The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-20
THEY FOUGHT TO A DRAW.
20 ROUNDS PROVED CORCORAN NOR
HANLON THE BETTER MAN.

the SettO between Tommy COrcO-
ran and the PhiIadelphian, Jack
HanIOn - a Sort of wrestling
Fighting Preliminary Preceded
the Fight-Mueh Money Was Up
and Had to Be Drawn Down.
SHORTY Jenkins Decision Salts
fed the Spectators.
Tommy Corcoran of Savannah, and
Jack Hanlon of Philadelphia, fought
twenty rounds to a draw last night at the
Theater. The contest was a. pretty one
from the first round. and at no time did
1t look as though it belonged to either of
the men as a sure thing First one and
then the other would show up strong, but
then his opponent would get in the game,
and the fight would go on merrily with
both smuggling away when openings Of
fered.
The fight was a clean one. Several fee
BILE cries of foul were made, but they
were half-hearted, as the terms of the
agreement demanded that foul must be
serious to cause the referee to dclare
forfeit. Early in the game Corcoran's sec
onds were appealing TO the referee to
watch Hanlon's left knee" which did
seem to fly up now and then, but the
referee did not see that any harm was
being done, and hardly found it necessary
TO give a warning.
NO strong kick was raised about the
decision, for nearly all agreed that it
was the only one left for the referee to
give. Both men had shown up in fine
shape throughout If anything, the SEN
Il.
ed as the cleVerer fighter. Corcoran had
shown a desire to force things, though,
and was game and determined from the
first to the last clang of the gong. Nearly
everybody declared the decision was the
only one the fight would justify.
Never was there a fight in Savannah
that drew such a house The parquette
was very nearly filed, the balcony had
quite a bunch, and the gallery was par
ticularly alive There was thought to be
$500 in the house, of which, by the
terms of the agreement, 70 per cent. was
to go to the winner and Is TO the loser,
after expenses were deducted. The result
called for an even split.
This was true, too of the money that
had been placed. Possibly there was not
as much'general betting as there has been
on some fights, but a number of the 49,
inch sports had gone to their wads and
peeled off a few hundreds to put on their
favorite. Most of it was at an even break,
as nobody cared 10 give odds on either of
the fighters, thereby showing they had
pretty clear idea of thing or two in the
lighting line. The money that was Ut
loaned warm interest to those who had
placed il. and the fortunes of their fav-
orite were followed closely through every
round. The sports thought it rather rough
10 have to draw down after the severe
strain that their nervous systems, had to
undergo in observing the fight
The Corcoran- Hanlon bout was preceded
by very lively preliminary that was to
have been a six-round glove contest, but
it was evident from the start that 1t was
to be mixture of rough and tumble and
wrestling. Charlie Harrison and Sam Nc
Gowan were the principals, and they be-
gan mixing it up from the jump. They
were fighting in earnest, but Harrison was
the cleverer with his hands and II was up
TO MCGOWAN to try other tactics than those
recognized as the best form in the ring
In the third round. almost with the sound
of the gong, he closed in on Harrison,
caught a leg holt and threw him heavily
his knee etfectually putting Harrison out
The referee very properly gave the fight
| to Harrison who was heard to declare
later that he would have it out with Nc
G0wan for having fouled' him, at some flu
| ture date.
| The crowd didn't have long to wait
after the preliminary had been pulled off
COrcoran appeared in his corner and was
greeted with applause soon after Shorty
jenkins, the referee, announced the arti-
| cles Of agreement These We're that a
light blow as foul was not to count; it
would have to prove effective before the
ether man could get the fight on il. The
| fight was announced as a twenty-round
glove contest for a decision.
Hanlon appeared right after Corcorau,
and, after the usual preliminares and the
] TsanVg r.v, . ~.
was on. Pete Mamie Sweeny Pedro and
! MCGOWAN We're in Hanlon's corner, while
Fabin, Frew, Harrison and Dyer looked
| after Corcoran.
The fight was probably as uneventful
as any of its length that was ever seen
! in Savannah. There was more stand-up-
! and-giye-and-take about 1t than is usually
| seen. Corcoran was known of old as hav-
| ing q distaste for too much footworlx
and Tanlon seemed built on the same
! lines, though he got in some rather clever
! slde-stepping to the right occasionally
| that was disconcerting to Corcoran No
/ running away was in the mind of either
and for four-ffths of the fight the two
| were right in the line of their corners.
! Hanlon landed more stiff punches than
| Corcoran, but consi ant exercises and the
toughest work cen make the body tough,
| ana it was freely declared that Hanlon
might have put his man out If he had a
| baseball bat, an ak or something of that
| sort. The prediction that Corcoran could
| take hard knocks and show The least eff
/ feet of any man who ever hit Savannah
! was verified, and Hanlon would proba-
| bly, acqutesce in this. Corcoran went down
! once, but it was not a clean free fall
| The count was not started at any time
| for a man off his feet.
| Corcoran kept the Philadelphia busy.
and was constantly going in with r1lshes.
Hanlon was ready for him often, though,
| and Tommy's punches We're met with
| right hand jots in the wind that would
have done the work for most men. Jack
had a way of holding out his left and
| chopping down on Tommy's head with II
that was surprise, apparently. to him
| the first time he met it, and after that he
DIDN'T seem to know just how to guard
against it. Two or three new
wrinkles of something on this order
were introduced by Hanlon. Corcoran, too.
showed that someone had been teaching
! him something since his last appearance.
for he was on to few new ones himself
and moved much more quickly He was
nearly ten hounds lfnhtar than TJapIo,,