbs
MANAGERS Billy Roche (1902-03), Spider Kelly (1904), Frank Carillo (1906-07), Frank Bernard (1907) and Cal McClain (1912)

McVea was a big, powerful heavyweight who relied more upon his brute strength than slick boxing skills; He was strong, quick and game; Sam fought mostly "name" black fighters during his career

McVea was a member of the great black foursome of the teens along with Jack Johnson, Sam Langford and Joe Jeannette; He was inducted into the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1986 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1999

During his career, McVea defeated such men as Sam Langford, Joe Jeannette, Harry Wills, Arthur Pelkey, Jeff Clark, Bob Devere, Colin Bell, Jim Stewart, Jim Barry, Jack Lester, Bill Lang, "Battling" Jim Johnson, George "Boer" Rodel, Fred Russell, "Denver" Ed Martin, Frank Craig, Jack Scales, Joseph "Jewey" Smith, Fred Drummond and Ben Taylor


McVea Fight Video Clip

(Press the  button at the top of the screen to return)


1902
Apr 12 George Sullivan            Oxnard, Ca                       KO  6
Jun 19 Jack McCall                Oxnard, Ca                       KO  3
Jul 19 Herb McKell                Oxnard, Ca                       KO  5
Oct  9 Jack Fogarty               Oxnard, Ca                       KO  5
Nov  1 Fred Russell               Oxnard, Ca                       KO  5

1903
Jan  6 Toothpick Kelly            Los Angeles, Ca                  KO  4
Jan 31 Jack Lavelle               Oxnard, Ca                       KO  1
Feb 26 Jack Johnson               Los Angeles, Ca                   L 20
          -Colored Heavyweight Championship of the World
May  5 Edward "Kid" Carter        Los Angeles, Ca                  KO 11
Sep 15 "Denver" Ed Martin         Los Angeles, Ca                  KO  1
Oct 27 Jack Johnson               Los Angeles, Ca                   L 20
          -Colored Heavyweight Championship of the World

1904
Apr 22 Jack Johnson               San Francisco, Ca                LK 20
Aug 12 "Denver" Ed Martin         Los Angeles, Ca                   L 10

1906
Jan 25 "Denver" Ed Martin         San Diego, Ca                    KO  4
Feb 24 Tornado Smith              Bakersfield, Ca                  KO  1
Nov 29 Matt Turney                Vallejo, Ca                      KO  2

1907
Feb 28 "Denver" Ed Martin         Sacramento, Ca                   KO 16
Apr 15 Joe Jeannette              New York, NY                     ND 10
Jun  3 Ben Taylor                 London, Eng                      KO  3
       Frank Craig                Paris, Fr                        KO  3
       Marc Gaucher               Paris, Fr                        KO  4
Dec 28 Jack Scales                Paris, Fr                        KO  2

1908
May 23 Joseph "Jewey" Smith       Paris, Fr                        KO  3
Apr 15 Ben Taylor                 Paris, Fr                        KO 11
       Harry Shearing             Paris, Fr                        KO  4
Jul 11 Fred Drummond              Brussels, Belgium                KO   
Jul 18 Fred Drummond              Ostend, Belgium                  KO   
Sep 19 Harry Shearing             Paris, Fr                        KO  1
       Herbert Synott             Paris, Fr                        KO  3

1909
Jan 23 Billy Rickard              Paris, Fr                        KO  1
       Herbert Synott             Roubaix, Fr                      KO  5
Feb 20 Joe Jeannette              Paris, Fr                         W 20
Apr  9 Bill "Cyclone" Warren      Paris, Fr                        KO  2
Apr 17 Joe Jeannette              Paris, Fr                        LT 49
Apr    Fred Drummond              Orleans, France                  KO  5
Jun 26 Jim Barry                  Paris, Fr                        WF 15
       Georges Rampazzi           Biarritz, Fr                     KO  3
       Bill Harris                Marseille, Fr                    KO  5
Dec 11 Joe Jeannette              Paris, Fr                         D 20

1910
Jan 27 Fred Drummond              LeHavre, Fr                      KO  5
          -Some sources report this bout 
Feb 11 Arthur Bennett             Brussels, Bel                    KO  5
Feb 26 Al Kubiak                  Paris, Fr                        KO 10
Mar  3 Arthur Bennett             Nancy, Fr                        KO  4
Apr 16 Jim Stewart                Paris, Fr                        TK  6
Jun 25 Joe Grim                   Paris, Fr                        KO 12
Jul 22 Peter Price                Paris, Fr                        KO  5
Aug  7 "Battling" Jim Johnson     Neuilly, Fr                       D 15
Oct 22 Sergeant Sunshine          Paris, Fr                        KO  1
Nov 19 "Battling" Jim Johnson     Paris, Fr                        KO 21

