Vintage boxing artwork
THE RING ALMANAC
THE RING ALMANAC
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Light Heavyweight–Heavyweight · Bare-Knuckle & Gloves (1880–1919)

Marvin Hart

28
Wins
7
Losses
4
Draws
20
KOs
71%
KO %
Born
1876
Died
1931
Nationality
USA
Career
1899–1910

Won the vacant heavyweight crown refereed by James J. Jeffries and decisioned a young Jack Johnson.

Titles & Honours

Career Timeline

1899–1910
  1. Milestone

    First recorded professional bout

    vs William Schiller · W KO

    View fight record
  2. Title history

    Title reign begins

    World Heavyweight Champion (1905–1906). Year from profile title history; exact title-winning bout not identified.

    View title / honour details
  3. Signature fight

    vs Jack Johnson

    W PTS · Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.. Archive selection: one of the first three wins over distinct fighters profiled here, not an expert-selected signature fight.

    View fight record
  4. Milestone

    25th recorded win

    vs Peter Maher · KO. Newspaper decisions excluded.

    View fight record
  5. Milestone

    Latest recorded bout

    vs Carl Morris · L RTD. Not necessarily the retirement date.

    View fight record

Derived from the current archive and profile honours. Title-reign years are not exact bout dates; title claims are not independently verified. Signature fights use existing profile selections, or clearly labelled wins over other archived fighters when no selections exist. Year-only dates retain their original precision.

Photo Archive

Marvin Hart · Found LOC photo - notes: "Pugilist, Marvin Hart, standing in a boxing stance, left fist out, right fist back. Chicago Daily News, Inc., photographer. CREATED/PUBLISHED 1902. SUMMARY Full-length portrait of Marvin Hart, pugilist, standing in a boxing stance, with left fist out and right fist back, in a stairwell hallway in the Chicago Daily News building in Chicago, Illinois. NOTES This photonegative taken by a Chicago Daily News photographer may have been published in the newspaper. Cite as: SDN-000848, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society." · Public domain
Marvin Hart · Found LOC photo - notes: "Pugilist, Marvin Hart, standing in a boxing stance, left fist out, right fist back. Chicago Daily News, Inc., photographer. CREATED/PUBLISHED 1902. SUMMARY Full-length portrait of Marvin Hart, pugilist, standing in a boxing stance, with left fist out and right fist back, in a stairwell hallway in the Chicago Daily News building in Chicago, Illinois. NOTES This photonegative taken by a Chicago Daily News photographer may have been published in the newspaper. Cite as: SDN-000848, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society." · Public domain

1 archival photographs under their original licences.

Fight-by-Fight Record

DateResultOpponentMethodRoundVenue
1899-12-12WWilliam SchillerKO7Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1900-02-12WWilliam SchillerKO4Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1900-04-02WCharles MeisnerKO1Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1900-05-10WTommy WilliamsKO2Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1900-06-12WLouis SeifkerKO2Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1900-06-26WHarry RogersKO14Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1900-08-13WHugh McGannDQ6Nonpareil A.C., Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1900-08-18WHugh McGannKO6Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1900-12-12WPeter TrainerKO17Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1901-01-21WAl WeiningKO11Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1901-02-25WAustralian Jim RyanKO8Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1901-03-29WTommy WestTKO16Southern A.C., Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1901-05-24WDan CreedonKO6Southern A.C., Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1901-11-01WJack BeauscholteKO10Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1901-12-17LWild Bill HanrahanKO1Auditorium, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1902-01-20WBilly StiftKO3Music Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1902-04-07WDick O'BrienKO3Empire A.C., Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1902-05-03WKid CarterKO9Southern A.C., Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1902-08-18WBilly StiftPTS6America A.C., Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
1902-11-10LJack RootPTS6Lyceum A.C., Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
1903-04-02WJack BonnerDQ4Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. A.C., Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1903-05-13LGeorge GardnerPTS12Southern A.C., Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
1903-12-01WKid CarterTKO15Criterion A.C., Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
1904-01-15DJohn WilliePTS6Watita Hall, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
1904-01-15DGeorge GardnerPTS15Criterion A.C., Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
1904-03-15WSandy FergusonPTS20Whittington Park A.C., Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S.
1904-05-20DGus RuhlinPTS12Germania Maennerchor Hall, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
1905-03-28WJack JohnsonPTS20Woodward's Pavilion, San Francisco, California, U.S.
1905-07-03WJack RootKO12Amphitheater, Reno, Nevada, U.S.
1906-02-23LTommy BurnsPTS20Amphitheater, Reno, Nevada, U.S.
1907-03-15WHarry RogersKO2Whittington A.C., Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S.
1907-04-01WPeter MaherKO2Whittington A.C., Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S.
1907-05-30LMike SchreckTKO21Tonopah, Nevada, U.S.
1908-03-17WJohn WillieDQ4Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S.
1908-10-09DHugh McGannPTS20Opera House, Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.
1908-10-20WJack Twin SullivanDQ5Armory, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
1909-03-12WTony RossDQ13West Side A.C., Gretna, Louisiana, U.S.
1909-07-26LMike SchreckTKO4Lakeview Theater, Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S.
1910-12-20LCarl MorrisRTD3Sapulpa Air Dome, Sapulpa, Oklahoma, U.S.

Showing 39 of 39 recorded fights · last updated 2026-10-15. Imported record tables are not independently verified and may be incomplete. Early-era logs include newspaper decisions (NWS), which are not counted in the official totals above.

Record notes

Fight record last retrieved: 2026-10-11. Title histories remain subject to archival review.

Historical-era totals differ between record-keeping conventions (newspaper decisions, exhibitions).

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