Isaiah James Chase (1914 - 1972)

Born 27 Jan 1914 in Sherman, Grayson County, Texas, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Lillian Castello (Randolph) McKee — married 1945 (to 1949) in California, United States

Died 23 Mar 1972 at age 58 in Spokane, Spokane County, Washington, USA

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Biography

Isaiah Chase is Notable.

Jack Chase was an American middleweight boxer who competed in the 1930s and '40s, and was ranked second in the world in his division. He was among those fighters so feared that they were avoided by title-holders and thus were rarely able to secure a title shot. He won several regional belts in the U.S., including the Colorado state title, the Rocky Mountain Regional Middleweight and Welterweight Titles in the 1930s and the California State's Middleweight and Light Heavyweight titles in the 1940s. But he never got a chance at the world title.^[1]

He was born Isaiah James Chase to Nancy Walters on 27 January 1914 in Sherman, Texas, USA. His father is unknown except that he was from Missouri. It is believed that Isaiah's last name is his father's. He grew up and was raised by his mother and his grandfather in Denver, Colorado.^[2]

He had a juvenile crime record and was charged with serious crimes between the ages of twelve and eighteen. In December 1935, he was released from the Colorado State Penitentiary at the age of 21 years old.^[2]

He married Althea Steemer in Colorado in 1936.^[3] They had no children and the marriage was over by 1940.^[4]

From an unknown source:

In 1936, he reinvented himself as the "Young Joe Louis" and the start of a professional boxing career. In June, he won the Colorado State Middleweight Title. He won the Colorado State Welterweight Title in August. In September, after defeating Jackie Burke, Young Joe Louis became the welterweight and middleweight champion of the entire Rocky Mountain region.^{[citation needed]}

From Wikipedia:

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.^[1]

Boxing Career

Height: 5ft 8in

Weight: Welterweight to Light heavyweight

Total fights 122

Wins 85

Losses 25

Draws 12

Source unknown:

He would go on to have over sixty consecutive victories since the start of his boxing career in 1936. His streak came to an end in December 1936, when he fought and lost to the South African middleweight and light heavyweight champion, Eddie Peirce. He rallied after that loss to have fifteen more fights with only two decision losses in 1937.

His past caught up to him again when in January 1938, he and an old acquaintance broke into several local stores in Colorado Springs, Colorado, stealing money and products. He was sentenced to six to eight years and the Colorado Boxing Commission threatened a permanent suspension and a loss of his boxing titles. While in prison, his mother, Nancy, passed away.

In 1941, he was released on parole and with the Colorado Boxing Commission allowing his boxing career to resume. What misfortune seemed to follow Isaiah continued when misfortune befell him, again, upon his return to ring action in 1941. Opponent Roy (Jack) Gillespie died as a result of a knockout blow. Sports editor Jack Carberry talked to Chase the next morning. “I, over many, many years in which a reporter’s job has carried me to countless scenes of tragedy, he wrote, “never met a boy whose sincere sorrow over what occurred, touched me more. But, he was ordered to stand before a coroner's jury for Gillespie's death in Denver. The city pathologist testified that Gillespie had suffered a brain hemorrhage prior to the fight but was cleared to fight Isaiah. Because of this, Isaiah was exonerated and set free.

After one more fight in the Rocky Mountain region Young Joe Louis took himself and his eighty-something record to California where he became Jack Chase and eventually won the State Title. By 1943, he was twenty-nine years old and had victories over two International Boxing Hall of Fame fighters. He was now ranked the second middleweight, worldwide.

There were many more fights but retirement was closing in. He became a trainer near Hollywood and even starred in two films: So Dear To My Heart, (1948) and The Set Up (1949). It was during this time that he married Lillian Randolph. That marriage lasted only about five years. He drove a truck for Goodwill Industries for fourteen years just prior to his death.

He died at home in Spokane, Washington on March 23rd, 1972. He is buried in Fairmount Memorial Park, Spokane, Washington.^{[citation needed]}

Links

• Excellent Biography: Jack Chase aka Young Joe Louis
• IBP: Chasing Jack Chase, The Dead End Kid
• Boxing Forum: Discussions on Jack Chase's Boxing Career.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Wikipedia contributors, "Jack Chase (American boxer)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jack_Chase_(American_boxer)&oldid=1080241853 (accessed June 6, 2022), citing Harry Otty, Charley Burley and the Black Murderers' Row, (Tora Book Publishing, 2015)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} RubenSonny, "Jack Chase AKA Young Joe Louis," in "Boxing Forum," Boxing Scene, Online boxing forum, 2011.
3. ↑ "Colorado Statewide Marriage Index, 1853-2006," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KN31-F1L : 19 February 2021), James Isaiah Chase and Althea Steemer, 21 Sep 1936, Walsenburg, Huerfano, Colorado, United States; citing no. 715, State Archives, Denver; FHL microfilm 1,690,061.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VR6C-K1N : 4 January 2021), Aiah James Chase, Canon City, Fremont, Colorado, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 22-2, sheet 7B, line 42, family , Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 463.

   Marital status: Divorced.

• Chase - Randolph Divorce
• "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX2N-5SY : 31 January 2021), Isaiah Walters in entry for Little Wallins, 1920.
• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X74H-9JV : accessed 13 February 2021), Isaih J Chase, Election Precinct 10, Jefferson, Alabama, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 14, sheet 2A, line 32, family , NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 243; FHL microfilm 2,339,978.
• "Washington Death Index, 1965-2014," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLWS-9TWT : 13 July 2017), Isaiah J Chase, 23 Mar 1972, Spokane, Spokane, Washington, United States; from the Department of Health, Death Index, 1907-1960; 1965-2014, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives (https://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/Collections/TitleInfo/472 : n.d.); Citing Washington State Department of Health.

See Also:

• IMDB: Jack Chase
• Boxing Record: Jack Chase
• Wikipedia: Jack Chase (American boxer)
• Wikidata: Item Q6111654, en:Wikipedia ,
• Family Search: PID# G9FN-BCK
• Find A Grave: Memorial #206407853