African American Boxing Champ Joe Gans in San Rafael
By Carol Acquaviva
Joe Gans (1874–1910) was the first Black boxer to win a world title. He was the lightweight champion from 1902–1908. Born in Baltimore and later nicknamed “The Old Master,” Gans was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990, and is frequently cited as the greatest lightweight fighter of all time.
Gans briefly trained and fought at Billy Shannon’s Villa in the West End neighborhood of San Rafael. Shannon, a retired boxer and an amateur lightweight champion himself, operated his saloon and adjoining training gymnasium, and offered short-term accommodations for boxers and trainers. This combination gym/gathering place was a magnet for boxers and their friends, area sportswriters, and local fans, some of whom were known for regularly wagering money on fights. The Villa was not the only boxing training location in the area, nor was Gans the only famed fighter to train in Marin. But Shannon had an affection for Gans, who trained for at least four fights at the Villa.
In January of 1905, Gans was asked about his preference for Shannon’s location, which he referred to as “home.” He said:
“This is the healthiest place that I ever saw. It is now winter, but there is grass, sunshine and floors. The San Francisco smoke and fog never reach you. A few hours after a heavy rain the roads are dry and a fellow can jog along them and never know that he is training. That is why I always train here.”
The Marin Journal agreed that the environment afforded by San Rafael was an advantage.
Whatever anyone may think about boxing and pugilists, their presence here boldly proclaims the fact that Marin county has the climate. They do not come here to fight or entertain their friends but they come to go through a course of training and put themselves into as good physical shape as possible. They are men who have trained in all parts of the country and they know a good thing in the climate line when they see it.
The San Francisco Call described Gans’ training session in October 1904.
“An hours hard work in the gymnasium convinced Joe’s admirers that he is in fine condition. He punched the bag, twisted the wrist machines, pulled the weights, jumped the rope a thousand times and wound up by boxing four fast rounds with Kid Sullivan. In the morning he took a fourteen-mile run.”
In September of 1906, Gans triumphed over Oscar Matthew “Battling” Nelson, aka “the Durable Dane” in Goldfield, Nevada.
As the pair entered their 42nd round, Nelson committed what everyone agreed to be a deliberate foul, an unofficial forfeit, thus handing the win to Gans. The crowd cheered loudly, and carried Gans back to his dressing room. Gans’ remarkable skill and endurance was made even more impressive when it was learned he had broken his right hand with ten rounds yet to go, an injury he concealed during the match in order to continue fighting.
In 1908, Gans again trained at Billy Shannon’s for a rematch with Nelson held at the Mission Street arena in San Francisco. The rivalry between the two boxers was heavily hyped by the press. Although some of the anticipation was manufactured for commercial interest, the competition was real. Gans’ confidence, quick judgement and intelligence was paralleled only by Nelson’s relative youth and toughness.
Despite being favored, Gans lost the rematch, knocked out in the 17th round before a crowd of thousands. The Californian newspaper reported Gans’ reaction right after the fight, wrapped in his green robe, “‘Once too often,’ he gasped as he lay stretched out in his dressing-room, while the crowds were still cheering the victor, Nelson. ‘I tried once too often.’”
Despite this defeat, Gans has remained a legend in the world boxing, and an example of early racial integration in sports. Gans was not only accepted, but acknowledged as one of the greatest by his fellow boxers, most of whom were white. Billy Shannon’s Villa appears to have been a haven for Gans, whose presence in San Rafael drew a crowd. The San Francisco Call said in 1904 that, “A large delegation of sporting men visited Billy Shannon’s villa yesterday to watch Joe Gans work for his coming battle. Many colored men were among those present.”
