Big Bill Tate (September 19, 1896 – August 10, 1953) was an American boxer who fought from 1912 to 1927. A native of Montgomery, Alabama, he spent his fighting career based in Chicago. Tate was a regular sparring partner of heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, yet Dempsey denied him a shot at the title. Tate graduated from Alabama's Normal School for Colored Students, a state-supported teacher's college for African Americans, in 1905. He reigned as the World Colored Heavyweight Champion from 25 January 1917, when he beat Sam Langford, to 25 May 1917, when Langford reclaimed the title.