Gunboat Smith

Smith (right) during his first encounter with Arthur Pelkey

Gunboat Smith stands over a knocked-down Pelkey during a match on January 1, 1914 in San Francisco, California. Smith defeated Pelkey for the World White Heavyweight Championship.

Smith was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He spent much of his youth in orphanages, working on farms and on the railroads. He joined the U.S. Navy, where he began boxing and won the heavyweight championship of the Pacific Fleet.

In 1910, Smith became known in the Oakland and San Francisco areas by serving as a sparring partner for Jack Johnson and Stanley Ketchel before their heavyweight title fight there. Author Jack London knew Smith and helped fund his training.

From 1912–1915, Smith established himself as a leading candidate for the heavyweight title, beating, among others, British and British Empire champion Bombadier Billy Wells and future world champion Jess Willard, and beating and losing to Sam Langford in two fights (this is especially notable since many white fighters refused to fight black opponents). He fought many other ranked fighters, but before his death, Smith was asked to name the greatest fighter he ever met. His response: Langford, in his words, “The best of all of them.”[1]

In 1914, Smith won the "White Hope" heavyweight championship. This title, created by boxing promoters due to the unpopularity of the black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, was never widely recognized. He lost the "title" to Georges Carpentier later that year in a bout with a purse of 9,000 pounds sterling.[2]

After 1916, Smith's career suffered a decline; in 1917, he suffered a loss by decision to future champion Jack Dempsey in a hotly contested four-round fight. A year later, he was knocked to the canvas 9 times by Dempsey, suffering a one-sided second-round knock out.

In 1920 and 1921, Smith suffered a string of KO losses and retired after suffering a one-round knockout to the great heavyweight contender Harry Wills. He finished with a record of 81 wins, 46 losses, and 13 draws, a total of 140 bouts. “Not a great record on paper,” Dave Allen remarked, “but one that becomes much more impressive when you take into consideration that he fought the very best of his era.”[1]

Smith was lean and scrappy, an excellent boxer who moved well and hit sharply with both hands. Among the men he defeated were Willard, Langford, Wells, Battling Levinsky, Carl Morris, Frank Moran, and Fireman Jim Flynn.

After his retirement, Smith went on to have a variety of jobs: runner on Wall Street, private policeman at Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium, and an actor in several small roles in silent films, including The Great Gatsby and Wings, the first Academy Award-winner for Best Picture.[4] He also refereed boxing matches, such as the Harry Greb vs. Tiger Flowers middleweight championship bout in 1926 and the controversial Max Schmeling vs. Jack Sharkey return heavyweight championship contest in 1932.

He died in 1974 in Florida.

• Manhattan (1924) - Joe Madden
• The Shock Punch (1925) - Terrence O'Rourke
• Lovers in Quarantine (1925) - Sailor Sheldon
• The Fear Fighter (1925) - Prison Inmate
• Lovers in Quarantine (1925) - Minor Role (uncredited)
• Bashful Buccaneer (1925)
• Let's Get Married (1926) - Slattery
• The Arizona Streak (1926) - Jim
• Say It Again (1926) - Gunner Jones
• The Great Gatsby (1926) - Bert
• Wings (1927) - The Sergeant
• We're All Gamblers (1927) - Gunboat
• The City Gone Wild (1927) - Policeman
• Midnight Rose (1928) - Casey

• Boxing record for Gunboat Smith from BoxRec
• Gunboat Smith on IMDb