The San Francisco call., 1897-01-28
SHARKEY KNOCKED
OUT IN ONE ROUND
Justice Carroll Did the
Act and Softly
Smiled.
The Issue Was the Payment of
George Aliens Claim for
Services.
This Was Decided in Favor of AlltI
for the Full Amount Claimed
for Training.

Tom Sharkey, the pugilist, has been
knocked out. The act was performed by
a small man, who mad no gloves on at the
time. This small man is compact and
trim and wiry. The remarkable thing
about the whole affair really is that when
Sharkev was knocked out the small man
was sitting and had pen in his stout
right fist. Several spectators were there.
The small man was Justice of the Peace
John A Carroll. Before him for consid-
Grafton was the case of Rauer against
Thomas J. Sharkey. The way Rauer
came to be the plaintiff was that George
Allen, who prepared Sharkey for his fstic
encounter with "Lanky Bob" Fitzsim-
mons, and who claimed that he had never
been fully paid for his services, assigned
his claim TO Rauer. Thereby the knotty
question came before Justice Carroll as to
whether assisting pugilist to engage in
fistic encounter was participation in an
unlawful act. Of course if the act was un-
lawful there would be no recovery at law.
Sharkey's counsel propelled this Ques-
ton at Rauer, who as assignee, sat imper-
turbably by, and il came with the force of
a catapultic blow from Bob's good right"
But it did not land.
self in a struggle with the legal question,
for there was no question concerning the
perform ance of the alleged service. Then
he wrote the following decision, which set
tied Sharkey in one round:
This is an action brought byplaintif to recover
the sum I $299 SO, alleged to be due for work
and labor performed and serV ices rendered
by one George Allen, the assignor OF the plain
tiff, in and about the training OF the de-
fendant for certain glove contest with one
Robert Fl tZsimmons.
1t is urged with much emphasis, by the at
torney for the defendant, that no recovery
can be had in this action, inasmu UGH as the
services which were performed by the de-
fendanJ were unlawful, for the reason that
said services were rendered the defendant for
a ''fstic encounter" and that such contests
are prohibited by statute.
have no doubt that this rule would apply
if the assignor were principal to the so-called
''fstic encounter" as is claimed by the de-
fendant but in the case al bar the assignor
was simply servant to perform certain du-
ties for defendant Ii this so-called ''istic en-
counter had never taken place, could the q ues-
tion of q violation OF the statute then be
raised?
1t has been decided by our Supreme Court
that horse-racing is contrary to public morals,
but there are numerous decisions which hold
that the trainer OF racehorse and the jockey
who rode him were entitled to recover for
their services, and l am of opinion that the
same rule applies to this action, and that the
plaintiff herein is entitled to recover.
The only question then to be determined is
the amount of damages to which the plaintiff
is entitled. The defendant does not deny that
Allen worked for him for the time specified
but he claims that he paid Allen the sum of
5000, and this amount he claims was sufficient
for his services
Danny Needham, Jimmy Carroll, Billy
Smith, and some other pugilists of less note,
testified to the value OF services rendered by
Allen, and there seems To be d consensus of
opinion that the sum OF $500 would be very
reasonable amount for the services rendered;
and as no evidence has been offered to con-
tradict this testimony, I must be governed by
it. 1t is therefore ordered that judgment be
entered in favor of The plain tiff as prayed.
When the body blow had been admin
istered Justice Carroll leaned back and
smiled contentedly.