George Godfrey (boxer, born 1897)

Template:Short description Template:About Template:More citations needed Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox boxer George Godfrey (II) The Leiperville Shadow (January 25, 1897 – August 13, 1947) was the ring name of Feab Smith Williams, a heavyweight boxer from the state of Alabama who fought from 1919 to 1937. He named himself after George "Old Chocolate" Godfrey, a Black Canadian boxer from the bare-knuckle boxing days who had been a top name during the John L. Sullivan era. Old Chocolate had been the fourth fighter to reign as World Colored Heavyweight Champion while the second George Godfrey was the 20th fighter to hold the colored heavyweight title.

The colored heavyweight title was recognized due to the color bar in pro boxing in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when white champions drew the color line and would not defend the title against a black man. In the heavyweight division, the color bar was adamantly defended by Old Chocolate Godfrey's contemporary, "The Boston Strong Boy", John L. Sullivan. Ironically, it remained in force even after colored heavyweight title holder Jack Johnson won the world's heavyweight title in 1908. Johnson never fought black opponents either, allegedly because such top promoters as Tex Rickard believed that a fight between two black boxers would not draw at the gate. He was also the only man to ever defeat the 7 foot 9 inch giant Gogea Mitu.

Because of the color bar in the heavyweight division that continued until the rise of Joe Louis in the 1930s, the second Godfrey Williams never fought for the world heavyweight championship, like the man he had named himself after. He did win the International Boxing Union's version of the world heavyweight championship in 1935, two years before Louis became the second black man to become the universally recognized world heavyweight champ.

Boxing career

Boxing's second George Godfrey fought ring legend Sam Langford three times. Godfrey, who was 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) tall and weighed between 220 and 260 lb (118 kg) during his career, dwarfed the 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Langford. Despite his advantage in size, height and weight, Godfrey was knocked out in two of the three matches in 1920 and 1921. He did manage a draw in his first bout with Langford in 1920.

Godfrey is said to have been instructed by promoters on a number of occasions to carry opponents if he wanted to receive more important fights. He managed wins over several top contenders including Fred Fulton and Bill Tate by 1925, though showed he could be outpointed, as he was outboxed over 10 rounds in 1926 by future legendary champion Jack Sharkey and in 1928 by Johnny Risko, while he outpointed Paolino Uzcudun in 1928.

World Colored Heavyweight Championship

Godfrey twice won the World Colored Heavyweight Championship. When Harry Wills was stripped of the title after losing by disqualification to Jack Sharkey on October 12, 1926, Godfrey defeated Larry Gains on November 8, 1926, at Broadway Auditorium in Buffalo, New York, on a TKO in the sixth round. Godfrey made three defenses of the title, which was retaken by Gaines on August 15, 1928, in Buffalo when Godfrey was disqualified.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The title was later vacated, and Godfrey won it a second time on August 24, 1931, in Toronto, Canada, when he defeated Seal Harris, whom he knocked out in the second round. He defended it three more times before losing to Obidiah "Obie" Walker on points in a 10-round fight held in Philadelphia on October 9, 1933.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the interim between the two titles, he fought Bearcat Wright for the "Black Heavyweight Championship" on December 19, 1930, in Atlanta, Georgia, but the 10-round fight was a draw.

Carnera fight

Two months before Godfrey fought Primo Carnera, Carnera fought Bombo Chevalier and it ended with extreme controversy when one of Chevalier's seconds threw in the towel. Chevalier's manager stated "the towel should not have been thrown in." In an investigation, Chevalier said he had been approached earlier about a "fake fight," but had declined. No one had expected the towel to be thrown in.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In response to the towel throwing controversy, seconds were forbidden from throwing in the towel in Carnera vs. Godfrey.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Many observers considered the 1930 Carnera fight to be fixed. According to boxing historian Herbert Goldman (managing editor of The Ring 1978-1987), Carnera was "very much mob controlled."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Godfrey was disqualified for an intentional low blow in the fifth round when he was clearly getting the better of Carnera.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the aftermath, Godfrey lost his boxing license and half his purse, Carnera was cleared. Godfrey was the 4th boxer that year to lose his license after fighting Carnera. The suspension would last 2 years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Godfrey's suspension by the National Boxing Association, which represented 13 states, forced Godfrey out of the biggest venues in the United States. Resulting in him touring the world. The suspension included Godfrey's manager, Jimmy Dougherty, as well as every fighter represented by Dougherty.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

IBU title

Godfrey would go to Europe later in his career and win the International Boxing Union World Heavyweight title. In late 1934, the IBU had ordered world champion Max Baer to defend his title against the reigning European champion, Pierre Charles of Belgium. When Baer instead opted to fight James J. Braddock, they withdrew recognition of him as champion.

