Frank Childs


Frank Childs, "The Crafty Texan", was an African American boxer who fought professionally out of Chicago from 1892 to 1911 and twice held the World Colored Heavyweight Championship. Fighting at a weight of between 160 and 185 lbs., the short, stocky Childs fought middleweights, light-heavyweights and heavyweights. He had a powerful punch.

Journeyman

He made his pro boxing debut on February 18, 1892 in Los Angeles against French Canadian George LaBlanche from Quebec, knocking him out in the third round. They fought again on March 24, with four-ounce gloves. In the eighth round, LaBlanche grabbed Childs by the waist, threw him to the canvas, and then kicked him. The badly hurt Childs got up and wrestled LaBlanche, putting him in a half-nelson before elevating LaBlanche and throwing him. The police stopped the fight and the referee awarded Childs the decision after disqualifying LaBlanche.
Childs fought 15 more bouts before getting a shot at the colored heavyweight title. Along the way, he fought Bob Armstrong, the colored heavyweight champ, in a six-round non-title contest held on March 7, 1897 in Philadelphia. Childs won on points. His fight before that had been with white heavyweight contender Joe Choynski, who won by knockout in the third of a three-round fight.
In the intervening thirteen months before Armstrong gave him a shot for the title, Childs squared off on January 8, 1898 at Chicago's 2nd Regiment Armory against a boxer named Klondike, so called because he was supposed to be a great find. It was Klondike's first fight, and he was K.O.-ed by Childs. Klondike would go on to beat future world heavyweight champ Jack Johnson in Johnson's third pro fight and claim what he called the "Black Heavyweight Championship".
Childs and Klondike would meet again, frequently, as African American boxers were forced to fight one another often due to the color bar.

World Colored Heavyweight Champ

Childs first fought for the World Colored Heavyweight crown on January 29, 1898, knocking out colored champion Bob Armstrong in the second round. On February 26, he defended the title against Klondike on a technical knock-out in the fourth round of a scheduled six-round bout. In another six-round defense held in Chicago on June 3, he retained the title by drawing with Charley Strong, who had fought Armstrong for the title vacated by Peter Jackson.
In his next fight on September 4 of that year, he lost the title to George Byers on points in a 20-rounder. Regardless of losing the title, Childs fought Armstrong again on March 4, 1899 in Cincinnati, Ohio in a fight announced as a title bout, despite Byers being the legitimate champion. Childs defeated Armstrong via a TKO in the sixth round of a 10-round bout.
On August 11, 1899, he won the "Black Heavyweight Championship" claimed by Klondike Haynes in a six-round contest in Chicago by outpointing the so-called "Black Hercules". On October 28 of that year, they met in a rematch in Chicago in which Childs retained the black heavyweight title by kayoing Haynes in the third round of a six-round contest.
On March 16, 1900, Childs put his black heavyweight title on the line and Byers put up his coloured heavyweight crown in a six-round bout that ended in a draw. He next fought Joe Butler on December 15, 1900 for the black heavyweight title, dispatching Butler via KO in the sixth. Finally, he took back the Coloured World Heavyweight Championship legitimately from Byers on March 16, 1901 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, kayoing him in the 17th round of a 20-round fight.
He lost the coloured heavyweight title to Denver Ed Martin in a bout in Chicago on February 25, 1902, being out-pointed in a six-round contest. Not one to surrender a title easily, he billed his October 9, 1902 fight with Joe Walcott as a defence of his coloured heavyweight title. He beat Walcott via a TKO in the 3rd round when Walcott quit, claiming that he was injured. Childs was winning the fight at the time.

Requiem for a Heavyweight

Jack Johnson eliminated any pretensions Childs had to the colored crown when he beat him via TKO in the 12th round of a fight on October 21, 1902 in Los Angeles. Childs's corner claimed he dislocated his elbow. He lost to Joe Choynski on December 1, 1902, being outpointed in a six-rounder. After a 16-month lay-off, he beat Chicago Jack Johnson on successive days in March 1904, knocking him out in the 2nd both times.
The real Jack Johnson had won the colored heavyweight title from Denver Ed Martin on February 5, 1903, and June 2, 1904 in Chicago, the two champs, the reigning champion and the two-time former champion, met in a six-round bout. Johnson won on points.
He met up with old adversary Klondike Haynes on July 7 of that year and KO'd him in the 8th. There was no talk of championships, colored or black. Jack Johnson was the champ. After losing on points to Denver Ed Martin in a six-rounder on November 1, he retired. He came back six years later and fought tyro light-heavyweight on February 2, 1911. The six-round bout, Taylor's second pro fight, resulted in a draw.

