When Jim Jeffries won the heavyweight title in 1899, boxing was still illegal in many states, yet boxers were the most celebrated athletes in America. National icons John L. Sullivan and Gentleman Jim Corbett had preceded him, but Jeffries seemed to be of a different breed than previous pugilists. At 6'2" and around 220 lbs, he was big, strong, and almost freakishly athletic-being able to run the 100 yard dash in just over 10 seconds and capable of high-jumping over six feet, Jeffries also possessed the ruggedness of the grizzly bears he hunted on his numerous trips into the wilderness. Big Jim was a brand new kind of American hero and the heavyweight era he dominated was loaded with a group of great fighters that most boxing historians rank as being unmatched until the "Golden Era" of Ali-Frazier-Foreman in the 1970's. Tearing through his opponents with the ferocity of an elemental force of nature, Jeffries retired undefeated after beating Jack Munroe in 1904. But, fueled by the boxing public's frantic desire for a "Great White Hope", Jeffries was reluctantly lured back into the ring six years later to take on the first black heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson, in what was arguably the most controversial and explosive sporting event in American history.