[1] Emil Ecklund was born on August 13, 1899,[2] in Lillehammer in Oppland county, Norway.
Emil Ecklund climbed into the ring under his real name and as Jack Kracken in a journeyman's career that lasted 17 professional boxing matches between 1930 and 1934.
On April 1, in Springfield, Illinois, he was knocked out in round three by George Kutulis, lost a six-round decision to Fred Caldori on April 25 in Chicago and suffered a technical knockout at the hands of King Levinsky on August 29 in Chicago.
The losing streak stretched to four when Ecklund was KO'd by Walter Pickard on March 30, 1931, in Louisville, Kentucky.
[4] [5] Jack Kracken is best remembered as the first boxer defeated by Joe Louis on July 4, 1934, in the first round of a scheduled six-round bout at Bacon Casino on Chicago's South Side.