'

ue to outside-the-ring antics of Harris Martin, known

as the Black Pearl, the relationship between trainer
Charles Hadley and his pupil began to break down, but
no matter how hard he partied, the Pearl kept on winning.
In February 1887, the managers of the Teater Comique
stated that they had solid backing for a big match for the
Pearl for the Colored middleweight championship of the
world. Manager Billy Hawley and Martin
were all for it. But when the day of the ght
came, the opponent, who was nicknamed
Black Strap, turned out to be nothing
more than a weak local opponent whom
the Pearl crushed in four rounds. Because
of that fact, the title was not well received
in the sporting community as legitimate,
and the Pearl set his sights on a third Black
Frank ght. It was set for March 18, 1887,
at the Olympic Teater in Saint Paul, MN.
Professor Hadleys plan for Martin was to
let Frank punch himself out in the rst half
then utilize Martins incredible stamina to
win by late knockout. Te plan didnt work.
Black Frank was ready and in shape, and
he came out swinging from the opening
bell. He had the Pearl on the defensive over
the rst half, stinging Martin with hard right hooks to the
head and neck, while the Pearl ripped away at his taller foes
trunk. Frank took all ve of the opening rounds with Martin
turning up the gas in the second half. Frank was groggy and
ready to go in the seventh, but the Pearl hadnt enough
energy to put him away. Te ght ended in a draw.
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With the growing friction between Hadley and the Pearl,
the two agreed to face one another for a nice purse at the
end of March over eight rounds. In an era where the average
black man earned about a dollar a day, it isnt di cult to
imagine why a black trainer and a black ghter would
agree to face one another when the winner was to get $150,
and the loser $25. Te ght was fast-paced with Hadley as
the aggressor and forcing the ghting throughout the rst
four rounds. But perhaps the scientic lessons were taught
too well to his pupil, who allowed his 40-year-old trainer
to tire himself out. Te Pearl then went to work, driving in
devastating body shots to the ribs that took the remaining
wind from Hadley, taking the referees
decision easily.
It wasnt long before a fourth ght was
set between Martin and Black Frank,
with the winner to get $250. It would
prove to be an uninspiring encounter, as
neither man fought hard until the ninth
round, whereupon the Pearl nally began
his oensive; staying close and negating
Franks superior reach, while Frank did his
best to drive hard right hands downward to
the neck of the Pearl. Te last three rounds
played out the same way with the Pearl
going low and Frank going high. It was
declared a 12-round draw.
Talk of another ght between the Pearl
and his trainer began to surface, and each
man was willing to lace them up again for
the money. Tey did on April 15, with the Pearl once again
taking the victory over eight rounds.
Two days after the second Hadley bout, Billy Hawley
sold the Pearls contract to Jerry Donovan. Donovan told
the papers that he rmly believed that the Black Pearl was
the best colored ghter in the world. He quickly arranged
a ght with a colored ghter whose identity was never
fully revealed, but fought under the moniker of Desperate
Coon. He had been ghting and beating many ghters in
the Twin Cities area of all weight classes, and his fanfare
as a dark horse to bet on was great. Te Pearl whipped him
easily before Desperate quit on his stool after three rounds.
Te crowd was so disappointed in the one-sided aair that
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Martin oered to spar a

four-round exhibition with
his rival Black Frank who
was in the audience. Te
sparring was heated enough
to spark an argument which
led to a fth ght between
the two, arranged for May
2 in Minneapolis. It was
designed to settle once
and for all who was the
others master, scheduled
to be a ght to the nish. It
was held at 5:30am on the
east side of the Mississippi
River where Hennepin and
Ramsey counties adjoin so
as to avoid the authorities,
as Minnesota did not allow
nish ghts. Te opening round was slow, but the second
through the seventh were so lively that few expected the
ght to last much longer. It was a brutal ght with several
knockdowns, all in favor of the Pearl except for being oored
once himself in the second. In the seventh round, the Pearl
worked Frank over pretty well and he bled profusely for the
remainder of the battle. By the 25
th
round, both men were
groggy and tired, but the Pearl seemed to be catching his
second wind and began to up his attack; digging deep to
the belly with his right, and scoring short, clubbing lefts
to Franks bloody face. In the 38
th
round, the Pearl rushed
Frank and knocked him to the ground for a count of six,
only to smother him with a blistering nish that dropped
Frank yet again for good. Harris must have felt some sort
of remorseful respect for his long-standing rival, as he then
picked up Frank and carried him to a grassy knoll where
he helped revive him. With the win, the Pearl laid claim
to the Colored middleweight championship of the world.
