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BY JAS. J. CORBETT. Copyright, 1905, by the Newspaper Enterprise Asociation, SULLIVAN AND MITCHELL A JOKE, John L. SuLlivan and Charlie Mitchell have been matched to fight 15 rounds at Tacoma in Septemeber, according to a story going around It in hard to imagine these fa mous Veterans meeting again in the equated circle Sullivan has been close to death's door so often that when his name is mentioned in connection with the ring other than in a reminiscent way, it almost provokes a laugh. Mitchell is long-headed and real izes that such a thing would be next to impossible other than a joke. But then this is a queer world. Speaking of these two world famed veterans stire up many sto ries of their past relations. One of the funniest related, perhaps, hap pened many years ago in France, and today either of the pair will laugh and tell how they spent no ne season together In and After their fight at Chantilly, which, by the way, was one of the bloodiest battles in ring history, both were arrested and penned up in adjoining cells. Sullivan, who was never on friendly terms with any man in the ring, had nohing to say when first put under lock and key. He swore in English at the ignorant keeper, but he might have saved his breath, as he could not make himself un derstood. Finally it dawned upon John L. that being away from home some 4000 or 5000 miles without a friend wasn't the pleasantest thing in the world, and he grew calmer and soon broke the ice, but Mitchell, who felt none too well after his bruising battle, did not respond. pee me | then hit upon the time of pretending that he had the cramps. He wanted a drink of brandy. The guard came, but could not understand him. Finally Mitchell took pity on the big fellow and explained in fractur ed French what was the matter. Some brandy was brought Sulli van and .. had a beneficial effect on him, so that he became decidedly pleasant. Mitchell asked for some cose and the pair grew much or towards each A few hours later they were re leased, and John L., to show that he didn't intend to forget quickly, invited Mitchell to a steak, and they dined together. Sullivan from that day has always had a warm spot in his heart for the great Eng- Hahman. This probably accounts for them being able to frame up a fight for their old age. ers have been using the Mitchell scheme, and it soon gained many followers. Today more fighters are put to the lead by body punches than by jaw wallops. FIGHTING IS ON DECLINE: The prize ring has been a greater decline in the past 10 years than In all the years that went before. The steps backward of course are more visible to the old-timers than to the youngsters. In 1894 I fought Mitchell In Flor ida, and our battle was only one of about 150 or more that attracted the attention of the pugilistic fol yt the country over. Af those were the days of big purses. Why, one fight then meant more than a half dozen now, I re ceived $30,000 for the battle with Mitchell, and Fitzsimmons and Hall were to get $40,000, although all of it was not paid. Stanton Abbott and Harry Gilmore in Chicago got away up in the double figures of thousands. Van Heest and Gardner in Minneapolis received $6,000. Daney Needham and Mike Ryan got a couple of thousand apiece at Memphis. Fitzsimmons and Cho ynski netted a goodly sum in New England, and Fite and Creedon in New Orleans drew close to a $10,000 house. In fact, all the fighters did much better than is done today. FITZSIMMONS’ FORFEIT SAVER. Bob Fitzsimmons has never been known to have the least bit of yel low in his makeup, but he tells a story of a Might when he was meoct ing all comers up the road that is interesting to his admirers. It was while traveling in Georgia that he ran across a big fellow who came as near having him scared as any man he ever met in the ring. Bob had, I think, three rounds to which to finish him. The two got into the ring, and when Bob strip ped he looked like a mere boy alongside the giant, who outweigh ed him nearly 100 pounds. In the first round the big fellow stepped around the ring like a cat and two or three times made passes that looked dangerous. At the be ginning of the second, Julian, Fita's manager at that time, instructed Bob to get him as soon as possible to save the forfeit money. The round was about half through and the big fellow was go ing at Pitz with a great deal of con fidence. Finally Bob worked a shift and it was all off. Fitz has hit a lot of champions and has won several titles, and he has hit Jeffries on two occasions hard enough to smash the bones in his hand, but he will probably ac knowledge that the hardest blow he ever landed was that one against the big Georgian's jaw which saved his forfeit money for him.
Newspaper Details
Seattle Star
Seattle, Washington, US
Sat, Jun 03, 1905
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Tim A.
CA, USA 04 Jun 2026
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