The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-02-01

Pitying tones used when when a pugilistic
has-6een Is referred to; yet Choyinski is
: to by fight lovers in the same manner in
which they would deliver an obituary; yet
; Peter is but "a also. Jim Corbett's age
tells against him in the opinion of many
persons. inasmuch as he has seen his thir-
ty-seventh year. All these men are products
OF the padded-glove period.
Old Tom Allen. however. also fought
when the bare fists cut and batteredSAhe
flesh. who figured In battles lasting through
hours In the open air and fought In snow
with the Temperature close to the zero
m0os broke into the ring, and battered the
fighters around. was still a championship
facteS In his fortieth year. and was not
] considered a has-been by a great deal.
Allen was an exception. IT is true. But
b;ygone pugilistic days and who still calls
battles long after the time at which men
retire from the ring nowadays. Enough
instances may be quoted, in looking over
the ring life of the bare-knuckie ishters.
contrary to the general belief on the point,
was at least as long as that Of the boxers
CT to-day.
Two reasons may be given for this. One
is the fact that the old-time battles were
Fought In the open air. The other. that
speed was less essential in the bare-knuckle
days than 1t Is at present.
The open-air battles. even when fought in
a driving sncwstor!h. as they ofen were.
probably proved far less injurious to a
man than a bout OF to-day, conducted in a
heated hall reelSing with tobacco smoke.
The fighters at least had pure air to
breathe. And the value of this can be esti-
mated by those who have noted the num-
Der of men collapsins as modern boxers
after a short course of theatrical life.
Steady breathing of the air In a crowded
theater each night. even when the men
have remained in such an atmosphere but
a few hours each day, has sapped the VI
tally from several champions. Steady work
In n oroyy1aJ 1avsrr ball -H--- - I---.
or the men draw tobacco smoke in with
each painting breath. has undoubtedly
proved more injurious to many a fighter
than his opponents blows.
Then as to the matter of speed. A man
loses that extreme edge of speed quicker
than ne loses his strength. To-day. speed
might Just as we'll not enter the ring. In
the old days. when the men set themselves
for their blows end sent in their ounches
to do damage with each stroke, this ex-
IRENE speed was not so essential.
The loss of this edge Of speed removes
a man from the front rank to-day. In the
his muscles were still in good trim and his
strength was not waning. The result was
ttat a fighter of ability might nave a ring
career at least as long as that Of the ring
heroes of to-day.
Considerable interest was aroused by the
announcement of Aliens illness in yester-
days Republic. and the record of the old
timer was talked over among the fight low
ers of the city. The contrast between the
battles of to-day. in halls lined with police
brated bout between Allen and Joe Goss,
when the ring was broken. revolvers drawn,
seconds forced from their principals at The
muZZleS of guns and the ring Stormed by
g, mob, furnished a lively topic of Discus
sion.
The fight in question occurred in 1867 and
stormy day. The affair was for a side bet
of s., 800. and after a battle of .thifty-seven
rounds, lasting one hour and fifty minutes.
rrnrda nf Goes hrnha tntD ~ -S-- 80
threatened to kill Alien and his seconds.
Two men known as Red Leary and Blinky
Morgan burst into the ring with drawn re-
volvers and drove his seconds away.
At that time, Goss was clearly beaten
and was entirely blinded by Aliens blows.
Tom was hardly injured in the fight. but
in the subsequent attack by the mob he
was shot IN the hand and was hit in the
eye with a club. Red Leary and Morgan
through being hit in the stomach with a
brick. while Morgan was hanged at Column
bus.
Another memorable fight of Aliens was In
1870, when he met Jem Mace in Louisiana
for the championship Of the world and a
side bet of s., 800: Allen was badly punched
his seconds threw up the sponge at the end
Of ten rounds. The contest lasted fifty
minutes.
land under Queensberry rules. putting him
British, championship. His most notable
HButS iOCdly. buWcNcI. WSTc luOSc lOutut
in the vicinity Of this city. In one fight, he
met Mike McCool on Bloody Island. win
ming easily in seven rounds.
Tom Kelly, who also lives In this city, is
another veteran of b~are-knuckle- days, hav-
ing been born in Roscommon County, Ire
land. in 1896. He battled around 14 pounds
and was one of the best known pugiiists of
his day. His ring career extended over az
longer period than that of most modern
pugflists. and while he never fought In this
his record of battles on the other
side of the water Is a lengthy one. The
fact that he frequently attended Donny-
brook Fair and still survives attests his
ability.
One thing may be added, however, and
that is, that 1t was the successful pugilists
who had the lengthy careers In the ring.
Defeat in a ba~re-knuckle battle generally
meant a terrible pounding and often meant
broken Jaws and ribs. One hard battle was
often enough to wreck a mans constitu-
ton, If he was the beaten fighter, who re-
ceived the drubbing. and IL was the VIC
torious man, who could beat his opponent
into submission readily. that had the career
= ~. ~ ~