Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-03
JOHN LIS ESCAPADE

1--WE had troubles Of my own in handling
prize fighters, and stood up under them, but
I'm afraid I'd have caved had ever got
hold of John L." remarked Baltimorean
who used to manage string Of boxers.
| John L. was for sure hard man to take
care of and keep on eye on when he was
due to get ready for a fight in his po.en-
tial days, and on several occasions he came
! near driving the men handling him to the
verge Of madness. Sullivan appreciates
that fact himself now. The old man is
still good deal of public character. and
so there'll be no harm in my telling OF a
| little incident in his fighting career that
has never found its way into print. John l..
takes a humorous view of that incident now
and wonders how the people handling him
ever contrived to put up with him at the
time.
at was after he was matched to fight
Slade. His manager then was James
Wakely, the New York cafe proprietor
Wakely picked out William Muidoon, then
the champion wrestler, now a physical
trainer Of wealthy men. to train Sullivan
for the battle. Muldoon took a careful
look over number of training grounds,
wishing to find, as the most essential con-
sideration, spot distinguished by the alb
sence of saloons. He finally hit upon
Sharon Springs. N. Y, and, catching Sulli-
van In yielding humor week or so after
the match was made, took the big puncher
up there. Muldoon was always Just
leetle bit afraid Of John L. and handled
him pretty gingerly-which was just pre-
cisely the way that Sullivan should not
have been handled by anybody looking to
obtain the proper kind of control over him.
Muldoon started in with Sullivan at Sharon
Springs. but the big fellow was mighty
cranky and .ntractable, and several times
he started to mix it up with Muldoon. At
such times Muldoon, man of tremendous
strength, had to clasp the fighter around
the body, holding his arms to his sides,
until his peeviShness, due to the privatiOns
of training, had expended ITSELF
"One afternoon, only three weeks before
the fight with Slade was to come off. Sui
livan disappeared from his Sharon Springs
for him, but he couldn't be found. Muldoon
instantly concluded then that Sullivan had
| made his escape to New York on the after
noon train. So down to New York Muldoon
went
He first visited James Wakely. Sullivan's
| manager. and told him of the fighters es-
cape. Then he began to hunt around New
York for John L. Wakely organized
attic search for the champ of all the
champs, and even the police were quietly
notified to keep an eye out for the derelict
fighter. After three days search how
ever, Sullivan hadn't been found. 1t was
afterward ascertained that he had spent
this time in Jersey City so as to keep out
of the way of the people he knew would be
trailing him.
along toward 10 o'clock on the night of
the fourth day Of Sullivan's disappearance
friend of Wakely's rushed into the lat
ter's 42d street establishment and told him
that John l.. was holding little personally
conducted carnival for himself in the cafe
of Broadway hotel.
Now. it happened that the only living
man that Sullivan was afraid of was James
Wakely. Wakely was, and Is, a small,
chunky, taclturn man. who sometimes goes
several days without saying word to
anybody, even his employees; but there was
something about him.. probably his quiet,
| reserved manner. and his reputation for
doing things with a whole lot of sudden
| ness once he had made up his mind that
caused John L. to have a heap of respect
for Wakely.
when Wakely's friend told him where
John L. was. the little manager of the
fighter didn't say word, but stepped into
his office, took out Of his desk a blackjack
that somebody had given to him as a curios-
ity and strolled around to the hotel at
| which he had heard John L. was cut
ting up.
He found Sullivan sitting around table
with crowd OF boon pals, all OF them
engaged In making rings on the table with
the bottoms of their glasses and talking
loud. Without saying a solitary word
Wakely walked up to John L.. pulled the
blackjack out Of his sack coat pocket and
walloped Sullivan on the top Of the head
with 1t just as hard as he knew how. The
blow put Sullivan out worse than anything
| he ever got before or since. He just lolled
| back in his seat, dead to the world.
p" Pick the big maverick up and carry
him to room!' commanded Wakely.
Three or four Of the crowd took hold
| OF the limp John l.. and carried him to a
room upstairs. They laid him on a couch
Wakely left him there, alone, and locked
him in the ROOM
"At o'clock on the following morning
Wakely and Muldoon entered Sullivan's
room, and found the fighter frantically
pushing the button. The button had-been
disconnected. however, in accordance with
Wakely's orders given the night before,
Sullivan piped down instantly as soon as
| he saw Wakely.
"'Get ready for Sharon Springs John,
| said Wakely quietly. pulling out his watch
You've got five minutes
Sullivan meek as lamb, humbly init
mated that one eye-opener, anyhow, would
| be about the correct thing under the cir
| cumstances.
mot on your life replied Wakely brief
| ly. Come on
1.-The fighter followed the little man down.
stairs and got into a closed carriage with
| him and Muldoon. They caught the train
| Just in time, and Wakely went along this
| time. He stayed at the training beadquar-
John L. when he was starting back for
New York was this:
"'You get ready for that mill, now, or
you want to look out for me"
Sullivan trained right then, and what he
| did to Slade is part Of the annals of the
| handed out to him, but Sullivan admits
now that that was what he needed. Wake
| ly has come to the front a good many
| times since for Sullivan when the one
| time champ has been in sore straits