Sport: Boxing Inducted: 1979 Country: United States Born: February 9, 1908 in Chicago, Illinois Died: 1984
The World
Welterweight Champion in 1929–30 and 1932–33,
Jackie Fields was only 16 years old in 1924 when he captured
the Olympic Featherweight Championship, the youngest man
ever
to win an Olympic boxing crown.
Fields won the National
Boxing Association (NBA) Welterweight Championship in March
1929, with a decision over Young Jack Thompson. Four months
later, on July 25, he captured the World Welterweight crown
when a second-round foul disqualified defending champion
Joe Dundee. Fields lost the world title to Thompson in May
1930, but regained it a second time with a decision over
Lou Brouillard, who had taken the crown from
Thompson.
In 1962, legendary fight manager Jack Kearns called
Fields the “best allaround battler the United States
has
ever produced.”
As an amateur, Fields won 51 of 54
bouts. His professional record: 87 fights—won 74 (30
KOs), drew 3, lost 9, 1 no-contest. Fields was elected to
the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1977.
