Gunboat Smith

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Edward (Gunboat) Smith (February 17, 1887 - August 6, 1974) was an American boxer and later a boxing referee. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Smith 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 area by serving as a sparring partner for Jack Johnson and Stanley Ketchel before their Heavyweight title fight there.

From 1912-1915 Smith established himself as a leading candidate for the heavyweight title, beating among others future champion Jess Willard, Sam Langford (this is especially notable since many white fighters refused to fight black opponents), and many other ranked fighters.

After 1916 Gunboat Smith's career suffered a decline, in 1917 he suffered a loss by decision to future champion Jack Dempsey in a hotly contested 4 round fight. A year later he was knocked to the canvas 9 times by Dempsey suffering a one-sided 2nd Round KO. 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. After boxing, Smith went on to act in several small roles in silent films and later became one of boxing's most respected referees. Smith was the referee in several bouts including the Harry Greb vs. Tiger Flowers middleweight championship bout in 1926.

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