The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-01-04
TIE RICHEST CLUB IN EXISTENCE
How Aiflionaires and Sluggers Meet in
the California Athletic Circle.

Anglo-Sax5n athletes, and which. it is be-
iievei. VIII result in a practical interchange
Of membership between the two greatest
sporting clu Of the worli-the California
Athletic Club Of San Francisco aud the
Pelican Club OF London. Everybody
familiar with the great events In the
recent history of pugllism on the American
I Continent has heard Of the California
Athletic Club 4 San Francisco. deServedly
described as ''the richest club IN the
world, ana Of tie enormous sums
II has raid out in prizes TO the
/ successful fighters in its Contests II pu-
Z gllisn has an abiding place at present IN the
lanl Of Sullivan, RYAN, Edwards, Goss,
I and Chambers. that place must be IN the
. famous san Francisco organization, which
has membership Of loo, Of whom IL Is
/ said the average wealth IS from SlOJ,OJO 70
I S2j0,0l1. Mai. Mclaughlin, one OF the
III LIST active ana influential members of the
/ board Of directors, went to London with
, letters OF Introduction To Lord II1nsdale of
/ the Pelic N club, and George Atkinson OF
I Sporting Life Whatever aid these
| and Otaer representative English
/ sporting men can give 70 the
/ a-Ors plan to make the California Ath-
| letic the N st complete and influential body
/ f Us kind in the world will be sought and
| appreciated. and sought too under the most
/ favorable auspices Mclaughlin is'the sort
OF a man 20 appeal to your athlete, being
| himself 'no SLOUGH" with the gloves, and
| broad as to shoulder, keen of eye, and
quick in thought and action.
The Pelican club mel may be able to
1 give the major hint OF an easy way to
run real restaurant and bar without
| bringing the boobies down on the club, and
other suggestions which the California
athletes will want to put in force when
| they get into their new club house. It would
not surprise the knowing ones. indeed, if
the plans Of the Californians' new club
house would be practically decided on
while Major Mclaughlin is abroad. 1t is
| certain that there will be a new club house
in a very short time, and if the site has not
| yet been announced it is TO- bust ness reasons
which can have no protracted lease OF life
The club house Of the California Ath-
letic', in which $4,000 in purses have been
| paid over in the past fourteen months to
crack fist fighters, is on New Montgomery
street, in the center of the city, and within
| three blocks of the Palace hotel The new
CLUB house will be not far away from the
old building, which was formerly an
armory 1t is three stories high, the ground
| floor being occupied entirely by stores.
| Going up the maiu stairway TO
the second floor the visitor sees
before him great gymnasium-one of the
most complete in the worId-and equipped
with the best apparatus of all kinds that
money can buy or skill suggest. In the
vast nall for physical exercise ], 800 people
| may at one time stretch their muscles, put
a new glow into their circulation, row. run,
SWING from rings, and ply tho bar, trapeze.
foils aud gloves. At the further extremity
and on either side of the apartment are
billiard rooms, private sleeping and sitting
| rooms, bathrooms and clothes lockers. AS
cending to the third floor one enters a mag
niticent exercising room, lighted artistically
and perfectly, and open to the sea breeZes
| from over the bay.
Here at various hours of the day may be
| found the leaders of the San Francisco bar,
| pulpit, clinic exchange and counting room.
To get in, too, they must belong regularly
to the club. So rigid are the rules about
the introduction Of strangers for any pur-
| pose whatever that on the nights of "cOn-
tests'-the delicate club euphemism for
| fghts-the president ard four of tne
! directors stand on the stairway and scruti-
uize the face of every person claiming ad-
mission, however well provided he may be
with tickets The Mob Hill wags
say that half the members don't
know eacn other, and that Presi-
| dent Fulda speaks to 'em all on general
| principles, trusting to luck that they are
members. But the stern sense OF duty to
| themselves and to their club which ami
mates these five ceusorS eau only be appre-
| ciated when one remembers that Judges of
the supreme court have to be a little par
ticular about the company they keep since
a San Franciscan shot at Justice Field, and
for a supreme court judge to miss a real
good "contest"-the judges particularly
always call 'em "contestsn-au the Califor-
MIA club, would be, in the very best circles
of San Francisco, almost equivalent to self
Impeachment.
MILLIoNAIRES AT A PRIZE FIGHT.
81 have seen at meeting of the club, said
Maj. Mclaughlin, George Hearst, Senator
Fair, John w. Mackey, Gov. &c rye c..
Perkins, Banker Brown, OF the Bank of
| California, and all the big judges, lawyers,
and doctors you'd care to COUNT
Chow about the chief of police. majors?
asked, having in mind how an inspector
of police walked up the Pelican stairs in
| London the night of the Peter Jackson-Jem
Smith fight. "Of course" said the major,
che was there; he never misses one-that
| is, "a contest. There is tradition that the
chief of police Of San Francisco is ex-officio
a member of the California club, and the
| sheriff is a real member, whenever he is a
| good fellow and doesn't get blackballed All
| OF which may have something to do with
| the clubs immunity, not to speak of the
| immunity Of its guests, from such harsh
| processes Of law as John L. Sullivan aud
! Jake kilraln were at one time supposed
to be in danger of way down in Missis
sipPi;;'
mo contest at the club has ever been in
any way interfered with by the law" the
major continued, and thought of what
would happen to the rash police officer who
| broke in on prize fight at which his chief
WAS an interested witness brought smile
to the cheek of his listener. "lYhile some
| of the best f. contests ever seen have
been fought in the clubs presence, no f.
! contestant has ever been seriously injured.
You ought to see President Fulda If you
! want to get al idea of an able and cease
| lessly vigilant club officer. He keeps the
| entire California club right under his eve
and from the wardrobes and janitors de.
| partment on the third floor to the very
| guardrail at the foot of the stairs Mr. Fulda
knows just what is going on and why. He
Is a big lumber dealer, besides, and attends
| all the while to his own business. And with
| all the peculiar characteristics which have
made it famous, it must not be forgotten
| that the California Athletic Club is as much
! a private club, as much the home and cas-
| tie of its members, as is the Union or any
| club you have here in New York.
How do you manage t. avoid the penal
ties of the law against prize fighting!n
well, We are licensed by the city au-
thorities, to whom we pay $1,000 a year
and the board of supervisors expressly
authorize US to have private contests to
finish"
If this is practicable in San Francisco