Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, whose reign lasted from 1908 to 1915, was also the first African American pop culture icon. He was photographed more than any other black man of ...

Despite the lack of prize money, Johnson's victory in the ring had impressed Jack Curley, the young assistant to boxing promoter P.J. "Paddy" Carroll. Curley and Carroll arranged for Johnson to ...

But in 1908, 39 years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball, there was Jack Johnson -- the first black man to hold the world heavyweight championship. Johnson is ...

Long before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier, Jack Johnson broke down racial boundaries in the boxing ring. And nearly everywhere else he went. More than a boxer, Johnson was a force ...