Tis time no one disputed the claim, especially since he had
achieved the feat despite being outweighed by a good 30
pounds.
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After the brutal 38-round aair with Frank, Harris
Martin wrote a letter to the editor of the St. Paul Daily
News in which he claimed the Colored middleweight
championship of the world and also announced that he was
now under the training and management of the well-known
former colored champion, George Phillips. He then went
on a tear of wins, including two over the highly regarded
Black Diamond; the rst time crushing him in ve rounds
via the uppercut, and the second via DQ. After taking a
decisive licking over 12 rounds and seeing he was going to
lose, Black Diamond slammed Martin to the oor and fell
on him in an obvious attempt to be disqualied rather than
lose by knockout or decision. Seeing this, the referee did
not recognize the infraction as to satisfy the crowd, until
the Diamond repeated the stunt three more times in the
following stanza, forcing the referee to disqualify him. At
this point, the Black Pearls status nationwide ranked not
only as the best colored middleweight, but also perhaps the
best middleweight, period.
With few credible challenges coming his way, Martin
again fought rival Black Frank for the sixth and nal time,
earning a 10-round draw. Martin then whipped the well-
known Charles Gleason along with a slew of heavyweights to
boot. He also once again met and drew with former trainer,
Professor Charles Hadley. He then defeated the much feared
Dick Moore for the middleweight championship of the
Northwest. Proving it was no accident, he again whipped
Moore in a four-round setto a few months later.
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Amidst all of his headlines, titles, and success; the Pearl
was secretly out of control. After knocking out another
handful of men in easy victories, the Pearl was about to lose
his welcome in the city he loved.
His nightlife greatly increased, and it did not go
unnoticednot even by his wife. In February 1891, Martins
wife led assault and battery charges against him in
Minneapolis, allegedly stemming from her accusations of
adultery and his repeated visits to houses of ill-repute. His
wife divorced him shortly thereafter.
Yet, on May 1, 1891, Martin fought a four-round go with
world middleweight champion Bob Fitzsimmons, the terms
being to simply last four rounds with the feared champ. Not
only did Martin pull that o, but he asked for more when it
was over.
On July 6, 1891, he was arrested for disorderly conduct
toward a woman, but she failed to testify and he was
released. A few weeks later he was again in trouble. An
inebriated Pearl forgot his place in 19
th
Century America,
as he boldly tried to gain admittance into the most well-
known brothel in Minneapolisbut one exclusively for
white clientele. Feeling invincible and being known as the
most famous black athlete in the Midwest, he must have
felt reasonably certain of being served there. But when the
infamous Madam of the house, Ida Dorsey, saw him at the
door, she refused him entry. Te Pearl was so insulted; he
asked her if she knew who she was refusing. When she
slammed the door in his face, he turned violent, and began
kicking in the door. Te police were called and
arrested the Pearl. Since this was not his rst
oense, the judge sentenced Harris
to 30 days in the workhouse,
though he was released
early for good behavior
and upon the condition
that he never again set
foot in Minneapolis, the
city in which he had made
the headquarters of his
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pugilistic career. It
had given him fame
and fortune and had
made him the envy of
African-Americans of
the city and he was their
rst role model. Now
he was being asked to
leave. He headed west
to California, taking
ghts along the way to
earn more cash.
It is said that this era
marked the end of the
Black Pearl. Tough
he still possessed his boxing talents, he often lacked his
resources when stepping into the ring, as his nightlife
robbed him of his energy, and he rarely trained.
