Boxing's Greatest Uncrowned Champion
Sam Langford
Standing no more than 5-feet 7-inches tall, Sam Langford was one of
the 20th century’s greatest fighters. In 1951, the great featherweight
champion Abe Attell was asked if Sugar Ray Robinson was the best of
all time, either as a welterweight or middleweight: he named Stanley
Ketchel as the greatest welterweight he had ever seen and said that, as
for the middleweights, he would take Sam Langford, whom he
considered the greatest of them all at that poundage.
Remarkably, the man Attell felt was the greatest middleweight fighter
in history fought and defeated many of the leading heavyweight
contenders of his day. Over time he matured physically and grew into
a light heavyweight, then began fighting heavyweights on a regular
basis, but he was almost always the much smaller of the two
combatants.
Founding Ring magazine editor, Nat Fleischer, called Sam one of the
hardest punchers of all time, and ranked the little man seventh among
his personal all-time favorites. "Sam was endowed with everything.
He possessed strength, agility, cleverness, hitting power, a good
thinking cap and an abundance of courage. He feared no one. But he
had the fatal gift of being too good, and that "is why he often had to
give away weight in early days and make agreements with opponents.
Many of those who agreed to fight him, especially of his own race,
wanted an assurance that he would be merciful or insisted on a bout of
not more than six rounds."
Other leading sportswriters of that era had even higher opinions of
Sam. Hype Igoe, well known boxing writer of the New York Journal
proclaimed Sam the greatest fighter, pound for pound, who ever lived.
Joe Williams, respected sports columnist of the New York World
Telegram wrote that Langford was probably the best the ring ever
saw, and the great Grantland Rice described Sam as "about the best
fighting man I have ever watched."
At the time of Sam's induction into the Boxing Hall of Fame (October,
1955) he was the only non-champion accorded the honor. Many ring
experts considered Sam the greatest pound for pound fighter in the
history of boxing. Under different circumstances he might have been a
champion at five different weights: lightweight, welterweight,
middleweight, light heavyweight,and heavyweight.
Blind and penniless at the end of his life, Sam lived quietly in a private
nursing home. But when one visitor expressed sympathy for his
circumstances, Sam replied, "Don't nobody need to feel sorry for old
Sam. I had plenty of good times. I been all over the world. I fought
maybe 600 fights, and every one was a pleasure!"
the 20th century’s greatest fighters. In 1951, the great featherweight
champion Abe Attell was asked if Sugar Ray Robinson was the best of
all time, either as a welterweight or middleweight: he named Stanley
Ketchel as the greatest welterweight he had ever seen and said that, as
for the middleweights, he would take Sam Langford, whom he
considered the greatest of them all at that poundage.
Remarkably, the man Attell felt was the greatest middleweight fighter
in history fought and defeated many of the leading heavyweight
contenders of his day. Over time he matured physically and grew into
a light heavyweight, then began fighting heavyweights on a regular
basis, but he was almost always the much smaller of the two
combatants.
Founding Ring magazine editor, Nat Fleischer, called Sam one of the
hardest punchers of all time, and ranked the little man seventh among
his personal all-time favorites. "Sam was endowed with everything.
He possessed strength, agility, cleverness, hitting power, a good
thinking cap and an abundance of courage. He feared no one. But he
had the fatal gift of being too good, and that "is why he often had to
give away weight in early days and make agreements with opponents.
Many of those who agreed to fight him, especially of his own race,
wanted an assurance that he would be merciful or insisted on a bout of
not more than six rounds."
Other leading sportswriters of that era had even higher opinions of
Sam. Hype Igoe, well known boxing writer of the New York Journal
proclaimed Sam the greatest fighter, pound for pound, who ever lived.
Joe Williams, respected sports columnist of the New York World
Telegram wrote that Langford was probably the best the ring ever
saw, and the great Grantland Rice described Sam as "about the best
fighting man I have ever watched."
