March 25, 1929: Fields vs Thompson
Two young boxers hid under the canvas as a violent panic swept over Chicago Coliseum. Referee Ed Purdy grabbed Jackie Fields and Young Jack Thompson, who had been battling each other for nearly eight rounds, and yelled to them, “Duck out of here and get under the ring!” The two fighters dove beneath the canvas where they anxiously waited in the darkness beside a number of rattled ringsiders as a full-scale riot interrupted their world championship fight.
Fields and Thompson were fighting for the National Boxing Association’s version of the welterweight world championship. The NBA had stripped Joe Dundee when he failed to schedule a title defense before the deadline, four days before the Fields vs Thompson fight held on March 25, 1929. The New York State Athletic Commission was still willing to give Dundee, who had won the title nearly two years earlier, some more time to make his first real defense, though.
When he annihilated Dundee in a non-title bout on August 30, 1928, the 24-year-old Thompson became an overnight sensation after six years and over eighty professional fights. Following that stunning second round TKO victory, Thompson risked his standing against Fields a month later.
It had been nearly five years since Fields won Olympic gold as a featherweight in 1924. The 21 year old became a top challenger to Dundee’s crown with a convincing decision victory over Thompson, a second-round KO of Sergeant Sammy Baker, along with a comfortable points win over Baby Joe Gans at Madison Square Garden.
Promoter Jim Mullen promised a $5,000 diamond-encrusted belt to the winner. He billed Fields as “Greater than Benny Leonard” and Thompson as the “Colored Wonder who knocked out Dundee.” Fields was the betting favorite on account of his victory in the first fight six months earlier.
Fields controlled the first five rounds of the match with his jab. He had always been a slick boxer with an educated left, developing power and a mean streak as he grew into the welterweight division. Thompson loaded up too much on his right, a punch renowned for its concussive power. However, Fields began to tire in the sixth and his punches became wild. Thompson now found a home for his right crosses in the seventh, and he went for broke to start the eighth, but by the two minute mark of the round, Fields had gained his second wind. Then, the fight abruptly stopped.
A Fields fan in section Q on the Coliseum’s floor level shouted an ugly racist remark at Thompson. Two Thompson fans yelled back, which resulted in the Fields fan getting even nastier. One of the Thompson fans, Kenneth Taylor, pulled out a gun, and his friend reached for his knife. Someone yelled, “Look out, he’s got a gun!” Fans in and around section Q bolted, knocking over the wooden folding chairs, which created such a thunderous roar that people believed the Coliseum was crumbling. Only the ring lights remained on, making it too dark to see much in the stands.
People in the balcony began to panic, and two men, Herman Landman and Andrew Stout, were knocked over the railing, falling onto fleeing fans below. Landman suffered a fractured skull and died the next day. Stout experienced internal injuries and was in critical condition. Photographers turned to take pictures of the transpiring events. Upon seeing smoke from the cameras’ flashes, someone yelled, “Fire!”
The power then mysteriously went out, causing all nine thousand spectators to either rush for the exits or follow referee Purdy’s instruction to Fields and Thompson to seek cover under the ring. “We could hear people screaming and hollering and running in all directions,” Fields later recalled. “It’s pitch dark down there and there’s a lot of other guys besides Thompson and myself.”
From under the canvas, Fields couldn’t place the noise of the chairs crashing all around the arena. He mistook it for gunshots. “Then came the rat-tat-tat that sounded like machine gunfire,” Fields explained. “This was the Capone era so you could expect anything. ’At least we’re safe from the shooting,’ I remember saying.”
Electricians struggled to get to the power source through the stampede as Emil Denemark of the Illinois State Athletic Commission attempted to calm the frantic masses. He was knocked down and kicked in the face for his trouble. Denemark was among over a hundred spectators hurt in the fracas, but he was fortunate not to be one of the three dozen with injuries serious enough to spend the night in the hospital.
Deputy Police Commissioner John Stege barreled his way through the crowd like a fullback opening the lane for the electrician to get to work on restoring power, while Detective Chief John Egan managed to find a press telephone and called for backup. Twelve police cars, six fire trucks, and three ambulances raced to the Coliseum. Dozens of police officers cordoned off the area surrounding the ring.
Once the lights were restored and backup arrived, the chaos quickly subsided. To Fields, the riot felt like it had taken at least half an hour. In reality, everything had happened in five minutes. The decision was quickly made to continue the fight.
Fields figured he was up on Purdy’s card and pumped his jab as Thompson desperately tried for a knockout for the rest of the eighth and throughout the last two rounds. When the final bell rang, Purdy hoisted up Fields’s hand as the NBA’s new welterweight world champion.
The Illinois commission’s investigation suggested one solution to prevent future riots. It had nothing to do with increasing security personnel, formulating an evacuation plan, or backing up the electricity. Instead, the commission made the baffling proposal to ban bouts between fighters of different races. Since all of the champions at the time were white, it effectively meant only white fighters could challenge for any of the titles in the significant fight town of Chicago.
Fields went on to win the undisputed welterweight championship against Joe Dundee that July in Detroit. After ten non-title fights, Fields defended his crown against Thompson on May 9, 1930, also in Detroit. Thompson, who like Fields would grab the championship twice, won a far less eventful third fight.
Years later, Fields and Thompson discussed the wild night they both had to hide under the canvas. “I asked Thompson later how he felt when the lights went off while we were fighting,” Fields said. “I was trying to get a good shot at your chin when they were out,” Thompson joked, “because I couldn’t nail you when they were on!”
Fields and Thompson remain forever linked by their eventful trilogy and by the unforgettable night when chaos reigned in the Chicago Coliseum. –David Harazduk
