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American boxer
the American heavyweight boxer

Walcott was born in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey. His father was an immigrant from St. Thomas, Danish West Indies. His mother was from Jordantown (Pennsauken Township), New Jersey. Walcott was only 15 years old when his father died. He quit school and worked in a soup factory to support his mother and 11 younger brothers and sisters. He also began training as a boxer. He took the name of his boxing idol, Joe Walcott, a welterweight champion from Barbados. He added "Jersey" to distinguish himself and show where he was from.

He debuted as a professional middleweight boxer on September 9, 1930, fighting Cowboy Wallace and winning by a knockout in round one. After five straight knockout wins, in 1933, he lost for the first time, beaten on points by Henry Wilson in Philadelphia. Walcott lost two bouts to Tiger Jack Fox and was knocked out by heavyweight contender Abe Simon during his 10th year as a pro. After losing to Simon, Walcott was inactive for over four years between 1940 and 1944. Many heavyweights at the time were serving in the war, although Walcott does not have a military record. Walcott had built a record of 45 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw before challenging for the world title for the first time. But that would change in 1945 when Walcott beat top heavyweights such as Joe Baksi, Lee Q. Murray, and Curtis Sheppard. He closed out 1946 with a pair of losses to light heavyweight Joey Maxim and top ranked heavyweight contender Elmer Ray, but he promptly avenged those defeats in 1947.

On December 5, 1947, he fought Joe Louis, at 33 years of age breaking the record as the oldest man to fight for the world heavyweight title. He was four months older than Louis at the time. Despite dropping Louis in round one and again in round four, he lost a 15 round split decision. Most boxing writers felt Walcott deserved the win; a debate ensued, and sportswriters carried the topic throughout America. The lone official to vote for Walcott, referee Ruby Goldstein, was cast as a hero. Letters and telegrams poured in to the Goldstein household, praising his judgment. There was talk of an investigation being assembled for rule revisions in judging. Louis went into seclusion for a couple of days, then quieted dissent with the following: "I know Ruby. He calls them as he sees them and that should be good enough for anybody." What controversy remained was the kind that builds the gate, and Jersey Joe was rightfully granted a rematch on June 25, 1948. Though dropped again, this time in the third, Louis prevailed by a knockout in round 11. The bout was the first closed circuit telecast (CCTV) sports broadcast, distributed via theatre television.

On June 22 of 1949, Walcott got another chance to become world heavyweight champion when he and Ezzard Charles met for the title left vacant by Louis. However, Charles prevailed, winning by decision in 15 rounds. Walcott, disappointed but eager to see his dream of being a champion come true, went on, and in 1950 he won four of his five bouts, including a third round knockout of future world light heavyweight champion Harold Johnson. On March 7, 1951, he and Charles fought for a second time and again Charles won a 15 round decision to retain his world title. But on July 18, he joined a handful of boxers who claimed the world title in their fifth try, when he knocked out Charles in seven rounds in Pittsburgh to finally become world heavyweight champion at the age of 37. This made him the oldest man ever to win the world heavyweight crown a distinction he would hold until George Foreman won the title at age 45 in 1994.

Walcott retained the title with a 15 round decision victory against arch enemy Charles. On September 23, 1952, he put his title on the line for the second time. His opponent was the undefeated Rocky Marciano. In the first round, Walcott floored Marciano with a left hook; the first time in his career that Rocky had ever been down. After twelve intense rounds, Walcott stood well ahead on two of the three official scorecards, leaving Marciano needing a knockout to win. In the thirteenth round, with Marciano pressuring Walcott against the ropes, simultaneously each threw a right hand. Marciano landed first and flush on Walcott's jaw with a devastating right hook and a powerful left followup. The title changed hands in an instant. Walcott collapsed with his left arm hanging over the ropes, slowly sinking to the canvas, where he was counted out. An immediate rematch was set for May 15, 1953 in Chicago. The second time around Walcott was again defeated by Marciano by a knockout, this time in the first round. It would be Walcott's last bout.

Walcott did not go away from the celebrity scene after boxing. In 1956, he co starred with Humphrey Bogart and Max Baer in the boxing drama The Harder They Fall. In 1963, he tried professional wrestling, losing to Lou Thesz. Thesz pinned Walcott in the fifth round, but has stated that Walcott knocked him (Thesz) down and most likely out in that fifth round. As he fell to the floor, he relied on instinct, grabbing Walcott's knees, taking him down with him and stretching him out for the pin. In 1965, Walcott refereed the controversial world heavyweight championship rematch between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston. Walcott lost the count as Ali circled around a floored Liston and Walcott tried to get him back to a neutral corner. Walcott then looked outside of the ring (presumably to the ringside count keeper) as Ali and Liston went at each other, before Walcott instructed them to keep on fighting. Walcott then approached the fighters and abruptly stopped the fight. Walcott was never again appointed as a referee after this bout.

After retiring, Walcott worked for the Camden County corrections department. In 1968, he ran for Sheriff of Camden County, New Jersey, but lost in the Democratic primary to Spencer H. Smith Jr. That same year he was named director of community relations for Camden. He served as chairman of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission from 1975 until 1984, when he stepped down at the mandatory retirement age of 70. Walcott was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.