1911
Apr  1 Sam Langford               Paris, Fr                         D 20
       Andrew Dixon               Lille, Fr                        KO  3
Jul 20 George "Boer" Rodel        Liverpool, Eng                   KO  1
Aug  3 Alf Langford               Sheffield, Eng                   KO  7
Sep 30 Jack Lester                Sydney, NSW, Aus                  W 20
       -Some sources report 9/20/11
Oct 28 Bill Lang                  Sydney, NSW, Aus                 KO  2
          -Heavyweight Championship of Australia
Dec 11 Jack Lester                Brisbane, Que, Aus               KO  8
          -Heavyweight Championship of Australia
Dec 26 Sam Langford               Sydney, NSW, Aus                  W 20

1912
Mar 16 Jim Barry                  Sydney, NSW, Aus                  W 20 
Apr  8 Sam Langford               Sydney, NSW, Aus                  L 20
          -Heavyweight Championship of Australia;
         Some sources report 4/11/12
Aug  3 Sam Langford               Sydney, NSW, Aus                  L 20
          -Heavyweight Championship of Australia
Oct  9 Sam Langford               Perth, WA, Aus                   LT 11
       -Some sources report 10/10/12
Dec 26 Sam Langford               Sydney, NSW, Aus                 LK 13

1913
Mar 24 Sam Langford               Brisbane, Que, Aus                D 20
Apr 19 Colin Bell                 Adelaide, SA, Aus                TK 16
Dec 26 Colin Bell                 Sydney, NSW, Aus                 KO  2

1914
Jun 13 Arthur Pelkey              Melbourne, Vic, Aus              KO  4
Dec 10 "Battling" Jim Johnson     New York, NY                     ND 10
Dec 20 Harry Wills                New Orleans, La                   W 20

1915
Feb 20 "Battling" Jim Johnson     Havana, Cuba                      W 20
Apr  3 Jack Johnson               Havana, Cuba                     EX  6
Apr 27 Joe Jeannette              Boston, Ma                        D 12
May 19 Harry Wills                New York, NY                     ND 10
Jun  9 "Battling" Jim Johnson     Montreal, Que, Can               ND 10
Jun 29 Sam Langford               Boston, Ma                        W 12
Aug 10 John "Sandy" Ferguson      Boston, Ma                       TK  8
Sep  7 Harry Wills                Boston, Ma                        L 12
Sep 30 Sam Langford               Denver, Co                        D 20
Oct 15 Jeff Clark                 Kansas City, Mo                   W 10
Nov 23 Sam Langford               New York, NY                     ND 10
       Hugh Walker                                                 EX  3

1916
Feb 17 Sam Langford               New York, NY                    ND 10
Apr  7 Sam Langford               Syracuse, NY                    ND 10
Apr 14 Jack Thompson              St. Louis, Mo                   ND  8
       -Some sources report "ND 10" on 4/15/16
May  2 Sam Langford               Akron, Oh                       ND 12
Aug 12 Sam Langford               Buenos Aires, Arg                D 20
Sep  3 Bob Devere                 Santiago, Chile                  D 20
Sep 20 Bob Devere                 Santiago, Chile                  W 10

1917
Jan 10 Kid Norfolk                Colon, Pan                      ND  6
Jan 27 Jim Briggs                 Panama City, Pan                KO  2
Mar 11 Jim Barry                  Panama City, Pan                TK  7
May 13 Jeff Clark                 Panama City, Pan                 W 20
Jul 15 Jeff Clark                 Panama City, Pan                LK 15
Aug 12 "Battling" Jim Johnson     Panama City, Pan                 W 20
Oct 14 "Battling" Jim Johnson     Colon, Pan                       W 20

1918
Feb 17 Harry Wills                Panama City, Pan                LK  5

1920
Aug  5 Pinkey Lewis               Tulsa, Ok                        L 10
Aug 14 Sam Langford               East Chicago, In                ND 10
Sep  1 Jack Ward                  Atlanta, Ga                     KO  2
Sep  8 Harry Wills                Philadelphia, Pa                NC  6

1921
Mar 15 Jack Thompson              Detroit, Mi                     NC  6
Mar 21 Jeff Clark                 Columbus, Oh                     W 12
Jul  7 Jeff Clark                 Atlantic City, NJ               ND 10
Aug  2 Jeff Clark                 Lancaster, Pa                   ND 10

*** The Following Bout Is Reported But Not Confirmed ***

1909
       Fred Drummond              Lyons, France                   KO   
             
Compiled By Tracy Callis, Historian, International Boxing Research Organization