At the time of Sam's induction into the Boxing Hall of Fame (October,
1955) he was the only non-champion accorded the honor. Many ring
experts considered Sam the greatest pound for pound fighter in the
history of boxing. Under different circumstances he might have been a
champion at five different weights: lightweight, welterweight,
middleweight, light heavyweight,and heavyweight.
Blind and penniless at the end of his life, Sam lived quietly in a private
nursing home. But when one visitor expressed sympathy for his
circumstances, Sam replied, "Don't nobody need to feel sorry for old
Sam. I had plenty of good times. I been all over the world. I fought
maybe 600 fights, and every one was a pleasure!"
Sam Langford was, indeed, an 'uncrowned champion' - one of the
greatest pound-for-pound pugilists ever to step through the ropes. The
only reason Langford never held a world title was that no champion
gave him a chance to fight for the crown, even though Sam was
eminently qualified. This book gives Langford the recognition he has
deserved for such a long time. Moyle's epic chronicle of Langford's life
in and out of the rind redresses the fighter's slide into obscurity during
the half-century since his death. The author deftly balances the
triumphs and tragedies of this extraordinary man's career. This book
is a must-read, from the opening bell to the last."
--Charles R. Saunders, Author of Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black
Boxers from the Halifax Forum to Caesars' Palace
"With his richly detailed new biography, Clay Moyle has restored the
indomitable Sam Langford to his rightful place in history of American
sports - and demonstrates along the way that Jack Johnson was right
when he called Langford 'the toughest little son of a bitch that ever
lived'."
--Geoffrey C. Ward, Author of Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and
Fall of Jack Johnson
“Much of Clay Moyle’s fine, new book, Sam Langford: Boxing’s
Greatest Uncrowned Champion, pulls together many of the myths and
facts about Langford, and makes his worldwide pursuit of Johnson
into a chase equal to Captain Ahab’s stalking of Moby Dick.”
-- Don Stradley, The Ring – Fall 2008
“There is much to commend about this work: the author’s efficient
sourcing of his references; his dedicated zeal in collecting and arrange
a vast array of varied and interesting photography of Langford –
many of which have not before been in the public domain – and his
objectivity in highlighting those anecdotes and factual disputes of
which a consultation of the records cannot presently provide a
definitive resolution. All of them are hallmarks of his punctilious
attention to detail in what no doubt will remain the definitive
biography of Sam Langford for a long time to come.”
-- Adeyinka Makinde, Author of Dick Tiger: The Life and Times of a
Boxing Immortal
greatest pound-for-pound pugilists ever to step through the ropes. The
only reason Langford never held a world title was that no champion
gave him a chance to fight for the crown, even though Sam was
eminently qualified. This book gives Langford the recognition he has
deserved for such a long time. Moyle's epic chronicle of Langford's life
in and out of the rind redresses the fighter's slide into obscurity during
the half-century since his death. The author deftly balances the
triumphs and tragedies of this extraordinary man's career. This book
is a must-read, from the opening bell to the last."
--Charles R. Saunders, Author of Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black
Boxers from the Halifax Forum to Caesars' Palace
"With his richly detailed new biography, Clay Moyle has restored the
indomitable Sam Langford to his rightful place in history of American
sports - and demonstrates along the way that Jack Johnson was right
when he called Langford 'the toughest little son of a bitch that ever
lived'."
--Geoffrey C. Ward, Author of Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and
Fall of Jack Johnson
“Much of Clay Moyle’s fine, new book, Sam Langford: Boxing’s
Greatest Uncrowned Champion, pulls together many of the myths and
facts about Langford, and makes his worldwide pursuit of Johnson
into a chase equal to Captain Ahab’s stalking of Moby Dick.”
-- Don Stradley, The Ring – Fall 2008
“There is much to commend about this work: the author’s efficient
sourcing of his references; his dedicated zeal in collecting and arrange
a vast array of varied and interesting photography of Langford –
many of which have not before been in the public domain – and his
objectivity in highlighting those anecdotes and factual disputes of
which a consultation of the records cannot presently provide a
definitive resolution. All of them are hallmarks of his punctilious
attention to detail in what no doubt will remain the definitive
biography of Sam Langford for a long time to come.”