In 2013, Walcott was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

No. (Number)ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound(s), timeDateLocationNotes70Loss49–20–1 Rocky MarcianoKO1 (15), May 15, 1953 69Loss49–19–1 Rocky MarcianoKO13 (15), Sep 23, 1952 68Win49–18–1 Ezzard CharlesUD15Jun 5, 1952 67Win48–18–1 Ezzard CharlesKO7 (15), Jul 18, 1951 66Loss47–18–1 Ezzard CharlesUD15Mar 7, 1951 65Loss47–17–1 Rex LayneUD10Nov 24, 1950 64Win47–16–1 Hein ten HoffUD10May 28, 1950 63Win46–16–1 Johnny ShkorKO1 (10), Mar 13, 1950 62Win45–16–1 Omelio AgramonteTKO7 (10), Mar 3, 1950 61Win44–16–1 Harold JohnsonKO3 (10), Feb 8, 1950 60Win43–16–1 Olle TandbergTKO5 (12), Aug 14, 1949 59Loss42–16–1 Ezzard CharlesUD15Jun 22, 1949 58Loss42–15–1 Joe LouisKO11 (15)Jun 25, 1948 57Loss42–14–1 Joe LouisSD15Dec 5, 1947 56Win42–13–1 Joey MaximSD10Jun 23, 1947 55Win41–13–1 Elmer RayMD10Mar 4, 1947 54Win40–13–1 Joey MaximMD (Majority decision)10Jan 6, 1947 53Loss39–13–1 Elmer RaySD10Nov 15, 1946 52Loss39–12–1 Joey MaximPTS10Aug 28, 1946 51Win39–11–1 Tommy GómezTKO3 (10), Aug 16, 1946 50Win38–11–1 Lee OmaUD (Unanimous decision)10May 24, 1946 49Win37–11–1 Al BlakeTKO4 (10), Mar 20, 1946 48Win36–11–1 Jimmy BivinsSD (Split decision)10Feb 25, 1946 47Win35–11–1 Johnny AllenKO3 (12), Jan 30, 1946 46Win34–11–1 Curtis SheppardKO10 (10), Dec 10, 1945 45Win33–11–1 Lee Q. MurrayDQ9 (10)Nov 12, 1945 44Win32–11–1 Steve DudasTKO5 (10), Oct 24, 1945 43Win31–11–1 Johnny DensonKO2 (10), Sep 20, 1945 42Win30–11–1 Joe BaksiPTS10Aug 2, 1945 41Win29–11–1 Johnny AllenPTS8Mar 15, 1945 40Win28–11–1 Austin JohnsonPTS6Feb 22, 1945 39Loss27–11–1 Johnny AllenPTS8Jan 25, 1945 38Win27–10–1 Jackie SaundersTKO2 (6), Jan 11, 1945 37Win26–10–1 Ellis SingletonKO3 (8), Jun 28, 1944 36Win25–10–1 Felix Del PaoliPTS8Jun 7, 1944 35Loss24–10–1 Abe SimonKO6 (8), Feb 12, 1940 34Win24–9–1 Tiger 'Red' LewisTKO6 (10), Jan 19, 1940 33Win23–9–1 Curtis SheppardPTS8Nov 18, 1939 32Win22–9–1 Al BorosPTS8Aug 14, 1939 31Win21–9–1 Bob TowPTS8Dec 23, 1938 30Loss20–9–1 Roy LazerPTS8Jun 14, 1938 29Loss20–8–1 Tiger Jack FoxPTS10May 10, 1938 28Win20–7–1 Lorenzo PackKO4 (8), Apr 12, 1938 27Win19–7–1 Art SykesKO4 (8), Mar 25, 1938 26Win18–7–1 Jim WhitestPTS8Jan 20, 1938 25Win17–7–1 Freddie FiduciaPTS8Jan 10, 1938 24Loss16–7–1 George BrothersPTS8Oct 9, 1937 23Win16–6–1 Elmer RayKO3 (6), Sep 25, 1937 22Win15–6–1 Joe LippsKO2 (8)Sep 3, 1937 21Loss14–6–1 Tiger Jack FoxKO8 (10), May 22, 1937 20Loss14–5–1 Billy KetchellPTS10Sep 1, 1936 19Draw14–4–1 Billy KetchellPTS10Jul 14, 1936 18Win14–4 Phil JohnsonTKO3 (6), Jun 22, 1936 17Win13–4 Louis LePageKO3 (6), Jun 16, 1936 16Win12–4 Joe ColucciKO4 (10), Apr 28, 1936 15Win11–4 Willie ReddishPTS8Mar 16, 1936 14Loss10–4 Al EttoreKO8 (10), Jan 21, 1936 13Win10–3 Roxie AllenKO8 (8), Nov 26, 1935 12Win9–3 Al KingKO1 (8), Oct 29, 1935 11Win8–3 Pat RolandTKO4 (8), Oct 1, 1935 10Win7–3 Lew AlvaKO1 (8), Aug 26, 1935 9Loss6–3 Henry TaylorPTS (Points decision)6Nov 16, 1933 8Win6–2 Henry TaylorKO1 (6), Jul 28, 1933 7Win5–2 Bob NorrisKO1 (6)May 5, 1933 6Win4–2 Carl MaysKO2 (6)Apr 20, 1931 5Loss3–2 Carl MaysPTS6Mar 19, 1931 4Win3–1 Frank MitchellTKO4 (6)Oct 24, 1930 3Win2–1 Jimmy O'TooleTKO (Technical knockout)4 (6)Oct 10, 1930 2Loss1–1 K. O. PalmerDQ (Disqualification)3 (6)Sep 16, 1930 1Win1–0 Eddie WallaceKO (Knockout)1 (6)Sep 9, 1930