The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-07-26

cleared by the police and stragglers
were elected. Before shutdown long
lines of men formed on Valencia street
and Julian avenue, and awaited the
| opening of the two gates.
There was no disorder until O'Clock.
when the crush became heavy, but 24O
burly policemen handled the crowd
we'll The arc lights over the ring were
turned on at &: As o'clock, by which
time the bieachers, holding fully 5000
people, Were filed.
The usual night fog did not prevail
and although the evening air was
chilly there was no discomfort Kid
Esan, representing the champion;
Clark Ball, for Fitzsimmons; and
Alex Greggains for the San Francisco
Athletic Club, inspected the premises
at o'clock and agreed that all was
In readiness for the fight.
The gates were opened at o'clock
and the ticketholders began to flock in
| The gallery consisted of a series of
tiers the last one resting against the
lmprovised back wall or high board
fence, sloping down to the ground
! level. The occupants of these seats
really were afforded the best view of
all that occurred in the ring.
At 1880 o'clock the gallery was full,
and the doors leading to the more
favored sections were opened and the
sections Immediately behind the box
|
Of well-known faces We're among the
early arrivals. George Siler occupied
seat in the press row at the ring
side.
! In one of the boxes to the west OF
the ringside sat Mayor Eugene Schmitz,
in company with other city officials.
New Style Arrangement.
The arrangements of the arena and
construction of the ring were some
thing of a departure from the usual
lines followed in such matters.
In a vacant lot at Fourteenth and
! Valencia streets high board fence was
| erected. In the center OF the space
! the ring was built, the floor being four
| feet from the ground. On the four
sides of the ring were arranged the
press seats, and Immediately back of
them the boxes, which were simply
spaces partitioned off. and "a chairs
placed in each compartment. These
rested on the ground with the least
elevation.
Back OF the boxes came long rows of
board seats or benches, all on the same
level with conveniently arranged disles.
To the rear and back of the board
fence were placed the gallery benches.
The ring was a substantially con-
structed affair. Built upon a good
foundation of solid timbers, the floor
was made of double thickness of inch
boards. Over these there was a heavy
padding of felt one inch in thickness.
A heavy brown canvas, drawn tight
ly and fastened at the edges completed
a solid and safe rinA%
The lights were suspended from four
upright posts, one at each corner of
| the ring. These uprights sloped
| gradually towards the center and
| a succession of cross beams
at the top held fourteen arc lights and
| over the whole a canvas tent covered
| the seats as far out as the gallery
| seats. The ropes of the ring were the
| latest thing in that line, consisting of
| heavy, smooth one-inch cotton rope,
two of these three feet from the floor,
and the second eighteen inches above
| it, were guyed from the uprights which
| held the lights and tent. There were
| no sharp corners. Across the canvas
were placed padded ropes that cut out
the sharp angles, but full size.
Tom Sharkey was on hand early with
a challenge to the winner From him
at New York came telegram ad-
! dressed to Tim McGrath, announcing
| his safe arrival from London and ask
| ing that McGrath shy his castor in the
ring.
At S:25 .. m. the crowd became
| dense. The eisles were congested and
| much confusion ensued. This was
Strengthened out, however. and when
| the principals of the preliminary fight
came on there was hardly vacant
| place in all the $500 provided seats.
Arrivals of the Principals.
| AT 500 p. m, Fitzsimmons arrived in
a carriage at the entrance on Valencia
street He was cheered by the crowd
| that stood at the entrance. FitZsim-
mons went Immediately to his dressing
tent at the right of the main entrance
and proceeded to dress. He was ac-
| companied by his manager, Clark Ball.
He was accompanied by his manager,
| Clark Ball, Hank Griffin, the negro
] pugiiist, and one or two friends. The
once champion declared that he never
| felt better, and declared he would win.
and inquired about the crowd in at
tendance and other matters incident to
| the fight.
About ten. minutes later Jeffries
| droye up and got out of his carriage,
| followed by his trainer. Billy Delaney,
| his brother, Jack. his boxing partner,
/ Joe Kennedy, and Kid Egan, his sec
rotary The crowd set up a terrific
roar at the sight of the big fellow, to
! which he responded by a wave of the
| hand. Proceeding direct to his dress
ing tent Jeffries Immediately got ready
| to don his ring costume. He was not
in a talkative mood, but appeared calm
| and confident. He inquired about the
attendance and expressed satisfaction
when told that the place was jammed.
There was so little ringside betting
that it was hardly appreciable. The
| odds were about the same that have
prevailed the last few days-10 to T.
| At S:45 the only preliminary fight
was put on. 1t was a 20-round affair
between the two local middleweights,
| Dave Barry and Harry Foley There
were heavily yelled women noticeable
among those seated in the boxes.
| Their presence was passed over by
the crowd without any demonstration
| of approval, as is usual in such cases.
The good order and absence of con-
| fusion were remarkable. By o'clock
| all the ticketholders were in their al
| Iotted spaces. and not a vacant seat
was visible from the ring. The big
| audience presented an unusual spec
| tacle Banked up against the walls on
| oil sides there was a solid dark mass