The Minneapolis journal., 1902-07-05
Sailor Once More Has His Champion.
ship Aspirations squelched.
NEVER WAS FIRST-CLASS MAN
Ruhlin'ss Blur in Challenging Win
. ner of Jeffrfes-FitzsfmmO
- Bout Causes Amusement.

| pected by many some time ago that he
never was: really in the first division
! among the big ones. 49,: :.
| The sailor first came into prominence
some four or five years ago. Never pos
| sessed of any great amount of Science,
| he nevertheless had a slam bang, rough
and. tumble style of fghting-something
after the manner Of Terry McGovern-that
was likely to bewilder the novice. He
| managed to polish off a few dozen fourth
! raters on the Pacific coast, and finally, by
| the grace of providence and an unscrupu-
lous referee, gained decisions over Cor
bett and Fitzsimmons on fouls. Then he
went up against Rubin, then big, clum-
| sy Swiss, and sent him to the ropes in
| the first round.
A little later he was matched with Kid
| Mccoy, who, with Corbett and Tommy
| Ryan, stands at the head of the list so
| far as boxing ability is concerned. The
Kid had Tom on Queer street for a short
! while, but the tough sailor managed to
hang on until the Hoosier weakened from
! his own exertions. Then Tom waded in
and administered the quietus.
| That sent Sharkey's stock sky high
among the followers of the fight game,
and he was selected by popular opinion
| for the logical man to tackle Bob Fitz-
+ simmons, then champion. But. when the
| time came for a match, Sharkey quibbled
over one or two details, and Brady imme-
! diately picked up the gauntlet ofsthe Aus
tralian on behalf of his big protege, Jim
| Jeffries, who at that time was not highly
| thought Of on account of his poor showing
| against the colored man, Bob" Armstrong,
few months before. ~ al ,<
| Every one remembers the result, of that
match. When Jeffries became champion,
Sharkey at once sought a battle, and was
accommodated without needless delay
| The bout took place in the fall Of 1899, and
it. marked the beginning of the end for
| the sailor. u" H..
Beginning of the End.
| While Sharkey had been pitted against
| clumsy novices like Ruhlin-for the lat
| ter, although a veteran in service, was a
child in ring science when he first met
| Sharkey-or fral but clever boxers like
Mccoy, he met with great success. He
was too fast and too aggressive for the
big fellows, and too hardy and enduring
for the hit-and-get-away men. But in
Jeffries he found a. very different propo-
sition. The wild swings of the sailor were
met by Jefries with cool, effective jabs
from that. big left paw; jabs which kept
/ Tom busy and made him wilder and more
| unscientific than ever in his work. AL
though Jeffries did not put his man out
he battered away at his ribs until at the
finish Sharkey was a complete physical
wreck, and all critics have since admit
| ted that it was that hammering which
sapped~ the sailors strength and made
him such an easy proposition for Rubin
| and. Fitzsimnons in the following year.
The victory of Rubin came during the
| next summer, and was a complete sur
prise to the dope followers. 1t was evil
dent that either Sharkey had gone back
or Rubin improved in a remarkable de-
gree. The question was settled in short
| hv okc 1afo u]o he
disposed Of both men in the most decis-
i've fashion, proving at once that Sharkey
had deteriorated considerably, and that
Rubin had not improved to such a de-
gree as to make him championship pos
sibility. That was the last battle of any
| Importance that Sharkey engaged in un-
til the bout at London some nine days
ago, a bout which will probably result in
Sharkey's permanent retirement from the
ring, and the passing Of the greatest
four-u usher, with the possible. exception
of Kid Mccoy, that ever made good with
a gullible public. ~.
| The Bluff of Rubin. =
| Ruhlin's challenge to the winner OF
the Jeffries- -F'itzsimmons contest is an
other attempted four flush Of so patent
a nature that it is amusing After his
defeat by almost every fighter of account,
he gives the public little credit for intel
| 1igence when he assumes that it. will let
him base reputation upon a victory over
poor decrepit Sharkey.
. Speaking of the .Jeffries-F -Fitzsimmons
| contest, q rumor has been current that
it would be called off on account Of the
bad feeling aroused in San Francisco by
the Gans-McFadden fake week = ago.
San Francisco has always had more than
one citys fair share Of hippodromes, and
it is feared that this last exhibition may
prove the straw that broke the pcamel's s
back. IT,. ~ ~. .-.
From all accounts of the battle, NC
Fadden was either drunk or doped when
he entered the ring. He staggered about
| the ring before a blow was struck, and in
the second and third rounds repeatedly
went down without being touched. His
| seconds finally threw up the sponge to
save themselves. Suspicion has been
aroused before the contest came off that
| 1t would not be on the level, and the re-
suit confirmed these fears. The lovers of
honest boxing in San Francisco are MAX
ling themselves heard more and more
loudly at every recurrence of one Of these
/ shady looking contests. The Rubin
Jeffries fasco last winter did not help
any to make the promoters way smooth,
although the majority exonerate the
champion from any suspicion Of taking.
Whata pity 1t is that some good,
square boxer cannot give Cans a punch
that would not only put him out of the
championship class, but effect his perna
nent retirement Into oblivion. This is by
no means the first time that the colored
gentleman has disgusted fight followers
by his tactics, the most notable instance,
perhaps, being the bout with McGovern
| at Chicago, when Cans went down. in the
third round, and incidentally lost small
fortune for his admirers.
/ 49, JEFF Has q Bad Arm.
| --latest reports from the training quar-
tiers OF the champion and ex ampion in
California say that Jeffries has been hav-s
| ing more trouble with his left arm. jeff
/ himself asserts that the limb is all right;
but it has been noticed that he favorsEit
more or less in his work. "A strain
Icaused by. the excessive use Of medicine
fis what brought 4on the trouble. So 3 st 4
s,Fitz is reported to be working like a
horse and rapidly rounding into form.
Those. who have watched his work say
That there seems to be no limit to his
fpowers Of endurance. Il M
Effort Was vain.
Until week ago the prospects were
bright that a law legalizing boxing con-
| tests would be passed in louisiana Leg
lator Anderson, who was behind the
| measure, scored a big victory in the low
Ter house for his bill but when IT reached