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[Special Washington Letter.]ANY persons are puzzled by the strong hokl which John Lawrence Sullivan has upon the popular imagination. In this regard ho reminds one of Napoleon. John L. is far and away the most popular pugilist that over lived and the greatest. If ho had never gone up so frequently and so enthusiastically against John Barleycorn, whom no man can conquer, Sullivan could have held the world’s heavyweight championship till he was fifty and then could have retired as emeritus champion. Talk about Jeffries’ guard, which nobody can break down and through! When in Ills prime Sullivan would have broken the Jeffries guard by breaking the Jeffries arm if need be. But I did not start to write a lt;eulogy on John’s fistic* ability, but to I account for his amazing and enduring j popularity and to draw a lesson from I it which may be applied to many per-! sons besides gladiators. The secret of the widespread affection for him—for that is what the general feeling conics to in his case, affection—is that he was a square man, or, as he puts it, he fought on the level. That’s John L.’s phrasing of President Roosevelt's“square deal.” Sully was simply a bruiser, but all the money now In circulation would not have induced him to “throw a fight.” When he entered the ring all men know that lie would win if victory were possible. That was his idea of the ethics of pugilism and challenged the admiration of many good men who condemned pugilism in toto. If men In all the walks of 1 iTo— especially In public place—had as high a code of ethics as Sullivan and always were “on the level.” what an improvement there would be in this old world, so full of strategy and spoil! Thousands of men have better headpieces than “the immortal Sully.” but none— no. not one—has a bettor rule of conduct than “fighting on the level.”
Newspaper Details
Dispatch Democrat
Ukiah, California, US
Fri, Mar 01, 1907
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
John H.
IL, USA 11 Dec 2016
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