Jersey Joe Walcott

Okay, I know we’ve all heard stories of athletes who end their playing days…   and turn out bad. They get busted, arrested, murder their business partner, and yes, even commit suicide. You see it on the news and in the papers all the time.

Well, lets not stereotype them all.  One of the New York Knicks, Bill Bradley became a U.S. Senator, as did pitcher Jim Bunning. Some have become police officers, doctors, and even the Sheriff of Camden County, New Jersey. I’m getting a little ahead of myself. But that's what happened to Arnold Cream.

Cream was better known as Jersey Joe Walcott, as his boxing idol was Joe Walcott. He used “Jersey” to identify to people where he proudly hailed from. After his father died, he quit school and worked in a soup factory (not surprising, because Camden, New Jersey is the home of Campbell Soup). He was the oldest of a dozen children, so he felt he better be making some money to help out.

He turned his attention to boxing. His first professional fight was a first round knockout when he was 16 years old. He was impressive, and he was encouraged to pursue the sport.  It was exactly what he needed.

Walcott never looked back. He was on a mission. After 17 years in the ring he finally had the opportunity to fight for the World Heavyweight title. He lost to the Brown Bomber Joe Louis, in a fight which went the distance, at that time 15 rounds.

Determined to reach boxing’s pinnacle, four years later at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh he won the World Heavyweight title by knocking out Ezzard Charles in the seventh round. He was the oldest boxer, at that time, to become the world’s heavyweight champion. He successfully defended his title the following year against Charles.

Walcott had attained what he wanted, but he needed to keep defending the title that others wanted. For one, the undefeated Rocky Marciano, the upstart from Brockton, Massachusetts, who had never been floored. Jersey Joe changed that, by knocking him down in the first round. Marciano settled himself, and threw a punch in the thirteenth round that ended the brawl. In their rematch eight months later, Walcott was knocked out in the first round.

So much for the boxing career. He went on to co-star with Humphrey Bogart and former boxer Max Baer in “The Harder They Fall.”  He later was the referee in the first Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston fight in 1965.

After that 1965 fight, Walcott decided to change direction, and worked for the Camden County, New Jersey Corrections Department. In 1971, he was elected Sheriff in that county. He was looked upon as an authentic success story, which indeed he was. A ten-year stint as Chairman of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission followed. Then Jersey Joe Walcott retired.

Walcott’s memorabilia are highly desirable. Signed photographs fetch as much as $1500. Autographed magazines have gone for nearly $400, and even cut Walcott signatures can go for a couple hundred dollars. A wire photo of him and Hubert Humphrey went for almost $60.

Not bad for a high school dropout who wanted to make enough money to support his mother, sisters and brothers.

He was a universal role model, not only to aspiring boxers. Far from it. Jersey Joe Walcott was a living example of how a person with very limited education could utilize his talents and constructively benefit society. He focused on contributing in the same area that he knew all his life, Camden, New Jersey. Good for you, Jersey Joe Walcott.