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A TALE OF TWO FISTSThe Life Story of Jack DempseyA K. O. BY JIM FLYNN.IIt detracts nothing from what Jim Flynn was in his day to sugg«*t that there was something queer about his first match with Jack Dempsey.. ■That occurred at Murray, Utah, that suburb of Salt Lake City which I have mentioned before, and I have had several versions of the af-fair. Nona of them' came from Dempsey, howovor. Ho talks very little about that.matter, and he has reason for reticence on the subject. It docs not reflect 'much credit on him, whatever the clronmBtancea.They thought right well of Jack’s fistic ability around Utah about then, and I have heard that the Dempscy-Flynn arrangement was a sort* of killing directed against the homo guard. • Certainly no one thought Flynn could stop the rugged young Dem pney.Another vei*s!on that has come to me Ja that Dempsey was In some sort of Jam. and they put It up -to him—they being - the manipulators of the event—that the only way he could extricate himself was by not winning that fight with Flynn. All this sounds vague, and involved, but I have never talked with- anyone who had anything moro than vague and involved Information In tho premises.•BUIy Roche, the famous. old referee, who has been with the A. E. F. In France and Germany l’or some months past, putting on boxing shows for the soldiers, refereed tho fight. It-was Billy Roche, who,, as I have narrated, brought the first news of Dempsey east, and predicted a big. future for Jack. That, of course, was before the Flynn fight.It Is said Dempsey got S300 for his end of the affair. I know a man who claims to have held the money contingent, and paid the money over to Dempsey. It must be Raid for Jack that he delivered quickly, if it is true/ as alleged, that ’he* wasdelivering. ....._ Flynn hit-him on the chin-in the first round. Down went Jack like the proverbial log, and Billy Roche,I with a singular expression on his countenance, counted ten. The populace murmured: Weil, well!Who'd a-thunk It? Any gentlemenwnou a-tnunK it?“ Any gentlemen went to Seattle and go1who chanced to. have a bet on James ' f, *?ob in a . shipyard- He worked collected, and. everybody' went their i f for threo months, lavarious wavo boring hard and living quietly, ancvarious ways.- A follow was telling mo ‘ that cagey old J. Flynn was.a little bit skeptical about.anybody lotting him hit ’em on the chlnsky even after they got ’ In the ring. James had been hit that placo so often himself that n reversal. ot tho usual order seemed too good to be true.This .fellow was telling me that as he burrowed hia bean behind his shoulder, in that old characteristic attitude of' hia. and squinted an .eye along his extended left, like a man aiming a fowling piece, Jame3 aslcor a question.“Is It ail. right, Jack? he whispered, huskily—so. my man. tells me; “la ,it all right now?And Jack indicated, apparently, that it.was all right the first time Jim landed.So much ’ for that one. I see no reason for exculpating 'Dempsey -.if the thing was screwey, but • I must say I am always heartily in favor of Jim Flynn winning fights, no matter how ho does It. For Jim Is my Xellow-townio. and my friend, and he has. accepted enough thumpings In his time .to be absolved for-evermore. ......Quite a white after tho * Murray, meeting, Dempsey caught him over in Fort Sheridan, and chucked him under the cbindn tho opening round, but I .don't esteem that so much to brag about. Jim had then receded some’ even from his Murray form. He was a. good old wagon, but they con t go on always, x There was no particular holier over the Murray matter at the time, or for some tlmo afterwards, ana Dompsey - went to ^Oakland, Ca2.. with Fred WInaor, ■ a promoter and - -■ .