Sam Langford
Samuel "Sam" E. Langford (March 4, 1883 - January 12, 1956) was a Black Canadian boxing standout of the early part of the 20th century. Called the "Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows," by ESPN, he was rated #2 by The Ring on their list of "100 greatest punchers of all time." Langford was originally from Weymouth Falls, a small community in Nova Scotia, Canada. He was known as "The Boston Bonecrusher," "The Boston Terror" and, his most infamous nickname, "The Boston Tar Baby." Langford stood 5 ft 6 1⁄2 in (1.69 m) and weighed 185 lb (84 kg) in his prime.
He was denied a shot at many World Championships due to the color bar and by the refusal of Jack Johnson, the first African-American World Heavyweight Champion, to fight him. Langford was the World Colored Heavyweight Champion, a title vacated by Johnson after he won the World Championship, a record five times. Many boxing aficionados consider him the greatest boxer not to win a world title and one of the greatest boxers in the history of the sport.
Read more about Sam Langford: Professional Career, Memorable Fights, World Welterweight Title Fight, World Colored Heavyweight Championship, Failure To Secure Title Shot, Later Career, Life After Boxing
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—Robert Pirosh, U.S. screenwriter, George Seaton, George Oppenheimer, and Sam Wood. Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush (Groucho Marx)