The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-07-04
SPORTING NEWS.
John L. SuIlivan's Famous Belt
Is in Pawn.
Last Relic of Championship of
the Old Gladiator.
"DOG COLLAR" BELT.
Says He Never Did Care for 1T
and Would Sell.
Thinks 1t Would Go Well With
Jim COrbett.
"DOG COLLAR" BELT.

New York, July AFTER earning
more than three quarters of a million
dollars John l.. Sullivan has been
forced to pawn the dog collar" for ST.
300. and if his friends don't come to the
rescue pretty soon Simpson, the pawn
broker says he will sell it for what it
will bring at auction.
The big fellow says that he never did
think very much of it anyway, and that
If any one is willing to pay for it and
wear it he is welcome to it. Personally
ne never cared greatly for such trifies,
and as it is getting a trife small for
him and the interest is growing he is
fast losing what little fondness he had
for it,
1t was Sullivan himself who first dub
bed it the dog collar" Officially it is
known as the championship belt, and
first came into Sullivans possession
after his fight with Kilrain in 1889. After
John L. had counted out $50 one-hun-
dred-dollar bills as his share of the
money profits on that occasion some
one pushed the belt across the table and
said
And there's the belt. John; that's
yours, too"
The big fellow glanced at it contempt
Take that dog collar away" he
growled. 4 wouldn't be caught dead
with it,"
Then he thought better of it. His eye
happened to catch a glimpse of a few
of its 365 diamonds and he showed it
over to Charlie Johnston, his hacker.
You hang onto it, Charlie" he said.
You might want it for your bulldog.
He'd look fine with it around his neck"
For years it hung back of a bar in
Brooklyn, and people used to come
from as far as Flatbush to look at it
and admire the diamonds. Then evil
days fell upon the great and only John
L., and he reclaimed the belt.
I never did think much of 1t as
belt" he said today, but when ! need
ed the money it came in handy You
see, this prosperity that you read so
much about in the papers has been
coming my way in chunks. I used to
be kind of chesty. and then you see the
dog collar didn't cut much of a figure,
but when 1 went broke I hustled down
with it. and say. you oughter see how
big that 81 800 looked. Then dollars
looked bigger than the diamonds. 1
never was gun shy when 1t came to
diamonds, anyway. Say, /. used to
play marbles with them. If it hadn't
looked too much like playin' the dude
I could have worn. them for suspender
buttons, same as they do at Newport.
Diamonds! Why, used to feed them
to the birds.
But say. that belt is all right, if any
body wants it. With a white flannel
suit and a pair of tan shoes it would
look out of sight on hot day at Coney
Island If he'd just train down few
notches my friend Johp5W. Gates could
wear it and make J.~P. Morgan look
like Chinese money with square holes
in it.
Il amt tryin' to act as press agent
for the man that's got 1t now, but 1
don't want to see him, lose money on
1t. Maybe he can get Corbetts friends
to buy it for him when he ticks Jeffries-
They'll have plenty of time to raise the
money. and it would match that POM
padour better than anything l know
of -