![]() Jeffries built a large ranch home and a barn on the corner of where Victory Boulevard and Buena Vista Street now intersect. Most of them were sold in Mexico and South America thus establishing Burbank's first foreign trade relations. Jim Jeffries became one of the country's foremost suppliers of thoroughbred bulls. This proved to be a prosperous enterprise. He decided to put cattle on the land to eat the alfalfa. The market price for alfalfa dropped shortly after this time and it did not pay Jeffries to harvest his crop. Jeffries later developed another 93 acres and planted alfalfa. Only ten acres were placed under cultivation, and the rest was sagebrush and sand. He paid $2,000 down and assumed a $10,000 mortgage. Jeffries, the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, bought 107 acres for a ranch on Victory Boulevard. In 1904, national attention was drawn to Burbank when James J. The land was a vacant lot until 1976, when a shopping plaza was built.įrom " A History of Burbank" (1967, Burbank Unified Schools): After Jeffries' death the barn was dismantled and moved to the Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in Orange County. It is interesting to note that John Garfield's big boxing scene in the Dead End Kids film " They Made Me a Criminal" (1939) was filmed in Jeffries' barn. On that property stood the Jeffries Barn, where Thursday night boxing matches were held from 1931 to Jeffries' death in 1953. He owned Burbank property on the corner of Victory Boulevard and Buena Vista Avenue in Burbank. * Death notice in Sunday Herald, Sydney, Australia, March 8, 1953.James Jeffries is considered to be one of the great heavyweight boxers of his era, perhaps the best of all time. The combined 996-acre property isīounded by the Circle J community on the south, Bouquet Canyon Road on the west, Soledad Canyon Road on the north, and Golden Valley Road on the east. Halafax eventually defaulted on its property taxes, and Lizza's company, as Bermite Powder,Īcquired the land and used it to manufacture military ordnance and other explosives until 1987 (after 1967 as Whittaker-Bermite). While Halafax manufactured fireworks at its site from 1936 to 1942. Four years later, Patrick Lizza established Golden State Fireworks on adjacent property, and set up a big, new manufacturing plant that ![]() Halliburton and partners picked up the ball in 1934 when they formed the Halafax Explosives Co. Jim Corbett echoed the sentiments of many contemporaries when he opined that James Jeffries' speed, strength and size (225 pounds) made him "the greatest heavyweight champion of them all."Īs for Jeffries' Saugus property, oilman E.P. In later years he would train amateur fighters. Vaudeville fighters before returning to what was left of his ranch. Up to pay off his debtors, and for a time, he went on tour with his old rival Tom Sharkey as a pair of In 1923 Jeffries filed for bankruptcy protection, reporting assets of $130,000 and liabilities of $192,000.* His Burbank ranch was split The armistice of November 11, 1918, curtailed the need for gunpowder, and there is no indication the oil wells produced. However, it appears none of these ventures paid off. "shotgun shells or other forms of ammunition requiring a bulk powder."īy 1920, the Boilermaker had dug exploratory oil wells on the Saugus property he had purchased "several years earlier," according to reports. "We are using material dug out of the hills, and the result is a splendid grade of smokeless powder." It was reportedly suitable for ![]() "The plant at Saugus was established about nine months ago," brother Jack told reporters in March 1918. and possessors of a secret formula of high-grade gunpowder that they were Was entering World War I, James and his brother Jack were the heads of the new Los Angeles Gunpowder Co. He owned a bar and a farm in Burbank where he bred prize cattle. It was the only loss of Jeffries' career, which counted 18 wins, 15 of them by a knockout, and 2 draws.Īfterward, Jeffries tried his luck at several business ventures. He was knocked unconscious in the 15th round by Johnson, who was black. Jeffries, now 35, was billed as the "Great White Hope" ![]() But then he made the fateful decision in 1910 to try a comeback against then-heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. Jeffries was one of the few prizefighters to go out on He defended his title seven times, including rematches with Fitzsimmons and Tom Sharkey, and two challenges from Gentleman Jim Corbett. He seized the title with an 11th-round knockout of reigning champion Bob Fitzsimmons in Brooklyn ![]() Nicknamed the Boilermaker, Jeffries (1875-1953) was the heavyweight champion of the world from 1899-1904. Jeffries was the earliest known predecessor to the Bermite Powder Co. ![]()
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