The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-03
new and OLD BOXERS
BILL EDWARDS, THE ONCE FAMOUS
LIGHTWEIGHT, CAN SEE NO
MARKED PROGRESS
KNOCKOUT BLOWS NOT NEW

Pugilists of the Days of Bare
Knuckles Knew of the Vital Spots
of IN Adversary's Anatomy, But
Dared Not Risk Chances of Break
ing Their Hands-Ned O'BaIdw1n,
"The Irish Giant"
Billy Edwards, once famous as light
weight boXer-or, rather, as it was put
in his day, fighter-writes entertainingly
in an Eastern paper of the ring Of to-
day and long ago. Edwards asserts that
there has been no progress in the manly
art of self defense, 30 far as skill is con-
cerned-says that the men who fought on
the turf with the raw 'uns were fully as
clever as those who today have their
hands encased in f1ve-ounce mitts. 1t
must be conceded that Edwards was
clever. I was a youngster in the days
when Billy Edwards, then referred to as
1.-The druggists Clerk owing to his ca
daVerous appearance, and Arthur Cham
bers were the kings of the ring in their
class. Edwards and Chambers were
rivals, and the battles they fought were
of the sensational order. Edwards was
built on the Fitzsimmons plan-Chambers
a Ia Sullivan, in miniature. Edwards
was far more scientific a boxer than was
Chambers, but the men never met in the
ring but what each knew he had been
in battle
..s FAMOUS OLD-TIMERS.
Edwards names Ned O'Baldwin, 1.-The
Irish giant as the greatest of the
heavyweights of thirty years or more.
ago. O'BaIdwIn stood feet inches, and
was developed in proportion, and yet he
gained no great reputation in the ring
for the reason that he lacked control of
his temper. So soon as the giant was
hurt he forgot all about the rules and
went after his adversary rough and tum-
BILE, almost invariably being disqualified
for fouling. O'Baldwin might have been
a great pugilist, but that he was Is not
shown by the records. OF Mace Edwards
he is eminently correct Mace was as
clever a boxer as any of today. He
must have been, for he was not a big
| man, and there were none in his time
who were his master. But the estimate
| Edwards places upon Sullivan is rather
unfair. He says the big fellow was a
fairly good man in a lot of mediocre
fighters of his day. Sullivan was as
great as any of the old-time pugilists Of
bare-knuckle fame, and could have
beaten Allen, Mace, O'Baldwin, Goss or
any of them.
ONE CLEVER VETERAN.
At Nineteenth and Pine Streets in the
city of st. Louis. Mo-, there is a big,
@ho4 h.
entire block 1t is called the "Nata-
| torium." The proprietor Of the swimming
| school In summer and skating rink in
| winter that located therein is Prof Will
| liam Clark, who is now nearing the sew
| enty-fiVe-year mark. He was known in
| old England in the days of the 'Tipton
| Slasher'' as 1.-The Belfast Chicken" Bill
! Clark was a bantam. That is why he
! was designated as Chicken" He was
the sole support of a widowed mother
| and numerous family of brothers and
sisters of tender age. Bill made liveli-
hood by boxing in booths at English
| fairs. He met 'all comers, at any
weight, and he was never bested. In his
| declining years Clark did not forget the
| cunning then acquired, and in a black
! ened glove contest with Joe Coburn, when
| that boxer was in his prime, Clark won
by several points. He also outboxed
| Jem Mace at a charity show in New
| York, and was the only man then In the
! boxing line who ever outpointed Ned
| Price, the famous gentleman boxer, who
| retired from ring celebrity to become a
| criminal lawyer, and scored success at
! the bar, amassing fortune
KNOCKOUT BLOWS.
Edwards IS correct in his statement
| that the knockout is not a modern ring
| invention. Many nearly beaten pugilist
1 hos fl1- 1Ae -
| day by administering knockout and
| broken a hand or arm in the attempt
! Tom Allen was knocked out with the
| bare knuckles by Charley Gallagher in
| their first meeting, the blow that sent
| Allen to dreamland landing on the jugu-
| lar. Ryan was practically out at Mis-
slssippi City when he fought Sullivan
| He could not have responded for an
| other round, and while not unconscious
| was hors de combat. AS a rule, how
| ever, the bare knuckle fights were re-
| voting. The knuckfes did terrible execu-
ton to the exposed parts of the boxers
| body and face, and the Introduction of
| the padded glove was all that saved the
| prize ring from being wiped out by those
| who would no longer countenance the
| scenes enacted at the average ring bat
| tie with bare knuckles.
ESTIMATE OF FITZsIMMoNs
Edwards says tnat sullivan could hit
| terrific blow. But he adds, so can
Maher, and yet Maher could not find
| Fitzsimmons in either of their battles.
hence Fitzsimmons is a wonder Not
| that Makers failures made him So but
| for the reason that in nearly all his bat
| ties the Cornishman has won through his
| knowledge of the art of boxing, as much
| as by his superior physique" True, and
| yet Sayers was not classed as a mar
| velously skillful boxer. He was, on the
! contrary, an aggressive, rushing fighter.
| He won his battle not because the other
man failed to hit him, but because he hit
the other man oftener and harder than