Subsequently, the IBU matched Charles with Godfrey for their version of the title with the fight taking place in Brussels, Belgium on October 2, 1935. Godfrey won a fifteen-round decision on points, but did not press any claim to the championship and it was inactive for the next two years. The IBU then recognized Baer's successor Braddock, as champion.

Death and honours

Godfrey died on August 13, 1947, in his home and was found a week later, aged 50. His funeral was attended by many boxers, including former heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, former light heavyweight champion Jack Root, former middleweight champion Gorilla Jones, and others included footballer Dick Donald and boxing manager Mike McNulty.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2003, Godfrey was named to the Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.

In 2007, he was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Godfrey had a brief career in movies making five motion pictures from 1926 to 1937. His most famous role was as the cook in Paramount Pictures's 1926 Old Ironsides. His final role was as himself in MGM's Big City which starred Spencer Tracy.

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
126	Template:No2Loss	98–21–2 Template:Small	Hank Hankinson	TKO	8 (10), Template:Small	Aug 10, 1937	Template:Small
125	Template:Yes2Win	98–20–2 Template:Small	Billy Wells	KO	2 (10), Template:Small	Aug 11, 1936	Template:Small
124	Template:Yes2Win	97–20–2 Template:Small	Pierre Charles	PTS	15	Oct 2, 1935	Template:Small	Template:Small
123	Template:No2Loss	96–20–2 Template:Small	Motzi Spakow	DQ	4 (10)	Jun 15, 1935	Template:Small	Template:Small
122	Template:Yes2Win	96–19–2 Template:Smallnion	Dumitru Pavelescu	KO	2 (10)	Jun 7, 1935	Template:Small
121	Template:Yes2Win	95–19–2 Template:Small	Piet van Gool	PTS	10	Dec 12, 1934	Template:Small
120	Template:Yes2Win	94–19–2 Template:Small	Arthur Meurant	TKO	5 (10)	Dec 6, 1934	Template:Small
119	Template:Yes2Win	93–19–2 Template:Small	Hans Schonrath	TKO	3 (10)	Nov 14, 1934	Template:Small
118	NC	92–19–2 Template:Small	Mauro Galusso	NC	3 (10)	Aug 25, 1934	Template:Small	Template:Small
117	Template:Yes2Win	92–19–2 Template:Small	Giacomo Bergomas	KO	6 (10)	Aug 18, 1934	Template:Small
116	NC	91–19–2 Template:Small	Andres Castano	NC	? (10)	Jul 14, 1934	Template:Small	Template:Small
115	Template:Yes2Win	91–19–2 Template:Small	Valentin Campolo	PTS	10	Jun 30, 1934	Template:Small
114	Template:No2Loss	90–19–2 Template:Small	Obie Walker	PTS	10	Oct 9, 1933	Template:Small	Template:Small
113	NC	90–18–2 Template:Small	Bearcat Wright	NC	6 (10)	Feb 10, 1933	Template:Small	Template:Small
112	Template:Yes2Win	90–18–2 Template:Small	Tiger Jack Fox	PTS	10	Jan 31, 1933	Template:Small	Template:Small
111	Template:No2Loss	89–18–2 Template:Small	Walter Cobb	UD	10	Dec 29, 1932	Template:Small
110	Template:Yes2Win	89–17–2 Template:Small	Walter Cobb	PTS	10	Dec 12, 1932	Template:Small
109	Template:Yes2Win	88–17–2 Template:Small	Al Fay	TKO	8 (20)	Oct 24, 1932	Template:Small
108	Template:Yes2Win	87–17–2 Template:Small	Roy Clark	KO	5 (20)	Sep 5, 1932	Template:Small	Template:Small
107	Template:Yes2Win	86–17–2 Template:Small	Gene Stanton	KO	3 (?)	May 31, 1932	Template:Small	Template:Small
106	Template:Yes2Win	85–17–2 Template:Small	K.O. Willis	KO	2 (?)	May 31, 1932	Template:Small
