Following the name of the champion(s): Indicates the number of times the competitor has held that title at that point.
[...]
Indicates a gap in the listing where title changes are not known.
<
Title was held or changed hands no later than this. In these cases, it is known that a competitor held the title at a certain time but not when he/she won it.
@
Order uncertain. Different titleholders may be known for the same year, for example, but it is not known who held the title before whom.
#
Unofficial or disputable claims. These are usually matches that certainly took place, but where there is doubt that the competitor shown should be recognized as a true title holder. These listings are also italicized.
* Bolded letters in the competitor's name, if any, indicate the surname/family name.
Joe Coburn
1856-05-01
Arlington, MA
Defeats Edmund Price and claims the title; claims the heavyweight title in 62 when the champion John C. Heenan refuses to fight Coburn.
Tom Chandler
1867-04-13
CA
Defeats Dooney Harris.
George Rooke
1867
Claims the title when Chandler refuses his challenge; Rocky Moore (Matthew Moore) defeats Rooke on 67-10-02 in what is most likely a non-title match; Moore retires shortly afterwards, and Rooke still/again claims the title.
