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Tommy Burns (boxer)
Encyclopedia
Tommy Burns born Noah Brusso, is the only Canadian born world heavyweight champion boxer. The first to travel the globe in defending his title, Tommy made 11 title defenses despite often being the underdog due to his size. Burns famously challenged all comers as Heavyweight Champion, leading to a celebrated bout with African-American Jack Johnson
. According to his biographer, Burns insisted, "I will defend my title against all comers, none barred. By this I mean white, black, Mexican
, Indian, or any other nationality. I propose to be the champion of the world, not the white, or the Canadian, or the American. If I am not the best man in the heavyweight division, I don't want the title."
Burns was also the first heavyweight champion to give a Jewish boxer a shot at the crown. Burns defeated Joseph 'Jewey' Smith in a fight staged in Paris. He also fought a bout with a Native American
on his way to the Championship. According to one biography, he also had two black sparring partners and was married for a brief time to a black woman. At a time when most white fighters adhered to the so-called "color-line
", refusing to fight African Americans, Burns had half a dozen contests with black boxers prior to his clash with the legendary Jack Johnson
.
family, Burns grew up in difficult circumstances, and five of his thirteen siblings died before reaching adulthood. Burns began his prizefighting career in 1900 in Detroit, Michigan
. In June 1903, he was discovered playing lacrosse under an assumed name for a Detroit team that was playing in Chatham, Ontario
.
for the heavyweight championship of the world on February 23, 1906, Burns was a 2-1 underdog and the betting was 10-7 that he would not last ten rounds. Burns won, and went on to defend his title eleven times within a period of less than two years.
All previous gloved world champs had been white U.S. Citizens (except for Robert Fitzsimmons, of the United Kingdom), who only defended their titles against other white opponents. Burns, however, travelled the globe, beating the champions of every nation in which boxing was legal at that time, including England, Ireland, France and Australia. Along the way he set records for the fastest knockout (one minute and 28 seconds) and the most consecutive wins by knockout (eight) by a heavyweight champion. He was the shortest heavyweight champion in history and the second lightest after Bob Fitzsimmons. He once defended his title twice in one night, although some historians refuse to accept those wins as title defences, insisting they were exhibition bouts. But in newspapers at the time, they were advertised as heavyweight title fights. If those defences are counted in his record, he actually successfully defended his title 13 times.
In December 1908, Burns became the first fighter to agree to a heavyweight championship bout with an African American
boxer, Jack Johnson
, to whom he lost his title in a match held in Sydney
. He refused to fight Johnson until Australian promoter Hugh D. McIntosh
paid him $30,000 for the fight (Johnson only received $5,000). He was rumoured to be suffering from the effects from jaundice or influenza, and weighed in at just 168 pounds (76.2 kg)—15 pounds (6.8 kg) lighter than his previous fight, and well below Johnson's 192 pounds (87.1 kg). The fight lasted fourteen rounds before being stopped by the police. Referee Hugh McIntosh awarded the decision and the title to Johnson. In a filmed interview, Burns named Johnson as the second best boxer up to his time, after James J. Jeffries
.
When Johnson arrived in Vancouver in 1909 he told a crowd of people that Burns deserved credit as the only white heavyweight who ever gave a black man a chance to win the title. He said, "Let me say of Mr. Burns, a Canadian and one of yourselves, that he has done what no one else ever did, he gave a black man a chance for the championship. He was beaten, but he was game."
Burns continued to box occasionally after dropping the title. During the First World War he joined the Canadian army, serving as a physical fitness instructor in Canada. A month before his 39th birthday in 1920, he challenged British champion Joe Beckett. Burns lost the fight in what was officially his only knockout loss, but took in one last big payday before retiring.
where he ran a speakeasy
. Although he was wealthy at the end of his boxing career, the Wall Street Crash of 1929
and the Great Depression
wiped out his fortune. He then worked as an insurance salesman and security guard, among other jobs.
Burns was ordained as a minister in 1948. He was an evangelist living in Coalinga, California
at the time of his death. He died while visiting a church friend in Vancouver, British Columbia, suffering a heart attack at age 73. Only four people attended his burial at Ocean View Cemetery in Burnaby, British Columbia
. He was interred in an unmarked pauper's grave until 1961 when, as the result of fundraising efforts begun by a Vancouver sports writer, a memorial plaque was finally placed on his grave.
on June 9, 1996, and into Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame
in 2009.
Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson may refer to :*Jack Johnson , one of Wyatt Earp's possemen during his "vendetta ride"*Jack Johnson , first African-American heavyweight boxing world champion...
. According to his biographer, Burns insisted, "I will defend my title against all comers, none barred. By this I mean white, black, Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Indian, or any other nationality. I propose to be the champion of the world, not the white, or the Canadian, or the American. If I am not the best man in the heavyweight division, I don't want the title."
Burns was also the first heavyweight champion to give a Jewish boxer a shot at the crown. Burns defeated Joseph 'Jewey' Smith in a fight staged in Paris. He also fought a bout with a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
on his way to the Championship. According to one biography, he also had two black sparring partners and was married for a brief time to a black woman. At a time when most white fighters adhered to the so-called "color-line
Color-line
The phrase color line was originally used as a reference to the racial segregation that existed in the United States after the abolition of slavery. Frederick Douglass' article, "The Color Line," was published in the North American Review in 1881. The phrase gained fame after W. E. B...
", refusing to fight African Americans, Burns had half a dozen contests with black boxers prior to his clash with the legendary Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (boxer)
John Arthur Johnson , nicknamed the “Galveston Giant,” was an American boxer. At the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion...
.
