The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-03-19

Jeffries Contest Fifty Illustrate
Il Successful Gladiator Norris
sey, Heennn, Sayers and All tho
"Old-Timers" Thought 81 900 Big.
Nothing more fttingly illustrates the
progress Of events and the advance of
.he country than the enormous purses
that are demanded and given modern pu
giiists Now come Martin Julian and
Billy Brady. representing respectively
Robert Jennings Fitzsimmons and James
Boilermaker Jeffries, and demand that
their breadwinners be given the earth
and slice Of space for the sparring OK
h1bition they are about to engage In. The
Westchester club, of New York made a
DID or $4,000 for the affair." The Coney
Island club went that a few thousand
better. Then a California speculator
stepped in and said he would give $50. 600.
put would retain the picture privilege.
10 this both Brady and Julian demurred,
saying that the pictures were the cream
OF the show-that they would rather fight
Tor nothing and retain the pictures than
TO battle for $4,000 and give them up
30 all agreed to disagree, and now
there has been an adjournment for one
week In order to give time to another
combination to ascertin just what 1t can
40 with a scheme to erect big pavilion
that VIII seat 10000 people, and to give
the ehtire receipts, pictures thrown in, to
1ne hgnters the promoters retaining only
suhc1ent to pay for the building.
SHADES or, TIJU
Morr1ssey's first battle was for fame
ne walked into Harry Hills place, In
New York, and announced that he was
a fighter and that he was up there for
trouble He got it, and he was bested
put ne made such game stand against
tremendous odds that Hill took him in
mana, and he was soon In a position to
earn a few hundreds for winning battles
Fought with the bare knuckles. and
iousht to finish, with attendant pun
ispment, such as is rarely If ever seen
IN the prize ring today
Heenan fought Tom Savers for the
Worio championship for a purse of-no.
Tor stake of-$2,50 and that was re-
garoed as the most important battle of
those days Willie" Clark, 1.-THE Bel
last Chicken" knocked out big fellows
IN a boxing booth in merry old England
for the munificent sum of a crown a
week. and out Of that betrayed the ex-
penses OF family of six, including his
widowed mother. Tom Allen, Mike Nc
Sooie' Joe Goss, Jem Mace, 1.-THE Upton
o,asher and host Of the departed
giadlators of the squared circle. Thought
themselves fortunate when given an on
portunity to earn a few pounds by de-
reat1ng an adversary with the ..raw
'uns."
When stake of as good as $500 was
up II became most noted event. and the
hopiilty came from far and near to wit
ness it. In brief, the old-time fighters
reserved Tor a victory in the early DAYS
of the ring just about what It costs q >,
spectator for seat to witness one in
these modern times.
JACK LOONEY's BRIGADE
-. ST. Louis was. perhaps, the greatest
stamping grounds in the country for
the fighters in the days when Allen. and
McCoole, and Mace, and Coburn. and
Goss, and Gallagher, and Kelly, and the
Irish Giant" Ned O'Baldwin. were the
leaders In the race for pugilistic honors
JACK Looney was the patron of the glad.
1ators He conducted a resort on Green
street that was decidedly on the "Iun:
nun free and easy plan, only more so
There the fighters congregated, and
there was made many of the big mat ches
of those days. The average purse was
Soo. ,Ihere was occasionally an especiaily
good match, in which 500 was thought te
be about the proper amount-and, once
III long time, there was an affair. such
as go between Allen and McCoole. thai
netted the winner something like s5oo
To have said 5000 to a fighter in those
days would have meant his death from
heart disease
FIRST BIG PURSE.
There had been plenty of fighting TO,
fairly good-sized amounts prior to the
meeting between Fitzsimmons and Denim.
sey-but as rule the battles were or
the turf, for championship honors-while
the observation-disclosures affair was a
Queensbury glove contest, and the first
Tor fortune The amount Of that purse
was $4,000, and it was the first really
handsome sum that gallant Jack Demp-
sey had contended for, though in his time
ne had defeated some fifty men in the
ring. Dempsey lost, and Bob Fitzsim-
mons, who now asks the earth and part
or New Jersey to meet Jim Jeffries, was
the man who won the first fortune given
out In America for a glove contest.
Since that time the amount has grad
ually grown until $4,000 is considered
rather small for really good peonle ;,
Sullivan and Corbett probably had more
actual money at stake than was ever
given IN this country for a ring battle
$45,o00-though there was a fight in South
Africa that was announced to have been
for nearly twice that sum. That was
probably on paper. however, and the Sui
l1van-Corbett contest probably involved
the most real money, from an actual
purse and stake standpoint
FITS FORTY THOUSAND.
Fitzsimmons fought and won a battle
with Jim Hall in New Orleans in the
10
which the purse was to have been $40, 600.
Inc money was never paid. The winner
received $1,000 and promissory notes for
the balance. OF those notes Fitz collect
ed perhaps a few thousand dollars, but
he today has several of them in his pos
session he would likely sell cheap. The
club meant well. 1t was managed by
men of high standing. Col. Noel was
president and Maj. Ross secretary. They
had seeded from the famous Olympic
club, and it was due to the rivalry that
then existed that such sum was Of
fered for the battle. 1t served to disrupt
the new organization.
There was not anywhere near $40, 600 in
the house that night. Fitz did not COM
plain. He took what was given him, and
thanked the people for It, He is today
the most popular in New Orleans Of all
the fighters in the world.
Persisted A PAUPER.
Despite the enormous Sims a success
full modern fighter can earn in the ring
today, the majority of the champions die
poor. Jack Dempsey, the "Nonpareil,' -
the peer of any or the prince of all, in
his day, died, perhaps not In abject want,
but without money to speak Of Mike
McCoole was discovered by John L. Sui
Ivan, on the levee at New Orleans, work
ing as a stevedore McCoole was so ema-