-- Adeyinka Makinde, Author of Dick Tiger: The Life and Times of a
Boxing Immortal
Sam Langford was the toughest little son of a bitch that ever lived.” --
Jack Johnson
“The hell I feared no man. There was one man I wouldn’t fight because
I knew he would flatten me. I was afraid of Sam Langford.” --
Jack Dempsey
“When Sam hit you in the body, you’d kind of look around half
expecting to see his glove sticking out of your back. When he hit you on
the chin, you didn’t think at all until they brought you back to life.
When he knocked me out in New Orleans, I thought I’d been Killed. --
Harry Wills
“The greatest hitter of them all, bar none, was Sam Langford.” --
Harry Wills
“Langford was the greatest fighter who ever lived. Sam would have
been champion any time Johnson had given him a fight. And Johnson
knew it better than anybody. Man! How that baby could hit. Nobody
else could hit like that. Well, maybe Joe Louis could, but don’t forgot
that Sam only weighed about 160 pounds. Louis was about 195.”--
Joe Jennette
“I’d pick him (Langford) to knock out Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey and
Rocky Marciano. When he was not under wraps, he was a ring
marvel.” -- Frank Erne
“Who’s the best heavyweight I ever saw? That’s an easy one. Sam
Langford and nobody ever came close to being as good as he was at
this peak. Why, old Sam could do everything. He could punch from
any position and hit hard too. He was a master boxer, difficult to hit,
but if you did land you might just as well try to make an impression
upon the floor of the Garden. He would take all the heart out of you
and then give you a fine pasting. He ruined me. I was all through after
that last fight with Langford in Boston. -- “Gunboat” Smith
Jack Johnson
“The hell I feared no man. There was one man I wouldn’t fight because
I knew he would flatten me. I was afraid of Sam Langford.” --
Jack Dempsey
“When Sam hit you in the body, you’d kind of look around half
expecting to see his glove sticking out of your back. When he hit you on
the chin, you didn’t think at all until they brought you back to life.
When he knocked me out in New Orleans, I thought I’d been Killed. --
Harry Wills
“The greatest hitter of them all, bar none, was Sam Langford.” --
Harry Wills
“Langford was the greatest fighter who ever lived. Sam would have
been champion any time Johnson had given him a fight. And Johnson
knew it better than anybody. Man! How that baby could hit. Nobody
else could hit like that. Well, maybe Joe Louis could, but don’t forgot
that Sam only weighed about 160 pounds. Louis was about 195.”--
Joe Jennette
“I’d pick him (Langford) to knock out Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey and
Rocky Marciano. When he was not under wraps, he was a ring
marvel.” -- Frank Erne
“Who’s the best heavyweight I ever saw? That’s an easy one. Sam
Langford and nobody ever came close to being as good as he was at
this peak. Why, old Sam could do everything. He could punch from
any position and hit hard too. He was a master boxer, difficult to hit,
but if you did land you might just as well try to make an impression
upon the floor of the Garden. He would take all the heart out of you
and then give you a fine pasting. He ruined me. I was all through after
that last fight with Langford in Boston. -- “Gunboat” Smith
Clay Moyle is a member of the International Boxing Research
Organization (IBRO), created in 1982 for the purpose of establishing
an accurate history of boxing and compiling complete and accurate
boxing records. He is also a passionate collector of boxing books with
over 3,000 titles in his personal collection, many dating back to the
1800’s.
He has a personal website from which he sells boxing books,
autographs, programs, and other forms of boxing memorabilia:
Prizefightingbooks.com
He lives in Edgewood, Washington
Organization (IBRO), created in 1982 for the purpose of establishing
an accurate history of boxing and compiling complete and accurate
boxing records. He is also a passionate collector of boxing books with
over 3,000 titles in his personal collection, many dating back to the
1800’s.
He has a personal website from which he sells boxing books,
autographs, programs, and other forms of boxing memorabilia:
Prizefightingbooks.com
He lives in Edgewood, Washington
Praise for Sam Langford, Clay Moyle's
biography of the boxing legend:
biography of the boxing legend:
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