105	Template:Yes2Win	84–17–2 Template:Small	Texas Tanner	KO	2 (?)	May 30, 1932	Template:Small
104	Template:Yes2Win	83–17–2 Template:Small	Billy Williams	KO	1 (4)	May 24, 1932	Template:Small
103	Template:Yes2Win	82–17–2 Template:Small	Kid Moran	KO	2 (5)	May 19, 1932	Template:Small	Template:Small
102	Template:Yes2Win	81–17–2 Template:Small	Harry Johnson	KO	1 (5), Template:Small	May 19, 1932	Template:Small
101	Template:Yes2Win	80–17–2 Template:Small	K.O. Harper	KO	2 (10)	May 10, 1932	Template:Small	Template:Small
100	Template:Yes2Win	79–17–2 Template:Small	Flash Ryser	KO	2 (10)	May 3, 1932	Template:Small
99	Template:No2Loss	78–17–2 Template:Small	Jack Gross	PTS	10	Nov 17, 1931	Template:Small
98	Template:Yes2Win	78–16–2 Template:Small	Seal Harris	KO	2 (10), Template:Small	Aug 24, 1931	Template:Small	Template:Small
97	Template:Yes2Win	77–16–2 Template:Small	George Gemas	KO	2 (?), Template:Small	Jul 13, 1931	Template:Small
96	Template:Yes2Win	76–16–2 Template:Small	Ricardo Rosel	KO	1 (20), Template:Small	Feb 23, 1931	Template:Small	Template:Small
95	Template:Yes2Win	75–16–2 Template:Small	Salvatore Ruggirello	KO	1 (10), Template:Small	Jan 1, 1931	Template:Small
94	Template:DrawDraw	74–16–2 Template:Small	Bearcat Wright	PTS	10	Dec 19, 1930	Template:Small	Template:Small
93	Template:Yes2Win	74–16–1 Template:Small	Seal Harris	KO	3 (5)	Dec 8, 1930	Template:Small
92	Template:Yes2Win	73–16–1 Template:Small	Seal Harris	KO	4 (10)	Nov 7, 1930	Template:Small
91	Template:Yes2Win	72–16–1 Template:Small	Jack Leslie	KO	3 (10)	Aug 29, 1930	Template:Small
90	Template:Yes2Win	71–16–1 Template:Small	Arthur De Kuh	KO	4 (10)	Aug 26, 1930	Template:Small
89	Template:Yes2Win	70–16–1 Template:Small	Elijah Lee	KO	2 (10)	Aug 20, 1930	Template:Small
88	Template:Yes2Win	69–16–1 Template:Small	Frankie Simms	TKO	2 (12)	Jul 8, 1930	Template:Small
87	Template:No2Loss	68–16–1 Template:Small	Primo Carnera	DQ	5 (10), Template:Small	Jun 23, 1930	Template:Small
86	Template:Yes2Win	68–15–1 Template:Small	Jack Rozier	TKO	1 (10)	May 16, 1930	Template:Small
85	Template:Yes2Win	67–15–1 Template:Small	Roy Clark	KO	7 (10)	Mar 24, 1930	Template:Small
84	Template:Yes2Win	66–15–1 Template:Small	Jack Gross	TKO	5 (10)	Mar 10, 1930	Template:Small
83	Template:Yes2Win	65–15–1 Template:Small	Tom Hawkins	KO	3 (?)	Dec 23, 1929	Template:Small
82	NC	64–15–1 Template:Small	Jimmy Byrne	NC	7 (10)	Nov 7, 1929	Template:Small	Template:Small
81	Template:No2Loss	64–15–1 Template:Small	Long Tom Hawkins	DQ	3 (10)	Aug 13, 1929	Template:Small
80	Template:Yes2Win	64–14–1 Template:Small	Ralph Smith	TKO	2 (10)	Jul 15, 1929	Template:Small
79	Template:Yes2Win	63–14–1 Template:Small	Chuck Wiggins	TKO	7 (12)	Jun 26, 1929	Template:Small
78	Template:Yes2Win	62–14–1 Template:Small	Jimmy Byrne	TKO	7 (10)	Jun 3, 1929	Template:Small
77	Template:Yes2Win	61–14–1 Template:Small	Farmer Lodge	KO	2 (10)	Apr 15, 1929	Template:Small
76	Template:Yes2Win	60–14–1 Template:Small	Bill Hartwell	KO	2 (10)	Apr 5, 1929	Template:Small
75	Template:Yes2Win	59–14–1 Template:Small	Francisco Cruz Coelho	KO	2 (10)	Jan 14, 1929	Template:Small
74	Template:No2Loss	58–14–1 Template:Small	Al Walker	DQ	3 (10)	Jan 7, 1929	Template:Small	Template:Small
73	Template:Yes2Win	58–13–1 Template:Small	Jim Sigman	KO	2 (10)	Dec 12, 1928	Template:Small
