Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-01-25

ing flash of recognition to their faces
Not one of the sporting fraternity, how
ever, would be ignorant of the records of
John l.. Sullivan, Jake kilrain, Charley
Mitchell, Jim Corbett, Martin Costello and
other shining lights of the ring, and yet
Messrs. Matthews, Lowry, Nichols and
Mitchell, who probably never donned five
ounce glove in their lives, have one or an
other at different times struck terror to the
hearts of all the fistic heroes mentioned
not even excepting the mighty Corbett and
the erstwhile mighty Sullivan.
If the word governor is prefiXed to the
names of Matthews of Indiana, Lowry of
Mississippi, Nichols of Louisiana and Mitch
ell of Florida, however, their records at
once become we'll known to every sport in
the land. Each of these governors has
proved himself to be u very creditable two
handed ligh er when his ire is aroused and
if one of them essayed an uppercut with
his mighty left-the state militia-Or
cross counter with his formidable right
the law-he was pretty sure to get in
knockout blow somewhere on his pugilistic
opponents anatomy.
Governor Henry l.. Mitchell of Florida
has for some time past attracted more at
tention than either Corbett or Mitchell al
though both We're busily training in his
state for their fight for the championship
of the world. The reason why the governor
was such a superior object of interest was
that he, too, according to his own state
ment, was getting into form to knock both
of the pugilsts out.
A few months ago Governor Claude Mat
thews was the cynosure of all eyes with
sporting blood in them, because he was
proving himself to be hurricane fighter of
the first class. He was calling out the mill
tia of Indiana every few days and getting
in knockout blows that made the teeth of
the Columbian Athletic clubs officials rat
tie. He was such tireless gubernatorial
"slugger" that it took him only a few
rounds to give the fighters at Roby their
quietus. They still come up to the scratch
occasionally, but they are we'll winded and
in wretched form.
There are no more fights at Roby, and as
several pugilists who fought in the Column
bian clubs arena have since been sentenced
to the jails of the state for the offense, it is
safe to say in the language of the tradi-
tional Irishman that the Roby club is dead,
although it may not be ''sinsihle av it,"
Francis L. Nichols drove Sullivan and
Kilrain out of Louisiana in 1899 when he
was governor of the state and when the
pugilists had announced their intention of
giving an exhibition of the manly art in
New Orleans About the time the fight was
scheduled to come off the governor seemed
in such fine fettle that Sullivan and Kilrain
concluded that Mississippi would prove q
better battle-ground for them.
Two special trains loaded with merchants,
lawyers, capitalists. turfmen, gamblers and
all round sports, and with the rarest assert
ment of pickpOckets, thugs and eX-convicts
riding on the trucks and on top of the cars
to escape paying the $40 fare, ran up to
Richburg. Miss, where the ring had been
erected. The sheriff of the county did moth
ing but command the fighters to keep peace,
and the 25 armed men Governor Lowry had
stationed at the state line were passed in
derision at so miles an hour.
The fight came off as scheduled, and al
though the governor had offered a reward
of 81 900 for the arrest of Sullivan and Xii,
rain, both escaped north. AT the time it
looked very much as though Governor
Lowry had been knocked out, but his stay
Ing powers proved rather surprising, anu
the length of reach he suddenly developed
demonstrated that he was still very much
in the ring. He shot out his long right, and
it never stopped frightening out like Il
pugilistic telescope until it had landed with
effect on Sullivan, who had fled as far north
as Nashville. Eight officers with drawn
revolvers arrested Sullivan in that city and
Jailed him to await eXtradition papers from
Mississippi, but his lawyers got him out
with a writ Of habeas corpus, and after
parting with 1900 i'll legal fees and other
expenses John j.. continued on to New
York free, but not exactly rejoicing. Tenn
porariay batfled, Governor Lowry at once
reached for Sul!i ;lin, had him arrest