Hope everyone enjoyed their July 4th celebration yesterday!
Newspapers across the country on this date in 1910 were full of stories of the heavyweight championship boxing match the day before in Reno, Nevada –billed as “the fight of the century.” The bout pitted champion Jack Johnson, an African-American, against former champ Jim Jeffries, called “the great white hope.” Jeffries was outclassed and his corner conceded the fight in the 15th round. The result sparked race riots in 50 cities in 25 states. In his career, Johnson won 89 of 124 matches, 49 of them knockouts. Today, more than a 1.5 million people attend boxing matches across the U.S each year. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.
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