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ATTELL'S START AS FIGHTERBegan Career 36 “Tough Kid” in Streets of San Francisco—Made $200,000 as Pugilist.Abe Attell is down and out in the parlance of the prize ring, according i to those experts who witnessed his lt;lAst two decisive defeats. Judging ! from his performances in these en- i counters, he can't come back,” in i fhe opinion of those same experts. It i is said he is inclined to feel a little lt;that way himself.But Abe is a philosopher, if nothing lt;else. He reviewed his fourteen years of fighting the other day. Until be was vanquished by Kilbane Abe was i featherweight champion of the world. Me has fought over 250 times. iHe has fought more champions (han! any other man now in the ring, and ;has defended his title every time a 1 122-pound man could get the offer of a 1purse and suggested his complicity. i He has fought perhaps 3,000 rounds IIn all.He doed not use tobacco in any lt;rorm. nor has he ever tipped the goblet. He is twenty-eight years old. i It’s been a pretty good game, he 1 | said, reflectively. Of course I’m kind of sore when I think of all the money I’ve let get away from me.Four of us began together in San Francisco, he continued. There , w*re Jimmy Britt and Eddie Hanlon and Frankie Neil and myself. We were all kids together, fighting preliminaries about the Ea'me time. The j others are all done for now. I'm the 1 only one that's left in the ring.”A little later he recollected that his I ring career had netted him something more than $200,000. He began as a “tough kid in the San Francisco streets. He is a bit proud of that I early record, too.'•Jo, said Attell, by and by a kid . would come to my mother's store—or j mebbe he’d meet me in the street and call me a ‘Jew,’ or we’d catch him In the alley, and then I’d murder him.The process of murdering kids w'as helpful to his shoulder muscles,1 but began to disturb the neighbors.So my mother had me sent away to a reform school. Eaid Abe, and I stayed there for fifteen months. When 1 got back I remember all the kids around on the street yelling 'Abie’s home; I said I’d. be good. But one : of the kids I used to murder—his | name was Wires—had been fighting I preliminaries, and he had won twenty-nine straight tights. All the kld3 told me to go In and clean him. Alex. Greggains used to pay $15 for preliminary fights then.By and by Borne of the kids went to Greggains and told him they had a kid who could lick any of his prelim fighters. One of ’em said he was my manager, ant! Greggains made a match right away with Eddie Benny.“I won that fight without a scratch ! and I gave the $15 to my ma, Every time I won—and I won thirty-four fights straight with a knockout—I gave b*r my dough.
Newspaper Details
Oelwein Daily Register
Oelwein, Iowa, US
Fri, Dec 20, 1912
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
John H.
IL, USA 29 Dec 2017
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