Corbett, James John (1866-1933), became the world heavyweight boxing champion in 1892. He was regarded as one of the first scientific boxers. A bank teller, Corbett had his first professional bout in 1884, and won the heavyweight title from John L. Sullivan in 1892. He lost it to Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897. After trying twice to regain the championship, he retired from the ring and pursued a career as an actor. Corbett was born on Sept. 1, 1866, in San Francisco. He became known as “Gentleman Jim” for his fancy style of dress. He died on Feb. 18, 1933.
