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»l A TALE OF TWO FISTSR H EPittsburgh 000 000 010 000—1 7 £ Chicago ...010 000 000 001—2 6 4 Batteries—Cooper and 'Blackwell: Douglas and Klllefer,THREE BROKEN RIBS,By Damon Runyon.XXItAH or “John the Barber's” colored cash customers were present in the Harlem Sporting club the night Jack Dempsey fought John Lester Johnson.Baron1 Wilkins, old host and friend of Jack Johnson and the voice of authority through the sable sector of Harlem, was Jn a front chair, as usual, and all the colored boulevardlers of 135th street were out In force. The gallery was a wide, dark belt spotted with rolling wkitey eves and splashed with ivory white teeth.John Lester Johnson wag, as I have said, always a. pretty good card in Harlem, and besides, here he was fighting a white gent. Quite a (ew Caucasians congregated under the roof of “John the Barber that night, too, attracted not by the merit of the card, for Dempsey was an .unknown, but by the fact that It was tho first “mixed bout.EADY FOR WALLACE/ ihave to travel some if he Is to take the long end of the purse. The -win-ner wilt get seventy-five and the loser twenty-five per cent of the gross. Both fighters are about the same in size and there will be but two pounds difference when they step on the scales at McPartland's store tomorrow at 3 p. m.Buck Taylor will meet Johnny Schumacher in the six-round semi-windup and it ought to be an interesting affair. Taylor said that he will stop Johnny in less than sis rounds but his opponent can't see that way.- • •Tommy.- Caldwell will go . four rounds with a local boy that has just returned from the army. His naiue is Jimmie Chester and is said to be a clever boxer. Johnny Fryrear and Olte Livermore of Iowa City will go on for four rounds. The show, will start af 9 o'clock and as the scats are ■ selling fast a big crowd is e*. jsocted. •There was a heavy demand forpress tickets, a circumstance which was not quite clear to “John the Barber, as ho rushed about, perspiring freely, getting his guest3 arranged. It was not such a card as to inspire a largo attendance of the sport-writing people, yet a consld-! erable contingent besieged his doors, and ^ohn didn't know whether to feel flattered or suspicious.It seems that a sporting writer who had seen Jack Dempsey in actioni against either Andre Andersor. or wild Bert Kenney had been so favorably impressed by the young westerner that he casually remarked in tho presence of one Edward Curley. that John Lester Johnson was going to. get his block knocked loose the night he met the stranger. He had never seen Johnson.Edward Curley is an astute writer on sporting topics who has been around quite a spell. He had never heard of, much less seen, Jack , Dempsey, but he knew- John Lester ; Johnson's ability. And being astute, jas stated, Edward Curley caw vistas ; of wealth opening out before him.I 4Til just bet you 3 to 1 John Lester doesn't get knocked out, he said. ‘ $30 to $10.*'The bet was recorded, and news of it spread far and wide. The men on the Dempsey end seemed so sure he would win that Edward Curley'a acquaintances began to take a deep Interest in the match. The idea of Edward Curley being suddenly separated from $30 presented vast possibilities to them, and they went to see. it done.To this day it is a matter of much interesting conjecture in sportwrit-Ing circles of New York as to what would have been the psychological effect on E. Curley had Dempsey knocked out John Lester Johnson.They’ll never know, because it did not happen. The fight went ten rounds. Dempsey came on attended by some seconds provided bv the management. . and . somewhat depressed by the absence of. Jack Price. He did not fight . as he fought against Anderson and Kenney; ho seemed slow .and loggy, and there, was a mighty good reason.“In the second round Johnson pul.ed something on me I had never scon before, says Demosey. He Just lifted my right arm up high, and then soaked me in the ribs. He broke three of 'em for me. He hit me on the chin in that round, too, and I sawmany a star. He kneW too much for me.For ten rounds the big white bov walked after Johnson, wide open and swinging, but the cra.fty black would-slip easily inside the swings smash Dempsey with his left, and hold. • There were no decisions by the referees in New York, but some of the sporting writers said in their papers the next day that Dempsey had won.I don't think I did/' says Demp-soy*, “I thought he licked me. I didn t know how to fight then, and Johnson did. Yea I think he won. and he taught me more that night than I have ever'dreamed -of before/ - \Not long ago. when Dempsey was j .oortlng for a. sparring partner to go i out -with Tiim on the road' in ai show, he hired John Lester Johnson and he has that same John Lester with him today in his training camp at Toledo. Which Indicates that Dempsey has a pretty high opinion of John Lesterfs ability; anyway. 