Record

In a career that stretched from 1892 to 1911, he racked up a career record of 41 wins against nine losses and eight draws.

Legacy and honors

In 2020 award-winning author Mark Allen Baker published the first comprehensive account of The World Colored Heavyweight Championship, 1876-1937, with McFarland & Company, a leading independent publisher of academic & nonfiction books. This history traces the advent and demise of the Championship, the stories of the talented professional athletes who won it, and the demarcation of the color line both in and out of the ring.
For decades the World Colored Heavyweight Championship was a useful tool to combat racial oppression-the existence of the title a leverage mechanism, or tool, used as a technique to counter a social element, “drawing the color line.”

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateAgeLocationNotes
57DrawJack TaylorPTS6Feb 2, 1911Exact location unknown, USExact date unknown
56Loss40–9–7Denver Ed MartinPTS6Nov 1, 1904Exact location unknown, USExact date unknown
55Win40–8–7Klondike HaynesKO8 Jul 6, 1904Houghton, Michigan, US
54Loss39–8–7Jack JohnsonPTS6Jun 2, 1904Apollo Hall, Chicago, Illinois, USFor world colored heavyweight title
53Win39–7–7Chicago Jack JohnsonKO2 Mar 14, 1904American A.C., Chicago, Illinois, US
52Loss38–7–7Joe ChoynskiPTS6Dec 1, 1902Lyceum A.C., Chicago, Illinois, US
51Loss38–6–7Jack JohnsonTKO12 Oct 21, 1902Hazard's Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, USLost world colored heavyweight title claim
50Win38–5–7Barbados Joe WalcottTKO3 Oct 9, 1902Apollo A.C., Chicago, Illinois, USRetained world colored heavyweight title claim
49Loss37–5–7Denver Ed MartinPTS6Feb 24, 1902America A.A., Chicago, Illinois, USLost world colored heavyweight title;
Both fighters claimed the title
48Win37–4–7Wild Bill HanrahanKO4 Feb 3, 1902America A.A., Chicago, Illinois, US
47Win36–4–7Walter JohnsonPTS6Jan 18, 1902America A.A., Chicago, Illinois, US
46Win35–4–7Jack MulliganTKO5 Jan 6, 1902Kenosha, Wisconsin, US
45Win34–4–7George ByersKO17 Mar 16, 1901Hot Springs, Colorado, USWon world colored heavyweight title
44Win33–4–7'Mexican' Pete EverettPTS10Dec 21, 1900Colorado A.C., Denver, Colorado, US
43Win32–4–7Joe ButlerKO6 Dec 15, 1900Chicago A.A., Chicago, Illinois, USRetained black heavyweight title
42Win31–4–7Fred RussellPTS10Jul 20, 1900Colorado A.C., Denver, Colorado, US
41Win30–4–7Fred RussellPTS6Jun 15, 1900Star Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, US
40Win29–4–7Fred RussellPTS6Jun 8, 1900Star Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, US
39Win28–4–7Tommy DixonKO2 Apr 27, 1900Star Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, US
38Draw27–4–7Jack BonnerPTS6Mar 17, 1900Chicago A.C., Chicago, Illinois, US
37Draw27–4–6George ByersPTS6Mar 16, 1900Star A.C., Chicago, Illinois, USRetained black heavyweight title;
For world colored heavyweight title
36Win27–4–5Jack BonnerPTS6Mar 2, 1900Tattersall's, Chicago, Illinois, US
35Win26–4–5Klondike HaynesKO3 Oct 28, 1899Chicago A.A., Chicago, Illinois, USRetained black heavyweight title
34Draw25–4–5Joe KennedyPTS6Oct 13, 1899Star Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, US
