The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-23

ferent sporting centers.
Weeks ago, when the tickets for seats
were first put on sale, the shrewd people
who lived quite long distance from this
city either wrote or wired for seats to be
reserved and by doing so they saved them
selves a lot of trouble on their arrival here
Those who saw far enough ahead to do this
were only n comparative few, however, and
in the past few days there was lively
scramble to secure good seats. To-day not
seat was to be had at the clubhouse after
~ o'clock. and those who had not made
early provisions had to pay exorbitant
prices to the wide-awake spectators. Tick
cts for seats in the immediate vicinity of the
ring brought fabulous prices tonight The
original cost of these pasteboards was $50
each, but tonight twice that sum could not
purchase one Of them and in two instances
they brought 800 apiece The other tickets,
costing from s. to SO, brought prices in
creased two and three fold, and the club
management did not put any of the SO adj
mission tickets on sale. The anxious sports
who clamored at the entrances gladly paid
s. and, in many cases, IS, for the privilege
of standing up at the extreme ends of the
building.
The clubhouse is not very well adapted
for a pugilistc encounter as it is long and
narrow having been built for an ice skat-
ing rink The ring is pitched in the center
of the house and the boxes are built around
it. On each end of the box Enclosure tier
upon tier of chairs are ranged on a gradu-
ally inclined structure, which very nearly
touches the roof of the building at both
ends Along each side of the structure are
long galleries running nearly the entire
length of the house and these elevated
places were partitioned into small boxes,
which were considered the best possible
places of vantage.
DOORS OPENED AT p. NJ.
The doors of the big building were thrown
open shortly after O'clock. At that early
hour hundreds of people were waiting pa
tiently in front of the clubhouse on Lex
ington avenue. As soon as the first corners
passed through the turnsties others took
their places on the outside and this contin-
ued for over three hours. The crowds were
kept in check by large force of police.
While the crowd was a large one, it was
never beyond the control of the police and
in fact was not as dense as the authorities
| expected. Inside the building all was bus
tie and excitement, but at o'clock the
house was scarcely half filled. This was
easily accounted for by the fact that as the
big event was not scheduled to take place
until 10 o'clock, the holders of coupons for
reserved seats were in no hurry to get up
town to be cooped up for any unnecessary
length of time
The gambling instinct which is a neces-
sary adjunct to all manner of 1stic contests
was in evidence as soon as the sports be-
gan to gather in the boxes. Corbetts stock
was always in preference and the odds on
the Californian opened at 100 to so. The bet
ting did not take on lively a turn as on
former occasions when fighters of less note
have met in this arena. So much betting
had been done during the last forty-eight
hours, however in the sporting resorts
throughout the city that the slackness of
the wagering on the spot did not indicate
any loss of interest in the heavyweight
bout.
By half past S o'clock nearly every seat
in the house was occupied. Bankers and
brokers of prominence, lawyers of note and
business men, representing nearly every
phase of trade mingled with well-known
politicians and held animated conversations
In close proximity to the rngside One
well-knoWn, member of the Produce Ex-
change took the Sharkey end of one of the
largest wagers of the night, which was
$3.50 TO $I,300 Corbett. Joe Vendig laid
the odds on the Californian.
The first Of the two preliminary bouts was
begun at s:45 o'clock The principals were
two local boxers, Jack Sullivan and Charley
Schultz, who were announced to go ten
rounds at 135 pounds. This proved to be a
smuggling match, totally devoid of science
1t was full of ginger, however. and amused
the spectators. The men had hardly shaped
themselves for the seventh round when
Schultz put over a straight right-hand
smash full on Sullivan's jaw, which put him
down and practically out. The referee,
Charley White, then humanely stopped the
bout and declared Schultz the winner.
KID MCCOY PUT OUT.
During the progress of the bout there was
commotion in a box at the ringsde. Kid
Mccoy, the pugilist, who is to meet Peter
Maher at Coney island next month, had
gained admission to the arena disguised
with false black whiskers and mustache
Some days ago Tom O'Rourke, manager of
the club, forbade Mccoy the privilege of
entering the clubhouse, although the Kid
had been engaged by morning newspaper
to write the story of the big fight. care
full watch was kept by the men on the door
so that he could not get in, but he cleverly
baffled the vigilance with his disguise. As
soon as he took his seat at the ringside
Mccoy was recognized and he removed his
Eirsute appendages.
Detective Sergeant Armstrong ordered
Mccoy to leave the building, but the Kid
refused. Then Armstrong and Detective
Mulholiand urged Mccoy to leave and
caught him by the arms, at the same time
pushing him through the crowd Mccoy
left very reluctantly, protesting as he went
The officers left Mccoy at the entrance to
the building and he walked out on Lexing-
ton avenue. AS he passed each door on his
way out Mccoy demanded a passout check
and was accommodated. The incident
caused a good deal of excitement but the
spectators soon settled back in their seats
and forgot the little episode
The second preliminary bout brought
kid" Harris of Chicago, and Charley Ro-
den, of Jersey City together. They boxed
at los pounds. Harris had the advantage
in height and reach, but Roden made up for
this disadvantage with a wonderful supply
of pluck and aggressiveness. Roden was
overmatched from the start. In the ninth
round Harris about knocked him off his
feet with right cross on the jaw. Harris
then went after his man and had him reel
ing when the gong sounded with lefts and
rights on both jaws. When Roden went to
his corner it was found that his jaw was
broken, and Charley White stopped the
bout then and there and awarded the fight