Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1903-04-11
ANECDOTES OF
YOUNG CORBETT
Incidents In the Champion
Featherweight's Career.
FAMOUS PUGILIsTs FEAR OF 10,

pion,s Lucky Medal.
That he Is superstitious and that he
hoes not admire h%andshakers were
two admissions made by William II.
Rothwell young Corbettl. conqueror
OF Terry McGovern and the feather
weight champion pugilist Of the world,
In the YorkyIllc police court. in New
York, one morning, where he was ar
raigned for violating the Lewis law in
giving a s2arring exl lbition at the
Dewey theater, says the New York
Evening World.
Magistrate Hogan wanted time to
consider the case and, to let the little
pugilist fulfil his theatrical engage
ments and visit his parents In Denver,
consented to postpone the hearing until
the second week in January, 1862.
"Iet me see unused the magistrate.
consulting a calendar. "I1l put down
the hearing for Jan. 49,"
"Oh, gee. judge broke in Young Cor
bett, s'please don't make il the 18th
"Superstitfous about the 13thf" asked
the magistrate,
Eyes, sir replied the boy. Il don't
want to have things happen to me on
the 18th Of the month. II | was up
here on the 18th Of January, I'd be
hoodooed all the year"
The little pugilist had to wait nearly
two hours in court. Lawyer Hoffman
and Manager Kraus of the Dewey said
that sharkey and Fitzsimmons had
been arrested for a similar offense at
Roster & Balls in 1901 and had been
discharged by Magistrate Olmsted.
Magistrate Hogan went to the tele-
phone booth TO talk to Magistrate Ohm
sted. 1t was found that Magistrate
Olmsted did not sit In the Fitzsimmons-
Sharkey case. and Magistrate Hogan
expressed a desire to set the hearing
over a few days.
I'D like 10 80 to Philadelphia this
afternoon" said Young Corbett. "I've
got a date to play there tonight with
the World Beaters B~urlesquers. From
there want to 20 to Denver to see
my folks. I'll be back ia January
II could send 1t to Magistrate Mott"
suggested Magistrate Hogan. He had
the case last Friday"
.sOh. gee!l" CALCULATED Young Corbett-
Can yea remember the lines you
have in the shown asked Lawyer
Hoffman.
Well said Young Corbett. 'SSee-
ger asks me II it is war to the knife. |
say, with me life I'll defend the GAL
or something Ike that.
I'D like to get away, judge he con-
sfded TO the magistrate. ave got TO
nleet a lot OF ha~ndshakers between now
and 3 O'clock. and | want to get it over
with. 1t makes me tired to be hand
shaking all the time"
And so, to accommodate him, the
date for the hearing was set down as
Tuesday, Jan. IA, 1902.
Speaking of his career as a pugilist
Young Corbett once said to a reporter
of the New York Evening Journal:
"Fighting was forced on me. | was
n mammals boy when / went to
school. and many a %drubbing it cost
me. There were three boys that used
TO lay for me. One Of them was VIII
Miller, the other two were named ia
cobs and Dolan. 1t was Jacobs that
made me a fighter.
zone day mammals boy took his
last licking and decided to give it back
to Jacobs. We met IN the scalehouse
at the Union %stockyards in Denver. |
was about fifteen years old then and
Jacobs was a little older. We had a
rafting go that lasted thirteen rounds
before Jacobs quit.
The boys made a hero Of me and
that gave me the idea that l could
fight. 1t felt pretty good to be walking
up the street with half a hundred kids
trailing along cheering. So | took to
boxing. spared first az clubs and then
at regular prelminaries. and the only
man that ever licked me was dad.
Il left school to box, and after he
saw that he couldn't stop me he got
the Humane society after me. | had
begun to box in a vaudeville house
then, but they stopped that, and was
out for a year. During that year
tried to learn the printing business
with my uncle. That was leg work. all
right. | kicked a press for the best
part of a year. when | wasn't soldier
ing. and then decided that I'd never
make a printer, SO | quit.
Il went TO Omaha during the exposi-
ton and boxed at Pabsts. on the Mid
way. These were mostly exhibition
bouts, but | had one good fight there.
That | count as the beginning of my
ring career. That was with Fred
O'Neil. whom | beat in four rounds, at
Ike Cribs, knocking him out. | re-
member that fight for another reason.
O'Neil was u twenty minutes, and L
was arrested. The gang had me good
and scared. because a man had been
killed in the ring in Omaha during the
year, and his opponent had served a
term in the pefateAtlary.
..Rut it turned cut all right, and /
kept on at prei!minaries until my first
starvnght came. II was at Aspen,
fofo~ where met Reddy' Coogan.