33Win25–4–4Klondike HaynesPTS6Aug 11, 1899Star Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, USWon black heavyweight title
32Draw24–4–4Tom 'Stockings' ConroyPTS6May 26, 1899Tattersall's, Chicago, Illinois, US
31Draw24–4–3Jack BonnerPTS6May 19, 1899Star Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, US
30Win24–4–2'Mexican' Pete EverettPTS6Mar 24, 1899Star Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, US
29Win23–4–2Ed DunkhorstPTS8Mar 20, 1899Cadillac A.C., Detroit, Michigan, US
28Win22–4–2Bob ArmstrongTKO6 Mar 4, 1899Stag A.C., Cincinnati, Ohio, USClaimed vacant world colored heavyweight title
27Win21–4–2Joe ButlerDQ2 Jan 21, 1899Tattersall's, Chicago, Illinois, USButler DQ'd for hitting in the clinches despite both men having agreed not to
26Win20–4–2Tom 'Stockings' ConroyPTS6Dec 19, 1898Fort Dearborn A.C., Chicago, Illinois, US
25Win19–4–2Charley StrongPTS6Nov 8, 1898Chicago, Illinois, US
24Win18–4–2Henry BakerKO3 Sep 24, 1898America A.A., Chicago, Illinois, US
23Loss17–4–2George ByersPTS20Sep 14, 1898Lenox A.C., New York City, New York, USLost world colored heavyweight title
22Draw17–3–2Charley StrongPTS6Jun 3, 1898Tattersall's, Chicago, Illinois, USRetained world colored heavyweight title
21Win17–3–1Billy KeoughKO1 Apr 16, 1898Chicago A.A., Chicago, Illinois, US
20Win16–3–1Klondike HaynesTKO4 Feb 26, 1898Chicago A.A., Chicago, Illinois, USRetained world colored heavyweight title
19Win15–3–1George GrantPTS6Feb 7, 1898America A.A., Chicago, Illinois, US
18Win14–3–1Bob ArmstrongKO2 Jan 29, 1898Chicago A.A., Chicago, Illinois, USWon world colored heavyweight title
17Win13–3–1Klondike HaynesKO6 Jan 8, 18982nd Regiment Armory, Chicago, Illinois, US
16Win12–3–1George GrantKO1 Nov 1, 1897McGurn's Handball Court, Chicago, Illinois, US
15Win11–3–1Kentucky RosebudKO3 Aug 2, 1897Saint Joseph, Missouri, US
14Win10–3–1Bob ArmstrongPTS6Mar 7, 1897Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
13Loss9–3–1Joe ChoynskiKO3 Nov 15, 1895Sam T. Jack's Opera House, Chicago, Illinois, US
12Win9–2–1Rufus ThompsonPTS8Mar 20, 1895Tattersall's, Chicago, Illinois, US
11Win8–2–1Bob HarperKO3 Oct 29, 1894McGurn's Handball Court, Chicago, Illinois, US
10Win7–2–1Ed PittsTKO2 Sep 22, 1894Chicago, Illinois, USPolice intervened
9Loss6–2–1Dan CreedonPTS3 Jun 5, 1894Madison Street Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, US
8Draw6–1–1Hank GriffinPTS20Apr 1, 1893Los Angeles, California, US
7Win6–1'Australian' Billy SmithKO12 Feb 15, 1893San Francisco, California, US
6Win5–1James J. WalkerKO3 Jan 12, 1893Palo Alto A.C., San Francisco, California, US
5Loss4–1John RiversDQ2 Nov 29, 1892Pastime A.C., Los Angeles, California, USChilds had his man out cold but was robbed by an incompetent referee
who ignored the entrance into the ring of Rivers' second,
then took that man's word as evidence of a foul blow
4Win4–0John RiversTKO4 Nov 16, 1892Pastime A.C., Los Angeles, California, US
3Win3–0Al ButlerKO1, 0:24Aug 30, 1892Pastime A.C., Los Angeles, California, US
2Win2–0George LaBlancheDQ8 Mar 24, 1892Pastime A.C., Los Angeles, California, USLaBlanche DQ'd for grabbing Childs by the waist,
throwing him down, and then kicking him
1Win1–0George LaBlancheKO3 Feb 18, 1892Pastime A.C., Los Angeles, California, US