72	Template:Yes2Win	57–13–1 Template:Small	Clem Johnson	KO	3 (?)	Dec 3, 1928	Template:Small
71	Template:Yes2Win	56–13–1 Template:Small	Bud Gorman	TKO	3 (10), Template:Small	Nov 12, 1928	Template:Small
70	Template:Yes2Win	55–13–1 Template:Small	Benny Hill	KO	1 (10)	Oct 12, 1928	Template:Small
69	Template:Yes2Win	54–13–1 Template:Small	Pierre Charles	KO	2 (10), Template:Small	Aug 31, 1928	Template:Small
68	Template:Yes2Win	53–13–1 Template:Small	Tut Jackson	TKO	4 (10)	Aug 21, 1928	Template:Small
67	Template:No2Loss	52–13–1 Template:Small	Larry Gains	DQ	3 (10), Template:Small	Aug 15, 1928	Template:Small	Template:Small
66	Template:No2Loss	52–12–1 Template:Small	Johnny Risko	PTS	10	Jun 27, 1928	Template:Small
65	Template:Yes2Win	52–11–1 Template:Small	Paulino Uzcudun	PTS	10	Feb 28, 1928	Template:Small
64	Template:Yes2Win	51–11–1 Template:Small	Joe White	TKO	1 (8)	Jan 23, 1928	Template:Small
63	Template:Yes2Win	50–11–1 Template:Small	Soldier Jones	KO	1 (10)	Dec 26, 1927	Template:Small
62	Template:Yes2Win	49–11–1 Template:Small	Andre DeRosa	KO	2 (10)	Dec 5, 1927	Template:Small
61	Template:Yes2Win	48–11–1 Template:Small	Jack Townsend	PTS	4	Nov 22, 1927	Template:Small
60	Template:Yes2Win	47–11–1 Template:Small	Clem Johnson	KO	1 (8)	Nov 21, 1927	Template:Small	Template:Small
59	Template:Yes2Win	46–11–1 Template:Small	Tom Sayers	KO	1 (10)	Oct 31, 1927	Template:Small
58	Template:Yes2Win	45–11–1 Template:Small	Monte Munn	TKO	4 (12), Template:Small	Sep 14, 1927	Template:Small
57	Template:Yes2Win	44–11–1 Template:Small	Henry van Patten	KO	2 (10)	Sep 8, 1927	Template:Small
56	Template:Yes2Win	43–11–1 Template:Small	Jim Maloney	KO	1 (10), Template:Small	Aug 15, 1927	Template:Small
55	Template:Yes2Win	42–11–1 Template:Small	Neil Clisby	KO	7 (10)	Jul 5, 1927	Template:Small	Template:Small
54	Template:Yes2Win	41–11–1 Template:Small	Jake Kilrain	PTS	10	Jun 23, 1927	Template:Small
53	Template:Yes2Win	40–11–1 Template:Small	Long Tom Hawkins	KO	7 (10)	May 13, 1927	Template:Small
52	Template:Yes2Win	39–11–1 Template:Small	Jack Roper	TKO	5 (10)	May 5, 1927	Template:Small
51	Template:Yes2Win	38–11–1 Template:Small	Leon Chevalier	KO	4 (10)	Apr 18, 1927	Template:Small
50	Template:Yes2Win	37–11–1 Template:Small	Jack Roper	KO	9 (10)	Apr 6, 1927	Template:Small
49	Template:Yes2Win	36–11–1 Template:Small	Tony Fuente	TKO	2 (10)	Mar 29, 1927	Template:Small
48	Template:Yes2Win	35–11–1 Template:Small	Ralph Smith	TKO	9 (10)	Mar 8, 1927	Template:Small
47	Template:Yes2Win	34–11–1 Template:Small	Cowboy Billy Owens	TKO	8 (8)	Dec 3, 1926	Template:Small
46	Template:Abbr	33–11–1 Template:Small	Bearcat Wright	NC	10 (10)	Nov 23, 1926	Template:Small	Template:Small
45	Template:Yes2Win	33–11–1	Larry Gains	RTD	6 (10), Template:Small	Nov 8, 1926	Template:Small	Template:Small
44	Template:Yes2Win	32–11–1	Jack Townsend	DQ	6 (10)	Nov 1, 1926	Template:Small
43	Template:Yes2Win	31–11–1	Bob Lawson	PTS	6	Sep 23, 1926	Template:Small
42	Template:No2Loss	30–11–1	Jack Sharkey	PTS	10	Sep 21, 1926	Template:Small
41	Template:Yes2Win	30–10–1	Tiny Jim Herman	UD	10	Aug 24, 1926	Template:Small
40	Template:No2Loss	29–10–1	Chuck Wiggins	DQ	7 (10)	Jun 9, 1926	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2Win	29–9–1	Sully Montgomery	DQ	7 (10)	Jan 6, 1926	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2Win	28–9–1	Martin Burke	PTS	10	Dec 23, 1925	Template:Small
