The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-21

ShtpWreckeu fOur 1Imes-In1nks
wrestling Much More Brutal Than
Fighting-TeIIs How He Got Into
the Game of the Mat.
From the New York Telegraph.
Tom Sharkey squared his broad chest
full to the front and, with his hands
down on the table, planted his brawny
arms before him like the forelegs of a
bulldog.
IF 1 were as big a man as JEFF
fries" said Sharkey, I'D fight Ruhlin
Fitzsimmons and Corbett, all on the
same night-one after another"
1t was only last Wednesday evening
that Sharkey made a record for him
self in a new line of endeavor when he
won the wrestling bout at Suffers Har-
lem River Casino from the big German
champion-August Faust-at the lat
ter's own terms to throw Sharkey three
times in an hour. Faust evidently
thought he had a good thing of it. But
he had not been on the mat ten min
utes before he learned his mistake.
Perhaps it is an idea that it would
help him in his fighting that makes
Sharkey take up the wrestling game.
Perhaps the shelving of the Horton
law and the knowledge that New York
sporting blood must be cooled with
some sort of bouts had something to
do with it, Or, perhaps, it was because
Rubin had come out winner against
the Swedish champion and Jack Mon
LEX IL ~ q
be that some one had limited there
was something in it," You know Tom
Sharkey is thrifty sailorman and is
not slow to cast an anchor to wind
ward.
"But, whatever it was, Sharkey's first
appearance in his new role in Gotham
las put him in the front with the shift
ty wrestlers.
And, quick to see his advantage, he
has issued d challenge to Faust for
match on equal terms, catch-as-catch-
can.
SharIxey as He Is.
Now, it isn't everybody that under
stands this man Sharkey. The most of
them say:
Hes handy enough. with his fists,
and there never was such another to
stand up and be knocked about. He
can take more good, hard punishment
than anybody"
And some of them think he has bad
temper.
why" said Sharkey to me once on a
time, II have stood up in front of the
bar and in other public places and had
men abuse me in the worst way. They
have called me all manner of names. ]
just look at them. What good would
it do me to strike them?"
Few men have seen more OF the
world than Tom Sharkey. He wasn't
quite ten years old when he went to
sea from his old home in Dundalk, Ire
land as a cabin boy. He got some
good lessons before the mast to harden
him. He has been in nearly every
country on the face of the globe-from
China and Japan and Africa through
India and up into the Arctic zone.
Some of his stories sound like those
of "Sindbad the Sailor"
i've been fried and frozen," said
Sharkey. -Four times 1 was ship
wrecked. Once we were sailing from
Hong Kong and our boat went to
pieces. We took to the small boats
and had to get out so quickly that we
couldn't put on an ounce of fresh wa
ter or even a ship biscuit. We had
nothing to eat from Monday morning
at o'clock till the next Wednesday
night at IL, when we were picked up.
The weather was awful hot, and three
of the sailors became mad and wanted
to kill the rest of us. The captain had
ordered two of them thrown overheard
out of protection for the others. on
the third day. when the third man
went mad, the captain gave orders Tor