Frank Craig (April 1, 1868 – January 1, 1943) was an American boxer who was the colored middleweight champion of the world in the

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. The 5′10" Craig fought at a weight of between 153 and 169 lbs. as a middleweight and light-heavyweight during his career. Known as "The Harlem Coffee Cooler", Craig was regarded as a smart and quick fighter. He later worked in Britain as a stage entertainer.

Early life

Craig was born in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

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1868 (some sources claim he was born on April 1, 1870 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

while other sources put his birthplace as

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

). From the age of 13 he gave exhibitions of boxing at fairs and in halls, before turning professional. He gained the nickname "The Coffee Cooler" following an incident in a restaurant when a local fighter, Bully Singleton, who had ordered a cup of coffee, began hectoring Craig and invited him to fight in the adjoining alleyway. Craig called his bluff, went into the alley, and Singleton told the restaurant patrons that the coffee would still be hot when he returned. However, Craig quickly knocked Singleton out, Craig commenting that "the coffee will be cool enough when he gets round to drinking it".Chris Benedict
"Frank Craig 'The Harlem Coffee Cooler'"
''Ringside Report''. Retrieved December 27, 2022

Colored Championship

Craig fought colored middleweight champ

Joe Butler Joseph Campbell Butler (born September 16, 1941) is an American drummer, singer and actor. He is best known as a member of folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful, where he was their drummer and later lead vocalist, the group had seven top 10 hits ...

on March 18, 1893 in Philadelphia and was defeated in the second round. The two met again in a title match in Philadelphia on February 20, 1894 in Philadelphia, and this time, Craig emerged the victor, winning in the fourth round. Craig never defended the title, which went vacant. He moved to London, England later that year, and began campaigning in Great Britain in October. He competed for the middleweight championship of England, losing to Dan Creedon on October 14, 1895 but winning the title by defeating George Chrisp November 24, 1898 via a

knock out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several Contact sports, full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of World Taekwondo Federation#Sparri ...

in the 13th round.

Theatrical career

In England, he made his debut as a singer and dancer in 1896. After a brief return to New York in 1899, he settled in London in 1900, occasionally returning to the ring. He formed his own variety company of black performers, including the female impersonators Cropp and Johnson. In 1900 he put on a boxing exhibition in

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, defeating a popular local strong man; the audience started to riot in protest, and beat up a black acrobat who had been performing in Craig's troupe, mistaking him for the boxer. Craig toured Britain between 1900 and 1910, and also performed at the

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in Paris.

Later life and death

Craig made his last attempt at a boxing comeback in 1922, at the age of 54. By 1937, it was reported that he was reduced to performing in boxing booths at local fairs, and had appeared in court charged with striking a woman over the head with a bottle. In 1939, he was recorded as a resident at the Fulham Road Institution, a hospital and former

workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

. Fulham Hospital, ''Lost Hospitals of London''
Retrieved December 27, 2022 He died in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

, in January 1943 at the age of 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Frank African-American boxers Middleweight boxers Light-heavyweight boxers World colored middleweight boxing champions 1868 births 1943 deaths American male boxers Boxers from Ohio 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen