Review of Adam Pollack’s In the Ring with Marvin Hart

By Zachary Q. Daniels - Perhaps even more than the earlier installments of his excellent series on the heavyweightchampions, Adam Pollack’s In the Ring with Marvin Hart fills a gap in the boxing literature. For while his well-researched works on Sullivan, Corbett, Fitzsimmons and Jeffries undoubtedly provided additional understanding of the boxing careers of these men, as a result of his unique reliance on local primary source accounts to cover events, these were also boxers whose lives and careers had been the subject of some attention before. Not so with Marvin Hart.

Hart is not only, as Pollack notes “one of the least known heavyweight champions,” he is probably the least-written about of the many men who have held the title in the past. No biographies have ever been published, nor did Hart himself write an autobiography. This may be unique among heavyweight champions, the more famous of whom are among the most written-about of all athletes. As surprising as it seems, this is actually the first biography of Hart that has been published. Clearly, then, Pollack’s book fills a gaping void.

As usual, he applies his thorough research techniques, relying on primary source accounts to trace Hart’s career from its beginnings in 1900 to its termination in 1910. Hart’s early fights in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky with such men as William Schiller, Hugh ”Kid Hubert” McGann, Pete Traynor, Tommy West, Dan Creedon and others are all covered. Most of these fights ended in KO, establishing Hart as a thunderous puncher who could “hit as hard as mule’s kick.

In perhaps his first important step up in competition, he took on Chicago’s Billy Stift in 1902, and knocked him out in the 3rd. This was followed by an even more significant step up against Eddie “Kid” Carter of Brooklyn, NY, which Hart won by KO in the 9th round. This fight was the one that really first established Hart as an up and coming contender, initially as a light heavyweight. After a decision victory in his rematch with Stift in Chicago - Hart’s first fight outside of Louisville - he took a second fight against Carter in Philadelphia. Although this fight officially ended in a “no decision,” most observers felt Hart had won.

In another important fight, Hart took on light heavyweight contender Jack Root in Chicago, which he lost by six round decision. This setback did not deter Hart from pressing forward, and as Pollack reports, he fought only nine days later against top contender (and later light heavyweight champion) “Philadelphia” Jack O’Brien, in O’Brien’s hometown of Philadelphia. It was a very competitive fight in which both men were hurt, ending in a no decision. Although O’Brien landed more punches, Hart had O’Brien clearly hurt and “ready to go” as the bell rang to end the fight. A rematch had similar results, with O’Brien down and almost out at the end of six rounds.

Hart then took an important fight with light heavyweight contender George Gardiner in May, which he lost by retirement, due to a broken hand. After the hand healed, he took on longtime heavyweight contender Joe Choynski in another no decision fight, which most observers believed to be a draw. Hart’s performance in these various six round fights leads Pollack to observe that he “was a fighter ideal for the finish fight, but also one whom the cleverest…. Please Click below for the rest of this article…

Thus Hart struggled somewhat as he made the step up competition in 1902-1903. But subsequent performances helped establish his legitimacy as a contender. He fought two rematches in Boston, first against Kid Carter, which he won by 15th round stoppage, and then against former world light heavyweight champion George Gardner, which ended in a 15 round draw. Most were in agreement that Hart clearly should have received the decision in this fight.

His next significant bouts were in mid 1904 against much larger heavyweight contender Gus Ruhlin, a no decision contest in Philadelphia and a draw in Baltimore, Maryland. In the first fight, Hart performed well and had Ruhlin hurt at the end, and in the second fight, scheduled for 12 rounds, it was more competitive. Regardless, Hart had performed on more than even terms with a man considered to be a top heavyweight contender at the time, and who outweighed him by 20 pounds.

Pollack puts a great deal of focus, and rightfully so, on Hart’s significant fight in March of 1905 with contender Jack Johnson, who would later become heavyweight champ. As Pollack reports, “This bout was a big deal.” His coverage, as usual, is augmented by the inclusion of material from many local as well as national sources. Hart, like many fighters of his era, had initially drawn the color line, refusing to fight black boxers such as Johnson. But, because Johnson was considered to be the best challenger for the title, in order to be considered the top contender for the heavyweight championship, Hart had to defeat him. And there was significant public pressure and demand for these two to square off. Observers of the time noted that “Although neither of them has yet proved the right to be considered in the class of the unapproachable Jeffries, the unquestioned fact that they are among the best of the other heavies makes the card attractive.” Thus, this fight had the character of what we might call an “elimination match” today.
As Pollack notes, the most appropriate route to fill the vacancy left by Jeffries would have been to have Marvin Hart and Jack Johnson fought a rematch for the title. But, of course, racism and the color line prevented this. It was generally agreed, as one source at the time put it, that “Hart looms as the most eligible because of his victory over Jack Johnson” - but it was not clear who the best opponent would be. As it turned out, a fight with Hart’s old foe and fellow contender, Jack Root, was made in Reno, Nevada.

Pollack’s research makes clear that this fight was billed as a fight “for the Heavyweight Championship of the World” and was generally considered so at this time, despite some controversy over this before and since. Part of the origin of this controversy was Jeffries’ waffling on whether he considered this to be a fight for the championship. Others suggested that “Jeffries is and will be the heavyweight champion of the world until somebody has fought him for the title and whipped him decisively.” At this point in time, procedures for succession in the event of a vacated title were not at all clear. This said, many newspapers of the time clearly indicated that the fight was to be for the heavyweight championship of the world. Pollack observes that “this bout was eventually recognized as being for the vacant championship, particularly when Jeffries did not come back.”
The fight itself was very competitive, with Root getting the edge in a majority of the rounds until Hart landed a punch “under and a little to left of Root’s heart . . . .” Pollack reports that the “sound of the punch could be heard in every part of the arena.” And then “Root dropped to the ground and began writhing” in pain. Hart had won, and would now have a clear claim to the heavyweight championship. And although there remained some dispute over this - from Jeffries among others - as Pollack’s research shows, the bulk of the evidence suggests that Hart was considered the champion, particularly when it became clear that Jeffries was not returning to the ring.

Hart’s claim to the championship was, of course, further buttressed by the fact that his fight with Tommy Burns in February 1906 resulted in Burns’ winning recognition as heavyweight champion. Hart had reigned for barely six months, and had only one fight in the interim, an exhibition knockout victory over Pat Callahan. This short time as champion and failure to defend the title likely account for why Hart has been so overlooked historically. The fact that his career declined significantly afterward, and that he lost or drew almost as much as he won in his post championship career, probably also contributes to his relative obscurity. But whatever the limitations of his legacy and his abilities, Marvin Hart was a solid fighter with a hard punch who, for a time, was clearly one of the top fighters of his era.

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