George Godfrey (boxer born 1853)

George Godfrey
Statistics
Real name	George Godfrey
Nickname(s)	Old Chocolate
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Nationality	Canadian
Born	(1853-03-20)20 March 1853 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Died	17 October 1901(1901-10-17) (aged 48) Revere, Massachusetts
Boxing record
Total fights	46
Wins	23
Wins by KO	18
Losses	6
Draws	14
No contests	3

George Godfrey (20 March 1853 – 17 October 1901), nicknamed "Old Chocolate" by the press of the day, was a Black Canadian heavyweight boxer who held the distinction of being World 'Colored' Heavyweight Champion during his career.^[1] He is not to be confused with the American heavyweight George Godfrey who claimed the same Championship 42 years after his Canadian namesake. Godfrey was inducted into the PEI Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.^[2]

Biography

Early life

George was born to William Godfrey and Sarah Byers in an area of Charlottetown known as the Bog, a poor part of the West End. The year after Godfrey was born, his father was convicted for petty larceny and served two weeks in jail for stealing a cow.^[3]

He first received boxing instructions while still residing in Charlottetown, from Dick Cronin. Godfrey then left Canada to find employment as a porter in Boston's silk importing offices. After winning in the heavyweight class at a local boxing competition in 1879, he began boxing professionally.^[3] At a fighting weight of 175 pounds on a 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) frame, he would be considered a light-heavyweight by modern standards. However, despite being undersized and rather old at 27 years of age to begin prizefighting, Godfrey would go on to achieve tremendous success inside the boxing ring.^[4]

Professional career

Godfrey went 4-0-4 in his first eight fights, which included a draw with famed pugilist Jake Kilrain. In just his ninth pro bout, he won the World 'Colored' Heavyweight Champion by beating Charles Hadley via sixth round knockout on February 23, 1883. On August 24, 1888, at age 36, Godfrey faced off against world renowned Australian boxer Peter Jackson in San Francisco, California. He would end up losing the bout by technical knockout in the nineteenth round, subsequently losing the World 'Colored' Title.^[5] Godfrey had two more bouts with the much heavier Kilrain after their initial draw, losing both of them via knockout. He also faced Ireland's Peter Maher and California Joe Choynski towards the latter part of his career, almost 40 years old, also losing those matchups.^[6] It was during the last stages of his career, as the years took their toll and his ring skills visibly faded, that the unenlightened press of the day took to calling him by the deprecatory sobriquet of "Old Chocolate".

Godfrey spent nearly his entire career chasing eventual World Heavyweight Champion John L. Sullivan, who repeatedly refused to fight black contenders. However, in 1881 a story surfaced that a bare-knuckle fight against Sullivan had been scheduled but was stopped by the Boston police due to boxing being illegal in the state.^[3] This enhanced Godfrey's notoriety and earned him some high-profile matchups with some of the top pugilists of his time period, including the likes of Kilrain, Maher, Jackson and Choynski.^[5]

Among the notable fighters that Godfrey beat were Charles Hadley, C.C. Smith, England's "Denver Ed" Smith, McHenry Johnson ("Minneapolis Star"), Irish Joe Lannon, Canada's Patsy Cardiff, Steve O'Donnell of Australia and Joe Doherty.^[6]

Death

Godrey died of Tuberculosis on October 19, 1901 at his house in Revere, Massachusetts. He had reportedly accumulated considerable real estate in both the Chelsea and Revere areas at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife Clara J. Godfrey, and his son George Godfrey Jr.^[7][8]

Notable bouts

Result	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes[6]
Draw	Nick Burley	PTS	15	1896-03-05	Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
Loss	Peter Maher	KO	6	1894-05-28	Boston Casino, Boston, Massachusetts
Draw	Joe Butler	PTS	4	1893-12-15	Boston, Massachusetts
NC	Jim Hall	NC	3	1893-11-11	Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
Loss	Joe Choynski	KO	15	1892-10-31	Coney Island A.C., Coney Island, New York
Win	C.C. Smith	KO	4	1892-08-15	New York, New York
Loss	Jake Kilrain	KO	44	1891-03-13	California A.C., San Francisco, California
Loss	Peter Jackson	TKO	19	1888-08-24	California A.C., San Francisco, California	Lost World "Colored" Heavyweight Title.
Draw	C.C. Smith	PTS	6	1885-01-15	Boston, Massachusetts
Loss	Jake Kilrain	TKO	3	1883-05-16	Boston, Massachusetts
Win	Charles Hadley	KO	6 (6)	1883-02-23	Cribb Hall, Boston, Massachusetts	Won World "Colored" Heavyweight Title.
Draw	Charles Hadley	PTS	6	1883-01-18	New York, New York
Draw	Charles Hadley	PTS	4	1882-01-26	Harry Hill's, New York, New York
Draw	Jake Kilrain	PTS	3	1882-01-15	Boston, Massachusetts
Draw	Charles Hadley	PTS	6	1879-01-01	New York, New York

See also

• List of bare-knuckle boxers

References

External links

• Professional boxing record for George Godfrey from BoxRec
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Biography at PEI Sports Hall of Fame
• Cyber Boxing Zone Biography