The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-04
THEY WATCHED The FIGHT.
BLOWS WE'RE PRACTICALLY
HEARD AS THEY WE'RE STRUCK.

HEARD AS THEY WE'RE STRUCK.
From Eight stations the News was
Given out, Both Convenience and
business Being the Incentives.
Morning News Gave the Quicker
Service and Got the Flash of JeR-
ries' Victory Two Rounds Before
Any Other StntiOn-Betting in sa-
vannah Rather sIOw-Both Men
Had Admirers, But They Held on
to Their MOney-Sharkey, the Sail
or, Once on an Ocean Steamship
Vessel.
The news of the Big fight between jeff
ries and Sharkey was spread from more
stations in Savannah last night than ever
before on similar occasions This seemed
not TO be due TO any greater interest, for
that, if anything, was less than has been
noticed in other fights, but rather 10 the
! desire to get The story at the earliest op-
portunity. In few instances business was
in view, those who secured the service do
ing so 10 run up their days ecelp.s, while,
at the same time affording their patrons
chance to get an account of the stiff
punches and hard swings almost coinci-
IDENTIFY with their delivery.
The Oglethorpe Club the Guards Club,
the De Soto. Murphy & Co.'S, Winters,
Truehearts and Odelrs, all got tho report
by wire and had operators to call It off
! The Morning News had the fullest ac-
count, the Associated Press covering the
fight in greater detail From the second
story of The Morning News building the
result of the fight was thrown to the air
by a stout pair Of lungs behind a mega
phone. The flash came while the fight
was in the twenty-third round, that jeff
ries was the winner by the referees de-
cision.
1t was after the twenfy-flfth round had
begun that the flash Of Jeffries' victory
came to the other stations. Both the AS
ISOLATED Press and the Western Union
were well up with their report, but the
former got in the news of the referees
award to Jeffries first and finished up the
story of the fight ahead of the Western
Union by two rounds.
Crowds gathered at all points where the
fight was reported. The average mascu-
line mind seemed 10 take no little interest
in the affair. While there had been no
great amount of betting, there were yet
many in the crowds who favored one or
the other of the pugilists. A good stifr
blow from one would mean applause for
mis- adherents, and as the night was full
of that sort and was a merry run for the
money from start to finish, there was
many an opportunity for both sides 10
cheer
To those who heard II locked very much
like Jeffries was the winner at both ends,
with Sharkey the favorite in the middle.
The sailor was certainly pounding the
champion at great rate from about the
sixth to the eighteenth round, and it APP
peared to the wise that Sharkey had his
man going. But the sailor never seemed
to get just enough force into those heavy
swings he landed on the jaw, and Jeffries
was often coming back. even when Shar-
| key was in his zenith, with punches in the
wind that must have made the sailor feel
as If he had eaten something that dis
agreed with him.
Now and then the report would come
off the wire in such a shape as to bring
forth laugh from the crowd that was
at first laughed at. The operators would
start something like this: Tom lands a
stiff punch on the jaw and Jeff staggers-''
Ohen would come the shouts from Shar-
| keys admirers) "Sharkey with a heavy
right on the heart" the conclusion chang
ing the smile to the other side of the
house.
Betting was rather slow. Nobody seemed
to know much about what the result would
be- Ordinarily there are many who think
they know all about such things, but they
were wise this time and made no predic-
tons. The few bets that were made were
trusted blindly to fortune, it being In the
disposition of that tickle goddess to de-
clare which would be the winner The
fight through the twenty-five rounds and
the referees decision on the points made
showed that those who were predicting an
end in less than fifteen rounds were poor
prophets.
Some betting went on at the pool room,
and about on the streets there were few
dollars wagered. The odds were on JEFF
fries, something like 3 to being given on
the champion. One bet was heard Of
where those odds were taken In tens, but
inquiry among the sporting element failed
to disclose any other of even that magni-
tude. Nothing with the aspect Of a sure
thing was in sight, and the sports were
holding tight wads.
Everybody knows that Sharkey was a
sailor before he took 20 the ring, but 1t is
not commonly known that he used to run
TO Savannah. Yet such is the case. For
some months he worked with the Ocean
Steamship Company, running between
here and New York on one of the vessels
as stoker 1t was in that service that
s0'~a OF his muscle and Drawn that kept
I'm before Inc champion heavyweight
pugilist of the world for twenty-five
rounds was acquired
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