---- ; -----1 — h« vuiwkoi ivi*u walked four men. The piar\tlt;5 tr*nHtolSX T^,£e?lei; SMSS*. uf.hL” Wld/ess and ran iHis..first match, on the. Pacific coast was with A1 Norton. That was at the-four-round game now prevalent In those parts, and tho first bout was draw.. , .They were rematched, and fought another draw. • Dompsey was then hooked up with Willie Meohan, and lost a decision. .Oddly enough, Meehan holds two decisions over Jack, and It Is the Coloradan’s failure. to stop Willie that has caused some people* to doubt his ability to lick Willard.'Meehan may be' a better fighter ! elder.than most fistic experts are willing to admit, which may bo the- reason Dompsey has been unable to stop him. but his style is . certainly bizarre. His fighting at first impresses one as more clowning than anything else. It is that very style that mokes him hard to beat.He runs, falls, gets behind a man, slaps and generally cavort3 about in a most astonishing manner, but all tho time ho aeemc to be scoring points. Around the east they do not credit -Willie .with any class, none the less.a couple of western referees have. awarded him verdicts over Dempsey.His showing against Meehan disgusted Dempsey, and also disgusted a lot of folks who eaw it. They allowed that he couldn’t fight, and . never would be able to fight, and Dempsey came to the conclusion they were about right.Meantime he had run into1 Jack Reams. Jack lmd been doing a bit of dabbling In the wrestling game prior to that time, and wan interested In. a big match which took place in San Francisco. His associates in the affair carelessly walked out on Jack with most of the Hough, leaving him holding a large.sack, so ho was thoughtfully turing his attention to boxing, his ueal forte, again.•Tack had a little fellow named Red Aauion in training, and he noticed a big, burly bird around the gym wncro Watson was worglna. who was doing his best to box, but making no headway. This was Dempsey. Kearns rather liked his makeup, but his esthetic soul- revolted at Dempsey's style.Step around, why don't you?” he remarked, and Dompsey got to stepping. That ndvice marked his first real Improvement os a boxer. Incidentally, It marked the beginning of his association with Kearns.After the *Meehan affair, which seems to havo temporarily “dutchod Dempsey as an attraction, our hero told Kearns of his determination to quit boxing, and Kearns wagged his head affirmatively.“Yes, you'd better quit awhilo, ho advised. Go away somewhere, and rest us. and then wo’ll see what can be done.”•Dempsey went to Seattle and gotw __-- ,U1Ufinally Keans sent for .him to return to Oakland to meet Meehan again.I think T beat him good that time, says Jack. I had him hang, lng^ on the ropes at the finish.Kearns nods his head solemnly.. Then Dempsey knocked All Norton kicking in the first minute of the flm round. Next he boat Bob McAJist.er, a fast-moving fellow, who was licked by Miko Gibbons In NP'.v York, a knockout of Charley Miller in a round'followed.Dempsey waa coming on. Copyright, 3 919, by Damon Runyon.Giants Defeat Denecke Team By Score 9 to 4The, Colored Giants defeated thi Denecke team at Ellis park yes ter day afternoon by the score of 9 to 4 The game was witnessed by a crowc estimated at 1.G00. The Denecklt; team, took the lead at' the start ‘ant chalked up one run each in the firsi four-frames. After that they Wert held scoreless. The Giants went intc action in the fourth and obtained ontrun. Thoy wore held blank in tht next frame. Three more runs were obtained In the sixth, evening up thf score. Radabaugh aviated in th€ sixth and he was succeeded by Lin dernan. .p'he giants were unable tc score in the seventh and eighth but in the ninth Lindeman was wild andEfive tallies clinching the game.Tho game was a good clean con test and is the first of a-series, tha wDl be played between the tw. teams. The giants lived up to the! to/ the fastest-team in th.city by their victory over the strom Denecke team which is composed o several former league players.Quants ......0 0 0 10 3 0 0 5—9 5 5Denecke ;... .11 1 1 0 0 0 0 0—I 12 « Batteries: Giants—Nievas and Hel lenthal; Denecke—Radabaugh. Lindernan and Nelson. Umpire. Batch
Newspaper Details
The Evening Gazette
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US
Mon, Jun 09, 1919
Page 2
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 27 Sep 2018
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