Odd, Gilbert – Jack Johnson, In the Ring and Out

Description

Odd, Gilbert ‘Jack Johnson, In the Ring and Out’ 1977 1st ed. Written by Jack Johnson in 1927 further edited by Gilbert Odd. 231-pages (3) VG/VG $25 each. These three measure 5 1/2″ wide x 8 3/4″ and are the smaller U.K. version of the book:

Publication and Market Focus:
• The Smaller Edition (5 1/2″ x 8 3/4″): This is the True UK First Printing published directly by Proteus Publishing in London. It was released as part of their Richest Prize Boxing Library series.
• The Larger Edition (6 1/2″ x 9 1/2″): This is a Co-Published International Edition printed by Proteus (London) but explicitly manufactured for simultaneous distribution in the United States via the Two Continents Publishing Group (New York).

Pagination and Layout:
• The Smaller Edition: Features a condensed type format totaling 231 pages. The text is continuous, running straight through the biographical content, appendices, and statistical records.
• The Larger Edition: Features a completely different page layout and structure. It is paginated as 200 main pages, plus 48 supplementary pages (200, [48] p.). This is because the larger physical footprint allowed the publisher to cluster the comprehensive fight records, Gilbert Odd’s appendices, and historic fight breakdowns into their own dedicated, distinct section at the back of the book.

ISBN and Registration:
• The Smaller Edition: Carries the UK-registered ISBN 0906071003 (ISBN-13: 978-0906071007).
• The Larger Edition: Carries the US-distribution ISBN 0846704048 (ISBN-13: 978-0846704041), which maps directly to its American co-release through Hippocrene/Two Continents.

Design and Endpapers:
• The Smaller Edition: Features standard blank or basic structural endpapers typical of mid-tier UK sports book series of the late 1970s.
• The Larger Edition: Utilizes custom illustrated endpapers that take advantage of the larger physical canvas, typically displaying vintage collage graphics or historical prints from Johnson’s era.

Book Description:
“Jack Johnson: In the Ring and Out” is a facsimile reprint and heavily enhanced curation of the legendary 1927 autobiography originally penned by Jack Johnson, the first Black World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.

The text serves as a raw, primary-source account detailing Johnson’s tumultuous life, beginning with his upbringing in Galveston, Texas, and tracking his historical, color-line-shattering victory over Tommy Burns in 1908. The memoir details the intense social and racial hostilities he faced during the Jim Crow era, his absolute dominance over the “Great White Hope” challenges—culminating in the iconic 1910 James J. Jeffries bout—and his subsequent years spent living as an exile in Europe and South America following politically motivated Mann Act charges.
What elevates this 1977 edition is the editorial addition of Gilbert Odd, one of the 20th century’s foremost boxing authorities. Odd supplies a comprehensive historical afterword and multiple data appendices. These elements contextualize Johnson’s own narrative and preserve:
• The original 1920s introductions written by famous era journalists Damon Runyon, Tad, Ed W. Smith, and J.B. Lewis.
• Eight pages of historical black-and-white photographic plates illustrating Johnson’s training camps, fights, and high-society life.
• The definitive, blow-by-blow professional and exhibition fight records reconstructed by Odd to ensure statistical accuracy missing from Johnson’s original manuscript.