On September 22, 1927, the boxing heavyweight championship between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney was fought at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Tunney was an avid reader, and Dempsey, as part of the pre-fight exchange of slander, called Tunney “a big bookworm.”
Gene Tunney: Too Cute To Hit!
Tunney won the fight, but the decision was controversial, because of a longer-than-usual count in the seventh round that allowed Tunney extra recovery time from Dempsey’s left hook. Dempsey appealed but lost, and Tunney retired undefeated after another year.
Jack Dempsey: Not bad-looking either, but I'm going with Team Tunney!
Tunney continued his bookworming ways, becoming friends with George Bernard Shaw, Ernest Hemingway, and Thornton Wilder. He also remained lifelong friends with Jack Dempsey. Historian Tracy Callis calls Tunney “one of the most intelligent fighters in boxing history.”
Ha! That’s some funny trash talking.
Fascinating!
How rude! Calling him a big bookworm. I’d smack him one myself.
Too bad today’s boxers have brought boxing to a low that hasn’t been seen since bare-fisted boxing. Like many athletes, they talk in cliche.
What a great post! I am a big sports fanatic, (baseball is my favorite), and people often comment that they find my reading obsession sort of “out of sync” with my love of sports.
Yeah, I’m with you – Team Tunney all the way!
Cool. Am now officially a fan of Gene Tunney.
Hahahaha wow, this is GREAT!!!
If someone called me a big bookworm, I would probably give them a hug, so it’s weird that this name calling inspired Tunney for a big beat-down. This was a very fun and interesting post today. Tunney sounds like a pretty awesome guy.
Ooh. I’d be Team Tunney too. Fun post, Jill!
I actually remember my dad and uncles and other men of the family talking about this fight when I was a kid. That would have been mid-to-late 40s so you know it was still a big deal with them. (We were in southern Wisconsin so it could be they went to Chicago for the fight.) Out of all my childhood memories I’m not sure why I remember this one – but it seemed to be a thing where you were either a Dempsey man or a Tunney man. I recall thinking that men sure were weird to be talking so often about a stupid fight. Who cares who won!! Thanks for bringing it all back to me.
Good looking AND a reader…count me in for Team Tunney, too.
Yeah, what the Other Jill said. No himbos for me, thanks!
He really is too cute to hit!
I’m glad this happened so long ago, or else, I expect some of us would queue up with boxing gloves to have a go at Dempsey!
Thanks for sharing this!
What a fun story! Thanks for sharing it.
That’s really cool! At first I thought Tunney looked a little like Rob Lowe, but now I’m second guessing myself – I think the similarity is only in the eyes.
Wow! An intellectual fighter. Who knew?
Whew!! Them’s fighting words!
Tunney kind of looks like Brad Pitt I think!