St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-11-09
PUGILIsT ACTORS.
They Played Naturally in the Big
Fight at New Orleans.

| FIgnt at new orleans.
The success achieved by Corbett ant
Sullivan as actors was something OF {
surprise, even to those WHO knew then
best. 1t was easy to understand tina
Sullivan could play tragic roles within
prescribed limits. for there have beer
few more intense tragedies set Oh the
| stage than the one enacted at New Or
leans on the 18th of last September, bu
| that Johu can walk out on the stage
and act with dramatic force Is
something that the theater = go
ing public can scarcely under.
stand. That Corbett can play comedy
| part in way TO bring out sincere ap
| pIause is also a conundrum to those
| who saw the savage fierceness with
which he went at Sullivan In the fight.
Yet both pugilsts have proved that
| there are other things in their natures
than have ever been dreamed Of III the
philosophy of the public. Sullivan
aspires to the tragic and Corbett TO the
| comic. Sullivan's nature runs to Ham
let's, IDgomars and King Richards; Cor
| belts to Goodwinism. Yet these traits
cropped out even in the great fight, as
will be seen in what follows:
On the afternoon of the battle Corbett
played Seven-up with his trainers. The
latter had prepared the game with the
Intention of dlvertlng CorbettS mind
from the coming fight. They were so
nervous themselves they could not keep
track of the cards. Corbett laughed and
talked and won every game. He finally
became disguised with his opponents
poor playing and refused to play any
more. Then he romped with his dog,
with never an apparent thought of the
coming fray. Early in the evening,
when he started FOR the ringside in a
carriage with his heller, he looked out
of the carriage window, saw the dark
walls Of the Olympic club, and began to
sing "Ta-ra-ra DOom-de-ay." There
was not a tremor in his voice. With
him the tight was already as good as
won.
With Sullivan it was somewhat differ
ent He was gloomy ami savage as an
Othello. He was only carrying out the
tragic instinct of his nature. lie had
no fear of the result. He only wanted
to get into the ring, and have the fight
over as quickly as possible. when the
two men faced each other the air OF
tragedy and comedy in their natures
still prevailed. Corbett pranced around
as lightly and gracefully as a Jester.
Sullivan turned slowly and grlmly, with
his face set in a savage sheer. 1t only
wanted one blow of that awful right to
settle the fight. A sudden lunge by
Sullivan, lightning-like jump out Of
harms way by Corbett, and the fight
looked more than ever like a case Of
comedy and tragedy.
"Why don't you fight? You coward,
you sprinter," yelled a Sullivan man
close bY the ringSlde.
"Sh-h-h," said Corbett man quietly,
"he'll fight fast enough for you before
the battle is over"
The second, third and fourth rounds,
with only a few unimp0rtant body
blows. Corbett still smiled as though
he enjoyed it, Sullivan was white TO
the lips with rage. His mouth curled
scornfully. Then in the fifth round he
made a savage lead with his left. Cor
bett ducked airiIy, and the blow went
over his shoulder. At the same time
the fighting comedian swung his lett
and caught Sullivan Squarely on the
nose, cutting it to the bone. In an in
slant the big fellows tace was covered
with blood.
"Ah," said the Corbett man sarcast-
ically. SIS that fast enough for you %
The Sullivan man said nothing. III
the eleventh round Corbelt landed a
heavy blow on Sullivan's stomach.
''That's rather low" said the big fell
low, don't take any advantage"
This one will be higher" said Cor
bett, with smile. Then he drove his
fist with savage energy into the big fell
lows stomach. In the twelfth round
COrbett landed a hard rap Oh Sulllvan'S
chin.
That was good one," said Sullivan
with bloody grin.
at is not marker to this one," re-
Piled Corbett, driving his glove once
more against Johns chin.
So the fight went on round by round,
the fighters still carrying out their in
stincts of comedy and tragedy. The
climax came in the tWenty-first round
with the fall of Sullivan. Then, as the
fallen gladiator lay daZed and bleeding
on the ground, COrbett capered around
the ring hugging his friends and laugh
ing with delight. In the general melee
a crazy individual clambered through
the ropes and threw his arms around
COrbett Jim did not know the man,
but he Rugged back again with ferY0r.
Then two policemen grabbed the in
truder and fired him over the ropes far
into the crowd. He lit cheering for
COrbett
Half an hour after the fight C0rbett
lay on sofa in his room talking to Bat
Matterson and Bill Delaney, his trainer.
The latter were fighting the battle over
again. Presently they heard loud
Corr woosh" from the sofa. Corbett
WAS fast asleep, and this. too, not three
quarters of an hour after the fight. This
utter confidence in Corbett'S nature
amounts almost to carelesSneSs. Not
one of his seconds slept that night; they
were borne down with the burden of
heavy dreams about uppercuts, cross
counters and the general paraphernalia
of great fight. Yet Corbett Slept.
Anybody who has seen Corbett in his
new play can easily see that the comedy
instinct prevails in his nature. Sulli-
vans instinct is in the opposite direc-
ton. His mind runs to the heroic.
visited the theater where Kyrle Bellew
and Mrs. James Brown Potter were
playing "Romeo and Juliet" After
eyelng the play critically through two
acts. Sullivan turned to a friend and
said
That little cuss doesn't weigh very
much, but he is pretty fair sort of an
actor after all. would like to try that
part myself"
Imagine the big fellow as Romeo" if
you can. IL is strange fact that the
people who go to see Corbett and Sulli-
van as pugilists regard them as actors
before the curtain falls.
Let the pugilistic champion belt of
the world be kept i'll the actors profess
sion.
Returns from every precinct izl
the city that have been counted
up to 10 a. En-. WIFI be published
i'm full in tIae 1880 edition Of the