'John the Barber’ gave it out that he was going to pay $1,000 or Jo per cent of the gate for the first mixed bout after the lifting of the ban, says Dempsey. .“He gave me just '$100, but ‘he aJso.madp a deal with-me he would dress me in fine clothes and diamonds, and I’ll sav he sounded good. ■ -“I was in worse shape than I thought after my fight with John L*;ter, however/' Jack continues. TMy ribs were ail smashed up. and i was pretty alck.; • ‘Joim the Barb-%T to As** GunboatSmith,-but the gunner broke a-hand or something else happened to him. and the match didn’t come off.* I couldn't have fought him anyway/ to my condition. . • -.signed ^ _ contract with John the Barber’ for him to look after-my affairs.-'hut that. cohtracfwould never have held ‘. good, because I wsuin’t 6M*e. When-2 :got.GIANTS TAKE TWO.NEW YORK, June 3.—New York overcame Philadelphia's lead in both games yesterdav and -won by scores of 7 to 4 and 9 to 7. Ragan, pitching his first game for the Giants, ..steadied after the eariv innings of the first contest. Philadelphia scored six runs in the opening inning of the second game, but New York overcame this lead In the eighth. Manager Coombs of Philadelphia was put out of the second game for protesting decisions. The scores:The Life Story of Jack DempseyL-First Game.Score by innings: R. H. E.Philadelphia ...120 001 000—4 '7 2 New York ...'.000 220 02x—7 12 4Batteries — Packard and Cady; Ragaii and McCarty.Second Game,ttnb! n' A t t: c iiScore by innings: R. H. E.Philadelphia ...tiOO 001 000—7 11 2New York ----200 101 05x—9 11 -0| Batteries —’ Hogg, Jacobs and i Cady; Causey, Dubuc, Perritt, TYin-j ters and Gonzales, McCarty.REDS BEAT CARDS, 7-4,ST. LOUIS, June 3.—Cincinnati rallied in the eighth, forced Meadows' retirement and drove May. who relieved him from the box. making enough runs to beat St. Louis ir. the first game of the series, 7 to 4, The score:v.PaScore by innings: R. H. E.Cincinnati .....001 01D 041—7 14 2St. Louis ......002 020 000—4 9 2Batteries — Eller. Bressler and Jingo; Meadows, May, Ames and Dilhocfer, Snyder.EyfitlEPilrS;BBV3Sy.alaid up he didn’t come near me or do anything for me, and I was pretty much disgusted and discouraged. Finally, I had to wire my mother for money, and she sentme enough to get home. So I went back to Salt Lake City.”In listening to Jack on his relations with John tho Barber the reader will near 'in mind that it is the Dempsey side only. There is probably a John the Barber side, which doubtless differ a materially from this. In fact, I have a vague recollection of John’s discourse at length on the general topic of how sharper than a serpent/s tooth is an ungrateful fist-swlnger... I don't pretend to say which side tells the correct version. But one thing, even Dempsey will probably give old “John the Barber credit for, and that is his clairvcyancy with reference to Dempsey’s future. John must have seen something in Dempsey, even when he. was getting his pasting from John Lester, to cause him to sigr. Jack to a contract.The only trouble seems to be that John didn’t see far enough ahead. He apparently felt that Jack wac going to be something, but had he visualized how much. “John the Barber”-would doubtless have been sitting at J. Dempeey’s bedside night and day while he wos laid up with these shattered ribs.Back In Salt Lake City again. Jack remained under his mother’s care until that fall. Then 'his ribs healed, and he was matched with Young Hector at Murray, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake. He knocked out Young Hector In the fifth round and got 3300 for his trouble.Hector come from -Salida, Calif., a thriving town up above jLhe historic -Royal Gorge, and iie returned Uiere after being flattened by Dempsey. He got to thinking the matter over, and decided that his defeat was nil wrong and thrft he would llk-s another cha.nce against his slugging fellow Coioradon. He interested the Salida sports, and they went for Dempsey.Jack had now acquired a new pal, or rather had renewed an old pal-ship. Long before be had knocked around Colorado -with A- B. Fisher nicknamed Liz. a railroad fireman whose home was In Pueblo, and. meeting with him again in Salt Lake, he took Xiz” with him to Salida The last heard of “Liz” he was In France.They went-to Salida In some style, as -befitted a pugilist successful! to the extent of $500, and In a skimpilr attended bout Dempsey again stopped Young Hector, this time in two rounds. But he got only .$.90 for the. effort.CCopyright, 1919,. by Damon Runyon).' . .. •USE THE BEST MEDIUM AVAIL ABLE—THE GAZETTE.i-
Newspaper Details
The Evening Gazette
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US
Tue, Jun 03, 1919
Page 1
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USA 27 Sep 2018
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