The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 87, July 1983 - April, 1984 Page: 56
468 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
too, was through-but only with Galveston. He left for St. Louis
where he expected to engage in other "scientific exhibitions." Both
said they would return to Texas when their case came to trial. It
never did.42
The emotions of the day soon calmed. Choynski returned to boxing
and fought for another three years. Johnson was back in Galveston
within a month, as were "scientific exhibitions" of pugilism. Boxing
was returned to the de facto local-option basis that it had enjoyed
before the Johnson-Choynski affair. Before the year was over, Johnson
fought at least eight more times in Galveston, all of which matches
were as ignored by the newspapers as they were enjoyed by the specta-
tors. By the summer of 1901 it was clear that Johnson was far better
than any of the other local fighters. Before, Jim McCormick, a top
Galveston boxer, had fought to draws with Johnson; now Jack toyed
with him.48
In Galveston, Johnson had flourished in the dark. His successes
went unobserved and unnoticed. He was a good fighter and knew it,
but as long as he stayed in Galveston no one else would know it. He
had made tentative forays into the boxing world beyond Galveston,
but always he returned. Galveston meant home-his family, a house
at 8o8 Broadway, and Mary Austin. It meant familiar surroundings
and security. After the flood proved security an illusion, it was easier
for Johnson to break his ties with Galveston. Late in I901, when he
was twenty-three years old, he left the city. Galveston would never
again be his home. But Galveston never left Jack Johnson. The bitter-
ness of his later years was largely the product of his youth. The hu-
miliation, the pain, the difficulties of growing up black in the deep
South had molded Johnson into a rebellious and defiant man.
42Ibid., Mar. 21, 23, 1901.
43r981 Record Book, 474-
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 87, July 1983 - April, 1984, periodical, 1983/1984; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117150/m1/76/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.