Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-11-14
MANY HARDSH|PS
IN PUC'S EXPERIENCE
Billy Lavigne Tells of Some Early
Day Difficulties In
The Ring.
HIS CHAMPION BROTHER.
Story of the Kids Match With Geo.
Sddons Way Back in 1855
Game Improving,

Billy Lavigne, formerly manager for
Jack clifford well known TO Salt Lake
fight fans, writes Interestingly Of early
day prize fights. lie says in the Dem
! yer Post;
This jumping in and stopping the
| game at every stand the fighter makes
reminds me of the old days, | will new
er forget the trouble we had in pulling
off a mill between my brother. Kid La
vigne and George siddons. That was
way back in 1883, and the game had not
| yet reached the padded ring stage In
those days II was hard gloves and a
and not so many decisions were found
| fault with If the mill was brought off
| without the usual Interference that was
looked for, The battle between the Kid
| and Siddons was probably the most
successful Of that kind ever pulled of
| in Michigan. Siddons had just recent
| ~ fought draw battle with Ike Weir.
the Belfast Spider, who was at that
time considered the greatest wonder In
the featherweight class. On the other
hand, the Kid had just beaten Pike
Johnson, a featherwelght who had
fought a lj-round draw with Tommy
Warren, and his matching against sid
dons for $500 a side created a good deal
of excitement around that locality
Slddons arrived on the battle ground
and the. usual formalities We're gone
through of trying to hold the bout in
thcater or hall under the guse of a
gYt. 4 La fs.V 80 I.yN hn fu,n ri
their being matched for a side bet with
small gloves leaked out, and that only
seemed to Increase the obstacles against
securing place to hold It, as well as
TO call forth protests against the mill
Every effort was made TO hold It in
public, and as the time passed interest
increased to such an extent that we
were all threatened with arrest TO keep
the peace when We hit on plan to hold
the mill that proved great success in
its way.
large dance hall at a roadhouso out
side of the city Of Saginaw was secur-
ed on the pretense Of holding a cock
fight, and the owner was told to hold
the matter secret for the reason that
the party was a select one and would
willingly nay twice the amount of hail
rent for the exclusive use of the place.
The next obstacle to remove was the
sheriff of that county. which we did
by phOney message, calling him out
of the county until the mill was over.
The place Of netting 20 ascertain the
battle ground and for the sale of tick
cts was one Of the most noted sporting
resorts In that part OF the country. The
thermometer on this night was below
zero and the drive just Il miles out of
the city. Not one that left IN the hun
dreds Of rigs that night knew lust
where the battle ground was to be. The
only tip the ticket seller gave when
they procured the pasteboards, at SO
and S. n throw was TO follow the era
tiot road out as far as swan creek.
There man was stationed to examine
the tickets and direct them to the bat
tie ground. The ring was pitched in
the middle Of the dance hail floor, with
line of spectators to form the ring
No time was lost preparing after the
crowd had all reached there. and by
1880 the referee had called time and
the boys were together. Eighty-seven
rounds they battled that night. and the
mill ended In a draw at the break OF
day. II was one OF the longest and
hardest battles on record. Tho Kid at
that time had just passed his sixteenth
year.
HllNlllNl llnAhll't Niit ltbNtu fNtlllllB
IS well as amusing was the time the
Kid fought Eddie Myers. The match
was made for n 81 900 side bet. and the
place selected to battle was Streator
Ill.,, Myers home. A special train was
made up 70 run down from Chicago,
and the tickets called for admission 20
the fight, as well as railroad Transport
tatiou When the train arrived at
Streator II was learned that the chief
OF police refused to allow the bout 10
20 on, and every effort was made to
overcome that obstacle, without sue
cess. The crowd In the meantime. had
again boarded the train. with poor pros
poets OF seeing the mill, when II was
decided TO run the train down 10 n
small town called Dana, about 30 miles
from Streator. When the train arrived
there about a, m, and the crowd
surged on the cars, were were met with
the most peculiar sensation over ex-
perlenced.
II seems that some one had either
telephoned or telegraphed the town
marshal OF Dana, and he in turn had
made the round OF the village, calling
forth a general riot alarm, and every