The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-30
PUGlLIsTS HARDLY EVER KEEP
THEIR HARD-EARNED MONEY.

been whipped d. Like John L. Sullivan, who
has been on the retired list ever since
CoIbett knocked m cut they are thence
forward generally consi ered "o'd men,"
though stil so young hat IN most callings
they would be spoken Of as in the prime
of lie.
OF late years nearly every pugiMst too
old to fight any more has retired" to
some sort of a retail blinking shop. This
has become 50 common that the public
expects nothing more or less from any ex-
champion though Bob F.tzs mmons gives
no sign Of in ending to he a saloon keep
er, and it was by no means the invariabIe
rule in the earlier, more brutal days of
bare knuckle fighting. Thus John jackson,
who was The British champion 100 years
ago, taught boxing after he had retired
from the ring, numbering among his pu-
pills nearly al the young spngs Of fashion
and sclons of arts .ocracy in England. Lord
Byron was one Of Jackson's pupils, and
TIE tltl,d o Is diary contains many pleas
ant allus.cns to his fistc teacher. Jack
son was probably the most polished pugi-
Gist The world has ever SEEM for II is re-
corded that he was "a Veritable dandy in
the fashionable sporting wor d of London,
and the pet of royalty, for whom he re-
peatedy provided private ring contests"
Some HIVE Monuments.
Few or no other British pugilists have
died rich, though the last resting place
of three others are marked by impressive
monuments. They were Tom Crib, Tom
Spring and Tom Savers. Tom Cribb s
monument, a colossal scuptured lion
standing with one paw on a funeral urn
over which is thrown the champions belt
Ia
terry, near a much frequented road, and
may be seen easily by all who drive past.
The stone was set by a popular sub
scrption, started by Bells Life, the IA
nous London sporting newspaper. The
inscription thereon is much less porten-
tous than the one on Jackson's monument,
and Crib himself had no such personal
standing with smart folk as Jackson had
Crib died in l84S. The monument of Tom
Spring real name Winter, who died poor
and broken down in 1851, was set up in
Norwood cemetery, not far from the crys-
tai palace at Sydenham. This monument
also bears a chiseled lion. The monument
TO Sayers, better known in this country
than any of the others because of the
drubbing he got at the hands of the
American champion, John c. Heenan, in
1853, stands in Highgate cemetery. 1t Is
ornamented by the figure of a dog in
stead of a lion and ITS inscription is sim
plest of all. sayers' odd age" was de-
cidedly brief-he died in 1S65-besides being
burden to Savers because of constant
illness, due to the most extravagant dis
sipation
Made Money In Politics.
Two expire ring champions have gone
into politics and amassed wealth after
leaving the fistic arena, though neither
had much money when death called. One
of these was John Gully, the Englishman,
and the other John Morrissey, the Amer
lean. Gully got into Parliament and for
a while enjoyed the friendship and re-
spect of many of England's most exalted
persOnages." He made a part of his
wealth out of racing and the remainder
in various speculative enterprises, some of
which turned out disastrously. In his lat
er years he was in constant fear of the
workhouse, but he didn't fall so low as
that.
John Morrissey's post-prize-ring days
were far more spectacular than Gully S.
Morrissey retired as champion. having de-
feated Heenan, and having sensibly re-
fused to fight again. Morrissey numbered
old Commodore Vanderbilt among his
closest friends, and by following the Com
modore's advice was able to win heavily
in Wall street. Morrissey also made money
in wads and rolls in the two gambling
houses which he establlshed-one in New
a.
Morrssey's political rise began early in
the sixties For years he was so strong
in this city that he had a virtual monopoly
as to gambling here, which he took ad-
vantage of by levyng tribute upon all the
establishments of his fellow boss gamblers
in town. lie was sent to the House of
Representatives in 1866 by the Democrats
and in the fight between Tweed, the Tam
many boss, and Tiiden, sided with the lat
ter. At one time Morrissey's fortune was
$1,000 co. The death of Commodore Van
derbilt was the beginning of bad luck for
Morrissey. He tried speculation on his
own hook but without Vanderbilt to tip
HIM off found 1t impossible to buck up
against Jay Gould and the other expert
Wall street operators of that day. Still
Morrissey kept up a brave front as long
as he lived for till his death 1t was sun
posed generally he had much wealth left.
but on examination it was found that his
estate had dwindled practically to naught,
and his widow, who had been a Hudson
river steambot captains daughter, when
Morrissey was a deck hand, found her
self plunged in poverty instead of rolling
in wealth.
Died Young and Poor.
John c. Heenan, who, though a victor
over Sayers, was himself defeated bv
Morrissey, ran a gambling den for a while
and for time did fairly we'll; but the +ida
soon turned the wrong way, and Heenan
died of consumption in Colorado. in great
financial straights, Heenan was married
to the erratic Adah Menken. She died in
France a year or two before her husband
Yankee Sullivan, whose real name was
Frank Ambrose Murray, counted in his
day and generation the greatest fighter Of
his weight and inches in the United states
left the East and went to California =,
dig for gold after his successive defeats bv
Tom Hyer and John Morrissey. Sullivan
might have been good thing as a miner
but in some manner he ran against the
San Francisco vigilance committee in It's
palmiest days and was by it thrown into
prison. He was suspected of hsving bonn
connected with gang of burglars. and
thought nothing was ever proved AGAINST
HIM. he was put IN jail and committed
suicide.
Tom Hyer, Mike McCool and Joe Coburn
each an American champion in his dav
died in poverty, and were buried with
money raised by subscription papers pass
ed around among prize ring supporters At
one time Coburn had a good deal OF money