The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-11-27
CROOKED RING FIGHTS
WERE MORE NUMEROUS UNDER
THE OLD RULES OF THE
LONDON PRIZE RING
KEENAN, AND SAVERS FIAsC0


In the AIIen-Goss Fight i'm Ken
tucky-VaI McKinney's Queer
Observation-Disclosures Fight
Was Not for Side Bet.
The prize ring has not been as free
from "barneys" as one would suppose
without taking a peep at the records.
The recent f1asco in New York, in
which James j. Corbett and Thomas
| Sharkey were the principals, has re-
| yived public interest in that direction.
and resume of the crooked doings in
the squared circle should be enter
tanning. Corbett's career had not been
free from faint prior to the Sharkey
AFFAIR. He deceived the public in the
| Mitchell battle by having freely adver-
tised the statement that there was a
side bet between the men, when at Cor
Eetts suggestion the $4,000 a side that
was up originally was drawn down
prior to the fight. In the Fitzsimmons
match Corbett insisted upon an ar
Iangement whereby he could not lose
financially, If he did physically. He re-
fused to meet Mccoy unless the purse
was split-in fact, Corbett never en-
| gagged in but one battle where he was
| compelled to take chances to lose all,
and that was with John L. Sullivan at
| New Orleans on the night of Sept z,
1892. Sullivan would not entertain
proposition that was not strictly ION
| the level"
KEENAN, AND SAVERS.
| While there had been many a bar
ney" in the prize ring prior to the
memorable meetings between John c.
Heenan and Tom Sayers, the English
champion, yet that affair was the first
to arouse wave of indignation among
ring followers. That Heenan was job
bed no Englishman will to this day
admit, yet there is not the slightest
| doubt that had the battle gone to a
| conclusion Heenan would have Won
The referee was Savers follower and
was objected to by the American con-
! tirgent, but without avail. When the
crowd broke into the ring Sayers was
practically beaten, and the referee
found 1t convenient to disappear. There
was no decision, but Heenan should
| have won. That was the first fiasco
| in which British and American fight
ers were pitted against each other. The
| two battles between Tom Crib and
the big black, Molyneaux, were among
the most desperate ever contested in
the prize ring, and the Englishman won
both; he won fairly, and was as gen
ercusly complimented by American as
he was by English sports.
ALLEN AND GOSs.
Tom Allen, who was unquestionably
a great fighter in his day, was per-
haps the most unfortunate of all gladi-
| atcrs in getting the worst Of ring de-
cisions. In his second battle with
| Charley Gallagher he beat his acct
dental conQueror to q standstill, and
! the referee Val Mckinney for reasons
that have never been explained, de-
clered the contest q draw. So COM
plete was Aliens victory on that oc-
casion that the majority Of ring fol-
| lowers to this day have an idea that
Allen has to his credit, on the record.
win over Gallagher. A glance at the
record will disabuse them Of that err
ror. Possibly the most fragrant swim
die ever perpetrated upon Allen and
his hacker was in the battle with Joe
| Goss, over in Kentucky. Col. Fred
Watkins. who died some few years
since in st. Louis, was the lifetime
| hacker of Allen. In the Allen-Goss
! fight Col. Watkins had furnished AL
| lens stake. The Eph Holland gang
ran the machine at that battle and not
| satisfied with getting the stake money
put up a job on Watkins by which
they added $1,000 to their ill-gotten
gains While the fight was In prog
ress and Allen away in the lead, one of
the gang rushed over to Aliens cor
ner and, flashing a 'phony'' roll, con-
tanning a dollar bill and a wad Of
| brown paper, bet Watkins 81 900 that
| Goss would win. Col. Watkins put up
the cash-and lost it-against practi-
| C6lly nothing.
SMITH AND SLAvIN.
Jem Smith. the alleged champion of
England, had a following that would
put to the blush the "Brummagen
gang" Smith and Paddy Slavin fought
with bare knuckles, London rules, ana
! Slavin's pluck alone saved him from a
bare-faced robbery. He was subject
ed to all sorts of indignities by the
! mob that surrounded the ringside, but
he pluckily fought back until he won
the admiration Of a majority Of the
| toughs and finally got the decision. It
was fully intended to Job" Slavin, and
the attempt would have succeeded I'M
der ordinary circumstances. Tom AL
| len had similar experience in his bat
tie with Ben Hogan, near Omaha, back
In the '70s. Hogan was not in 1t with
Allen, but the crowd had their money
on the man who afterward turned
evangelist, and was determined Allen
should not win. The ring was broken
into, but Allen paid no attention to
that incident and went right after his
man, though covered by guns, and
Knocked out Hogan so completely that
the referee was compelled to give him
the decision.
LA BLANCHE AND HERGET.
There resides in San Francisco today
man who once gave promise Of be-
| coming an aspirant for the middle
weight championship, whose career
| was cut short by a barney that also
ruined the bright prospects OF George
| La Blanche, the once conqueror of
Jack Dempsey. His name is John
| Herget, but he was known in the ring
| as Young Mitchell" owing to his
| marked resemblance, in style at least.
| to the English boxer. The La Blanche
Herget affair was intended to be one
| of the most gigantic swindles ever per-
| petrated In the ring. To Herget's cred
| 1t, be it said, 1t has not been shown
| that he was a party to Ii. La Blanche
! was big favorite. AS In the Corbett-
| Sharkey fiasco, money was sent all
| over the country by the men who were
| in the deal, to be wager on Herget
The job was exposed IN a peculiar
way. A telegram was sent to a San
| Francisco sport to get his money down
on Herget, and in the telegram 1t was
made as clear as necessary that the
affair was fixed" for Herget to win.
That telegram fell into hands for
which it was not intended. and the Zig
was up. La Blanche first Indignantly
denied, but. when confronted with the
evidence, broke down and confessed.
He went to the bad. and not long since
was picked up on road in New York
nj sent RI a cha T1fu haSpff11