The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-04
SHORT CAREERS OF FIGHTERS.
! PuGilists Who Are HAS Beens" Before
They Are Thirty Years Old.


They Are Thirty Years Old.
in former years a pugilist was not con.
sidered In his prime until after he had
passed 80" said veteran follower Of the
prize ring recently. Nowadays. how
ever, It Is different. A fighter who b still
at the top OF his class after his twenty
eighth year is considered wonder. OF
course, there are exceptions, q in tho
case OF Bob Fit zsimmons. He h certainly
a well-preserved man, and II will be many
moons before we find another like him.
Fitz Is nearly ~, but he can fight - vel
as he did ten years ago. Then. there arc
Tommy Ryan, Joe Choynski and jos Wal-
colt. Choynski was rever q chamipons
but he Is a great pugilist for all that
Take the old-timers. such % Barney
Aaron, Jem Mace, Dooney Harris and
others. They did their best lighting afteD
they were 80. Then there were Joe Code
dard, Frank Slavin. the late Peter SAokA
son, Billy Edwards and Pete Mccoy. John
L. sullivan was all In, soto 5sak ees6fl
he was 81. Kid Mccoy Is under 80, and has
been forced to retire, because, according
to his own admission, he cannot fight any
more. George Dixon lost the leather
weight title to Terry MoGovern when he
IL
turn, was defeated by Young Corbett be-
fore he was o. Pedlar Palmer won tho
bantam championship Of the world from
Billy Plimmer when he was 20, and gave
way to McGovern four years later. AZ
though Palmer is 20, he has been regarded
| as 'has-been' for some time. Billy PlmS
mer was compelled to quit the ring before
he was 80.
Kid Lavigne, one Of the best lightweightA
the arena has produced in the last decade
was all in before he was 49, Erank
Erne, who succeeded him at the top Of thia
ent lightweight champion. In his twentyS
seventh year, and now he has retired. Jim
Corbett was knocked out by Bob Fftzsim~
mons and lost the heavyweight champions
ship when he was 81. Tom Sharkey, al
out Of it ever since his last fight with Jim
JefYries in 1900. Sharkey always paid the
strictest attention to his health, too. Stars
light, the veteran Australian middleweighe
who has been the trial horse for number
Of the foremost Australian heavyweights.
past and present, is still fighting. StarA
light is nearly so, but the youngsters have
all they can do to beat him in decisive
fashion.
"Harry Forbes. who is only youngstera
having been born in 1879 Lost the bant am titA
to Frankie Neil few months ago. Forbes
has been fighting ever since 1897, jack
McAuliffe was not more than 81 when he
retired. Gus Rubin, who was born in 1872.
is 81 i'll in the ring, but he has never shown
much form since he was put to sleep BY
Bob Fitzsimmons three years ago. Peter
Maher has been out of it for years, although
he is still a young man. He was born In
1859 The Sullivan brothers, Spike and
Dave, have been receding In form for years,
yet neither Of them lis over 80. Kid MO-
Partland Of this city, who was expected to
fill Kid I.avigne's shoes some day, has re-
tired from the ring Mcfarland was born
in 1878, but he was forced to quit boxing =
year ago, when be was knocked out by jos
Cans.
"The method OF modern pugilists In
training and locking after their health h
different from that which the old timers
used to undergo. Present day scrappers
make twice as much money as some OF
the champions did in the past. and they