The San Francisco call., 1897-08-21
Shortly After the Beginning Seventh

Solly assumed his familiar rushing
tactics right from the start and never de-
sisted until his antagonist was lying
senseIess upon the floor. There were times
when he was accused of being over vicious
for hitting in the clinches but Referee
Phil Wand ruled that the blows were not
Intentional fouls and. inasmuch as they
did no damage, could not be taken into
serious consideration. Griffin did not
succeed in landing a blow i'll the first
round, whereas Smiths rushes were highly
productive, as ne landed several heavy
lefts and one right on the body.
The second round passed off with moth.
ing more sensational than a tumble by
Griffin while essaying to give his opponent
the slip when he attempted one of his
rushes. But in the third round the spec
tators saw something that gave them an
idea as to the hitting powers OF that trap
ping little fellow, Smith. The latter was
rushing, as usual, while Griffin was dodg.
ing anu skipping away with the double
purpose of keeping out of harm and catch
ing Smith mapping. He succeeded in
neither. In his fourth consecutive dash
Smith landed a swinging left that
Strengthened Griffin up and left his face
an open target for the cruel right-hand
hook that followed.
The latter blow was so we'll aimed that
it tiattened Griffin out on the broad OF his
back. and caused many to believe that the
end had been reach ed. The victim took
advantage of eight of the ten seconds al
lowed him on the floor before rising. 1t
was jolt that for the moment dazed him,
but once he regained his feet he was a. it
gamely and as determinedly as ever
After that 1t was but one story. 1t was
rush, rush, rush, on Smiths part, and a
losing defensive battle by Griffin. The
crowd sympathized now with the New
Brunswick boy, and cheered him and
urged him to go In and win. Griffin would
but he didu't have it left in him.
The only effective blow he landed on
the doughty little Californian was in the
sixth round, and that was ripping right
over the heart, which caused Smith to
grimace with pain. Had he been able to
repr at this the tide OF battle might have
changed. but be was unequal TO the task.
Griffin was bleeding copiously from a
cash over the right eve and knobs arose
tenance as the result of Smiths vista
tions.
Then came the finish in the seventh.
While the result of the contes was plainly
in view for several rounds, barring the
possibility Of LUCKY punch" still the
end was sudden ana at that time unex-
pected. Griffin was strong enough to
have fought many mora rounds, but a
blow on the point" will finish most any
strong man. Gritfin's seconds were fully
ten minutes reviving him.
The management very thoug b fully pro-
vided something funny for the beginning
of the show. Nick Aronson OF the Man
haitian Club was pitted against somebody
they found called kid" Burns who saws
he halls from New Orleans. Evidently
they have stopped teaching boxing down
in the Crescent City if the kid" is to be
accepted as one OF the latest graduates.
Aronson is not familiar with all the
chapters of tue book on the game himself,
but he demonstrated during those four
rounds that he had picked up enough to
make the New Orleans lad look foolish
Burns boxed like an old woman and had
reason to consider himself fortunate in
escaping from the ring without dislo-
Gated jaw.
After this bit of exhilarating exhibition
came something in the nature OF legiti-
mate curtaIn-ralser. But as an improve
ment on the first turn it was failure 1t
was a 6fteen-round bout between jim
Brown, shiny-skinned, wiry and we'll
conditioned but frightened coIored gl ad-
iator from Oakland, and Patsy Corigan,
the chunky. top-heavy, rd-hitting but
somewhat ancient Australian. Phil Wand
OF the Olympic Club was referee.
1t was Tor the greater part a long-range
battle. This was q disadvantage for or
rIgan on account of his short reach and a
decidedly favorable circumstance for the
very black man. In the first round the
Australian was the aggressor and sue
ceeded IN flooring his dusky opponent
with a well-aimed left swing into the pit
of the stomach.
Brown fought shy after that and seemed
to be afraid to mix with the dumpy man
from the Antipodes. He did get in
and land on CorriGan In the second round
and sent him to his Launches, but the
blow was not particularly damaging. The
gallery did not fancy Brown tactics and
essayed to goad him into action by jeers
and Kisses.
They found it difficult, though, to make
him do other than pose and run away.
Corrigan kept pegging away with his
short arms, and not doing great deal of
execution himself, but doing the best he
could and wearing himself out.
1t was not until the fourth round that
the black man was coaxed into waking up
and then he took every advantage of Cor
rigan's wornout shape by putting in sew
eral sharp swings, which somewhat Jared
the fat man. The last round finished with
an imitation of rush. in which Corrigan
landed some awkward but heavy blows,
while the Oakland Hann nibal could o little
better than jab time or two, and then
run away. Corrigan was given the de-
cision.