37	Template:Yes2Win	27–9–1	Fred Fulton	KO	5 (10)	Dec 18, 1925	Template:Small
36	Template:Yes2Win	26–9–1	Battling Owens	KO	3 (15)	Dec 14, 1925	Template:Small
35	Template:Yes2Win	25–9–1	Martin Burke	PTS	10	Sep 29, 1925	Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2Win	24–9–1	Mike Conroy	TKO	2 (10)	Aug 26, 1925	Template:Small
33	Template:Yes2Win	23–9–1	Tiny Jim Herman	TKO	3 (10)	Aug 4, 1925	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	22–9–1	Jack Renault	PTS	10	Jun 6, 1925	Template:Small
31	Template:Yes2Win	21–9–1	Sam Baker	KO	4 (10)	Apr 14, 1925	Template:Small
30	Template:Yes2Win	20–9–1	Vic Alexander	TKO	6 (10)	Mar 21, 1925	Template:Small
29	Template:Yes2Win	19–9–1	Tut Jackson	KO	5 (12)	Feb 26, 1925	Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2Win	18–9–1	Soldier George Jones	KO	2 (10)	Jan 30, 1925	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2Win	17–9–1	Joe White	TKO	1 (10)	Dec 1, 1924	Template:Small
26	Template:No2Loss	16–9–1	Jack Renault	PTS	10	Sep 8, 1924	Template:Small
25	Template:No2Loss	16–8–1	Jack Townsend	DQ	1 (12)	Jul 19, 1924	Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2Win	16–7–1	Jack Thompson	TKO	3 (10)	Jun 23, 1924	Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	15–7–1	Farmer Lodge	KO	3 (10)	May 12, 1924	Template:Small
22	Template:No2Loss	14–7–1	Tom Cowler	DQ	2 (10)	Mar 31, 1924	Template:Small	Template:Small
21	Template:No2Loss	14–6–1	Battling Owens	DQ	5 (12)	Dec 13, 1923	Template:Small
20	Template:Yes2Win	14–5–1	Rough House Ware	KO	1 (10)	Dec 7, 1923	Template:Small
19	Template:Yes2Win	13–5–1	Bill Tate	KO	7 (12)	Nov 2, 1923	Template:Small
18	Template:Yes2Win	12–5–1	Buddy Jackson	TKO	2 (8)	Sep 17, 1923	Template:Small
17	Template:No2Loss	11–5–1	Jack Renault	KO	11 (12)	Mar 9, 1923	Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2Win	11–4–1	Clem Johnson	PTS	12	Feb 27, 1923	Template:Small
15	Template:Yes2Win	10–4–1	Jim Pearson	KO	1 (6)	Feb 21, 1923	Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	9–4–1	Jack Thompson	TKO	5 (12)	Dec 5, 1922	Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2Win	8–4–1	George Ward	KO	5 (8)	Oct 20, 1922	Template:Small
12	Template:Yes2Win	7–4–1	K.O. Gordon	KO	2 (?)	Jan 1, 1922	Template:Small	Template:Small
11	Template:No2Loss	6–4–1	Sam Langford	KO	1 (12)	Aug 17, 1921	Template:Small
10	Template:No2Loss	6–3–1	Jack Thompson	KO	4 (?)	Feb 15, 1921	Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	6–2–1	Young Norfolk	KO	1 (?)	Feb 1, 1921	Template:Small	Template:Small
8	Template:No2Loss	5–2–1	Sam Langford	KO	2 (10)	Nov 17, 1920	Template:Small
7	Template:No2Loss	5–1–1	Battling Norfolk	KO	5 (6), Template:Small	Nov 1, 1920	Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	5–0–1	Charlie Jude	KO	1 (?), Template:Small	Aug 30, 1920	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	4–0–1	Baby Doll Green	KO	5 (?)	Jul 19, 1920	Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	3–0–1	Bill Tate	PTS	10	Jul, 1920	Template:Small	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	2–0–1	Battling Gahee	PTS	15	Jun, 1920	Template:Small	Template:Small
2	Template:DrawDraw	1–0–1	Sam Langford	PTS	10	May, 1920	Template:Small	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Eddie Jamison	KO	1 (?)	Dec, 1919	Template:Small	Template:Small

References

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