Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-07-11
SULLIVAN AND HEENAN.
Good stories Anept the Two Great
Fighters.

During the past few days there hal
been good deal Of talk about the Sulli
vsn-Kilrain fight, and this has brought
out many good stories. The other day
Mr.. Cyrus D. Curtis, of Lamanda, was
in this city, at the Office of r. A. Ling
the attorney. The talk was on the fight
Said Mr.. Curtis: 81 will tell you little
anecdote of John L. Years ago, when
| was youpg-I am now a good ways be.
yond CO. was running sausage factory
in Boston. One day / turned over q
barrel in the establishment, when out
what astonished, asked who owned
them, but no one knew. AT last big
fellow, about Is years old, who was EN-.
ployed to string the sausages, came in,
and, in answer to my inquiry about the
gloves, he stated that they were his
that he had them to practice boxing
with others of the boys when he had a
spare moment, thought was rather
likely young fellow at the time, active
and athletic as most men. also thought
it very foolish for this young
boy to be paying attention to
sparring, and l determined to give him
a lesson that might wean his mind from
such way of passing time. So said to
the boy that he should put on the gloves
with me and would take a lesson, too,
in the manly art. l had no doubt in the
world Of my ability to do that boy up in
short order. | had no such doubt until
after got the gloves on and got up be-
fore the boy. Good heavens how he
did maui me! In five minutes he had
me done up 80 that l would not have
known myself And for week when |
had to go up or down stairs had to hold
my head tight between my hands to keep
it from flviDg to pieces. Who was the
boy? The boy was named John L.
Sullivan"
Here is good one on Heenan. When
the Benicia boy was at the height of his
glory, as handsome as an Apollo, six feet
three inches in stocking feet, 230 pounds
fighting weight. with face like demi-
god, striking blow about twice as ter
rife as Sullivan at his best, and the
acknowledged champion of the
world, he somewhere met Andy
Francisco. Our Andy, the real
estate man of First street. There
was quite gathering around the giant
champion. Andy was the central figure,
after the man who "licked Tom Sayers.
The talk turned on fighting, and on the
relative merits of big and little men.
MIR. Francisco was at that time a jour-
nalist, and, as the small men were get
ting the worst of the argument, with
the gallant spirit for which all men,
hers of the press are distinguished,
and for which Mr.. Francisco is specially
noted, he stood up as the cham pion
OF the sawed-offs and feather weights.
To put an end tc argument, the journalist
said to the pugilist, "See here, John,
sm not in training and you are. You
are larger than l am, but will fight you
on one condition"
YES" said Heenan, "and that is ?"
"That is" replied the little giant of
the Ohio press, that you reduce your
self to my weight"
Big, good d-natured John @. Heenan,
the most gentlemsnly of all the men
who ever ut up his dukes profession
sl,v. laughed loud and long, put his
long arms around the whole crowd and
said =: Come. SSovs, it is my treat"
For the benefit OF those so unfortunate
as not to know Fral cisco, it may be
stated that he weighs 100 paunds-stter
haarty meal