Martin would lose his Colored middleweight
championship by KO to Ed Binney in November 1891, after
25 brutal rounds. He then was kayoed again by the noted
Charles Turner in 19 rounds, followed by a third consecutive
nap, this time from Hank Gri n. By now, the Pearl was
struggling to nd his way. His three losses, coupled with his
partying ways, had raped him prematurely of his skills.
After taking a few inconsequential ghts in 1892, he
then fought Joe King in 36 hellish rounds before being
knocked out. Amazingly, he agreed to ght the infamous
colored lightweight champion of California, Bobby Dobbs,
in January 1893. He showed well, but eventually succumbed
to Dobbs in the 18
th
round. If the Black Pearl had anything
left in his ght with Dobbs, it is safe to say that it was beaten
out of him that day. Although he fought 20 rounds to a draw
with Jack Ramsey in March 1894, his skills had by then
signicantly eroded. Harris Martin, once a man of means,
was now trying to eek out a living.
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His remaining ghts were nothing more than paydays,
as few people gave him any chance of beating Young Peter
Jackson and he was stopped in the rst round. After his
career was nally over in 1900, the Pearl drifted north
where his brother William was living in Seattle. Living
with William for several years and working in the same
professions in which he had started o; shining shoes by day,
and waiting tables by night. Hoping to better his nancial
standings by capitalizing on his name in the state that knew
him best, he left Seattle for Minnesota. Since he was banned
for life from ever setting foot in his beloved Minneapolis,
Martin made Saint Paul his new home. He quickly picked
up work bartending at his old friend Phil Reeds saloon. By
this time, George Harris Martin was a much dierent man
than Minnesota had last seen and remembered. Gone was
his wealth, and with it, his upper-class swagger. He was
still a celebrity, though one clearly grounded by the reality
that his luck had come full circle. His charm, charisma,
and infamous smile were all traits that were still very much
intact, and his striking good looks were said to still have
attracted the attention of ner women of the Saintly City. In
short, Martin was once again, a king; his currency being the
daily compliments paid by fans of years past. He not only
enjoyed his re-found fame, he lived o of it. He was once
again, the Black Pearl. Still just 38 years old and said to be
thinking of starting his own saloon, the Pearl left work at
Reeds saloon for his apartment that he shared with friend
Henry Shaw when eyewitnesses said his eyes got wide just
as stepped on the curb of the St. Peter sidewalk. He then
clutched his wide-barreled dark chest and immediately
collapsed to the ground; something that had only happened
a handful of times in his long and illustrious career. People
rushed to his side in eorts to help him but it was no use. He
was dead in a matter of seconds, having suered a massive
heart attack.
Never before in the history of the state of Minnesota
had the death of a black man made the front page of the
newspapers. Yet, fans and friends, both black and white,
mourned his death as if he had been family. It was almost
remarkable, with more than 1,000 people reportedly
viewing his lifeless body at the wake, with an equal amount
of whites mourning alongside the African-American
population. More than 50 carriages followed his body to
Forest Cemetery in present day Maplewood, MN, to pay
their nal respects, and many mourners gave heartfelt
speeches.
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Today the Black Pearl is a name long forgotten. His
record at the time of his death was reported to have been
more than 100 wins with only 10 losses, and continues to
be discovered and documented. Until 2009, his nal resting
place was even a small-time boxing world mystery, as Forest
Cemetery (now Forest Lawn Cemetery) had claimed that
he was never interred there at all. Tis led many boxing
historians to seek out his grave like a modern era Holy Grail.
Im proud to report that this writer is the one who discovered
the remains of the
Black Pearl, interred
under years of grass
and earth, buried
all along in the very
cemetery that claimed
never to have had
him at all. Finding
his name etched onto
the 109-year-old slab
of concrete was akin
to nding a long lost
treasure. It turns out
that the denial of
having his remains was
a clerical issue, having entered his name into their 1903
interment logbooks incorrectly, thus burying all evidence
of his existence there. On Dec. 7, 2009, buried treasure was
indeed found in the frozen earth of Minnesota; 155 pounds
of Black Pearl to be exact, and with it, the tale of one of the
19
th
Centurys most talented black ghters sails again.
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