Background
He was born in Texas and fought mainly on the west coast of the United States.
He was born in Texas and fought mainly on the west coast of the United States.
He boxed under the name ‘Young Joe Lewis’ for the first part of his career, before changing to Jack Chase in 1942. His official fight count stands at 122, but it is believed he competed in an additional 40 plus fights prior to 1936, during which time his full record is unknown. He was ranked second in the world in his division, but never took part in a world title fight.
He was included in the group dubbed ‘Black Murderers’ Row’, by Budd Schulberg, of boxers of the era who were so feared that they were avoided by title holders and so were unable to ever secure a title shot.
He retired from boxing in 1948. Chase had several run ins with the law during his life, including serving jail time in Colorado on a few occasions and being arrested for shooting fellow boxer Aaron Wade in California.