Jack Dempsey
Dempsey was a tough, superb boxer, the product of a hard life. On his own too early, he had spent much of his youth boxing to survive. From his early teens, he would walk from one Colorado mining town to the next, heading directly to the town's rowdiest tavern. Once inside, he would announce his name and age, and seek to fight with "the meanest guy" in the place. The bystanders would place bets, and Dempsey would fight whoever came forward. The victor would win an impromptu "purse." Dempsey usually won it, and if there was enough money, he would mail some of it home to his widowed mother.
Jack Dempsey just being himself
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He was a good man, but the public didn't want to believe that. Rather than suave, Dempsey's appearance was rough, even uncouth. In photographs he tended to look intense and fierce (he was both when he fought). Rumors kept circulating that he had dodged the WW I draft - not true; he both registered for it and tried to enlist, but he was rejected for undisclosed medical reasons. All in all, Jack Dempsey was just what a fight promoter needed to draw a crowd - a powerful, skilled, intimidating man to play the role of the villainous cowboy in the black hat.
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