Early life
Born in Normanby Township near Hanover, Ontario, Brusso's family lived in several locations around Ontario's Grey and Bruce Counties before moving to Galt, Ontario. The twelfth of thirteen children of an impoverished German-CanadianGerman-Canadian
German Canadians are Canadians of ethnic German ancestry. The 2006 Canadian census put the number of Canadians of German ethnicity at 3,179,425. Only a small fraction of German Canadians are descendants of immigrants from what is today Germany...
family, Burns grew up in difficult circumstances, and five of his thirteen siblings died before reaching adulthood. Burns began his prizefighting career in 1900 in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. In June 1903, he was discovered playing lacrosse under an assumed name for a Detroit team that was playing in Chatham, Ontario
Chatham, Ontario
Chatham is the largest community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Formerly serving as the seat of Kent County, the governments of the former city of Chatham, the county of Kent, and its townships were merged into one entity known as the Municipality of Chatham-Kent in 1998.Located on...
.
Boxing career
After starting his boxing career under his real name, Brusso took the Scottish-sounding name of Tommy Burns in 1904. Although only 5 in 7 in (170.18 cm) tall and about 175 pounds (79.4 kg), size did not stop him from becoming the world heavyweight boxing champion. When Burns met Marvin HartMarvin Hart
Marvin Hart was the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion from July 3, 1905 to February 23, 1906.- Career :...
for the heavyweight championship of the world on February 23, 1906, Burns was a 2-1 underdog and the betting was 10-7 that he would not last ten rounds. Burns won, and went on to defend his title eleven times within a period of less than two years.
All previous gloved world champs had been white U.S. Citizens (except for Robert Fitzsimmons, of the United Kingdom), who only defended their titles against other white opponents. Burns, however, travelled the globe, beating the champions of every nation in which boxing was legal at that time, including England, Ireland, France and Australia. Along the way he set records for the fastest knockout (one minute and 28 seconds) and the most consecutive wins by knockout (eight) by a heavyweight champion. He was the shortest heavyweight champion in history and the second lightest after Bob Fitzsimmons. He once defended his title twice in one night, although some historians refuse to accept those wins as title defences, insisting they were exhibition bouts. But in newspapers at the time, they were advertised as heavyweight title fights. If those defences are counted in his record, he actually successfully defended his title 13 times.
In December 1908, Burns became the first fighter to agree to a heavyweight championship bout with an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
boxer, Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (boxer)
John Arthur Johnson , nicknamed the “Galveston Giant,” was an American boxer. At the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion...
, to whom he lost his title in a match held in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He refused to fight Johnson until Australian promoter Hugh D. McIntosh
Hugh D. McIntosh
Hugh Donald "Huge Deal" McIntosh was an Australian show-business entrepreneur born to parents of Scottish and Irish origin and modest means in Sydney's Surry Hills, then a ramshackle suburb with a reputation for crime and vice among the largely Irish immigrant population. His policeman father Hugh...
paid him $30,000 for the fight (Johnson only received $5,000). He was rumoured to be suffering from the effects from jaundice or influenza, and weighed in at just 168 pounds (76.2 kg)—15 pounds (6.8 kg) lighter than his previous fight, and well below Johnson's 192 pounds (87.1 kg). The fight lasted fourteen rounds before being stopped by the police. Referee Hugh McIntosh awarded the decision and the title to Johnson. In a filmed interview, Burns named Johnson as the second best boxer up to his time, after James J. Jeffries
James J. Jeffries
James Jackson Jeffries was a world heavyweight boxing champion.His greatest assets were his enormous strength and stamina. Using a technique taught to him by his trainer, former welterweight and middleweight champion Tommy Ryan, Jeffries fought out of a crouch with his left arm extended forward...
.
When Johnson arrived in Vancouver in 1909 he told a crowd of people that Burns deserved credit as the only white heavyweight who ever gave a black man a chance to win the title. He said, "Let me say of Mr. Burns, a Canadian and one of yourselves, that he has done what no one else ever did, he gave a black man a chance for the championship. He was beaten, but he was game."
Burns continued to box occasionally after dropping the title. During the First World War he joined the Canadian army, serving as a physical fitness instructor in Canada. A month before his 39th birthday in 1920, he challenged British champion Joe Beckett. Burns lost the fight in what was officially his only knockout loss, but took in one last big payday before retiring.
Life after boxing
After retirement, Burns promoted some boxing shows and in 1928 moved to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he ran a speakeasy
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
. Although he was wealthy at the end of his boxing career, the Wall Street Crash of 1929
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
and the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
wiped out his fortune. He then worked as an insurance salesman and security guard, among other jobs.
Burns was ordained as a minister in 1948. He was an evangelist living in Coalinga, California
Coalinga, California
Coalinga is a city in Fresno County, California. The population was 13,380 at the 2010 census, up from 11,668 at the 2000 census. It is the site of both Pleasant Valley State Prison and Coalinga State Hospital. Coalinga is located southwest of Fresno, at an elevation of 673 feet .-Early...
at the time of his death. He died while visiting a church friend in Vancouver, British Columbia, suffering a heart attack at age 73. Only four people attended his burial at Ocean View Cemetery in Burnaby, British Columbia
Burnaby, British Columbia
Burnaby is a city in British Columbia, Canada, located immediately to the east of Vancouver. It is the third-largest city in British Columbia by population, surpassed only by nearby Surrey and Vancouver....
. He was interred in an unmarked pauper's grave until 1961 when, as the result of fundraising efforts begun by a Vancouver sports writer, a memorial plaque was finally placed on his grave.
Honours
He was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1955, into the International Boxing Hall of FameInternational Boxing Hall of Fame
The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta...
on June 9, 1996, and into Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame
Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame
Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame was founded in 2001 and began inducting boxers into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Since then annual induction dinners have been held....
in 2009.