Jess Willard (December 29, 1881 – December 15, 1968) was a world heavyweight boxing champion known as the Pottawatomie Giant.

He won the heavyweight title from Jack Johnson in April 1915 which earned him the nickname "The Great White Hope". He was known for his great strength and ability to absorb tremendous punishment, although today he is best known for his title loss to Jack Dempsey.

Willard held the championship for more than 4 years but only defended his title once as few people dared to challenge him. Today his reign is considered the 11th longest in the heavyweight division. He lost the title to Jack Dempsey in 1919 and to this day the fight is considered the worst beating any man has ever received in the history of boxing. Willard was knocked down for the first time in his career during the first round and another 6 times before the round was over; he suffered a cracked skull, broken ribs, shattered jaw, broken nose, four missing teeth, partial hearing loss in one ear along with numerous cuts and contusions. Jess fought for two more rounds before retiring on his stool due to the injuries he received in the first round, relinquishing the title. It is one of the most controversial fights in boxing history and many thought Dempsey had something in his gloves during the first round to act as a knuckleduster to weaken the big Willard down.

William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey ("The Manassa Mauler") (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983) was an American professional boxer who held the World Heavyweight Championship from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first million dollar gate. He is listed #10 on The Ring's list of all-time heavyweights and #7 among its Top 100 Greatest Punchers. In 1950, the Associated Press voted Dempsey as the greatest fighter of the past 50 years. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Born in Manassa, Colorado, with the name of William Harrison Dempsey, he grew up in Colorado, West Virginia and Utah, in a poor family of mixed ancestry. His father, Hiram Dempsey, was of Irish, Cherokee descent and his mother, Mary Celia (née Smoot), was also of Irish and Cherokee descent. Both parents became Mormon converts, and Jack was baptized on August 2, 1903, after he reached the required age of accountability. Jack would later write, "I'm proud to be a Mormon. And ashamed to be the Jack Mormon that I am." Because his father had difficulty finding work, the family traveled often. He dropped out of grade school to work. Dempsey left home at the age of 16, eager to start a better life for himself. Due to lack of money, he frequently had to travel underneath trains and sleep in hobo camps. However, Dempsey was a strong, powerful youth who soon discovered a talent for fighting. With the help of his older brother Bernie, he commenced training as a professional boxer. In 1927, tragedy befell Dempsey's family when his other brother, John, shot his own wife, then killed himself in a murder-suicide.

Charles Francis "Frank" Moran (18 March 1887–14 December 1967) was an American boxer and film actor who fought twice for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, and appeared in over 135 movies in a 25 year film career.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Moran studied dentistry at the University of Pittsburgh where he also played football. He played professional football for the Pittsburgh Lyceums and Akron Pros as a guard and center.

While Moran was serving in the U.S. Navy in 1908, he knocked out fighter Fred Cooley in the second round. He began his career as a prize-fighter that same year with a match against Fred Broad. Soon, Moran, who had a hard right hand punch which he called "Mary Ann", became known as the "White Hope" of the teens. In 1914 he fought Jack Johnson for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, and in 1916 "The Fighting Dentist" went up against Jess Willard for the same title, but lost both bouts. He lost his last fight to Marcel Nilles for the Heavyweight Championship of France on December 22, 1922. He retired from boxing after 66 bouts with a record of 36 wins (28 by a knockout), 13 losses, 16 draws and 1 no contest.

Floyd Johnson (7 July 1900, Des Moines, Idaho – 1 June 1986), nicknamed "The Auburn Bulldog", was an American heavyweight boxer who was known for his stiff punch. His (incomplete) boxing record comes out to: 38 wins (27 by knockout), 13 losses, and 11 draws. In 1923, he was considered a leading contender, and described in Time as "possibly the fifth-best heavyweight in the ring" After his boxing career ended, he went into promotion at White Center, Washington.

He had a cameo in the 1925 film Way of a Girl, and a publicity photo for the film featured actress Eleanor Boardman pretending to photograph Johnson.

Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran (August 2, 1935 – July 15, 2010) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting during the 1960s, Cochran was a prolific songwriter in the genre, including major hits by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy Arnold and others. Cochran was also a recording artist between 1962 and 1980, scoring seven times on the Billboard (magazine) country music charts, with his greatest solo success being the #20 "Sally Was a Good Old Girl".

Born during the Great Depression in Isola, Mississippi, he contracted pneumonia, whooping cough, measles, and mumps all about the same time at age 2. The doctor didn't believe that he would survive. His parents divorced when he was 9 years old. He relocated with his father to Memphis, Tennessee, but then was put into an orphanage. He was sent to live with his grandparents, in Waynesboro, Mississippi, after he had run away from the orphanage twice. His uncle Otis Cochran taught him how to play the guitar as the pair hitchhiked from Mississippi to southeastern New Mexico to work in the oilfields. After returning to Mississippi in his teens, he went to California and picked olives. While there he formed The Cochran Brothers, a duo with un-related Eddie Cochran.