The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-08-27

tho ring for good. Before they can bring
UP another man to fight him. who will be
capable Of making some kind Of showing
before him. two or moro years may pass
Now. two years OF idleness will spoil
any man. and. in the event that JeTries
has TO wait that long. l shall advise him
never to fight again. II he can get a
fight by next winter as far as I am con-
cerned. shall he pleased to have him take
It up
That tense air OF suppressed excitement
which is usually perceptible on the eve OF
a great championship battle was. II not
wholly lacking. considerably toned down.
The spectacle Of long lines Of eager ap-
plicants standing for hours block deep in
anticipation OF the opening of tho box
office was not witnessed. The San Fran
cisco sporting fraternity seemed to be i'm
bued with the idea that the outcome was
a foregone conclusion.
Not 80 with the out-of-town delegations.
however. who came into the city onievery
train. Tho great majority of these people
looked with favor on Munroe. In fact
this element made up Amos. two-th.rds OF
the house. They camo from the various
small towns and the cities OF California,
hut nearly every Pacific and Western
plateau State was represented. Few sport
ing men east OF the Rockies journeyed
across the continent to see the fight II
was estimated by the promoters that per-
haps fifty would be an outside figure for
such as these.
For q couple OF hours before the open
Ing OF the box office a long line of sports
men from the srail interior towns, to-
gether with the host that was to con-
sutute the gallery gods brigade. awaited
the opening Of the doors. These men
talked Munroe. but did not seem willing
to hazard much on his chances to win.
In the afternoon the betting was 100 to
IS that Jeffries would win. and even money
that the champion would knock out Mum
roo in less than ten rounds.
There was an abundance of Jeffries
money in sight. but few takers were found
for a better proposition. Toward evening
tho odds dropped to 10 to s. Most Of The
bets. however. were small. and in the
downtown poolroon1s no large commits
sions were recorded. The great bulk Of
the money wasered was on the proposition
Of how long Munroe would last. A great
many knowing ones thought IT a good
hazard to place even money that the
champion would not knock out the big
miner within ten rounds.
They figured on Munroe's youth. great
strength. visor and ambition. Not a few
too, thought that the instructions Of Kid
Mccoy would make the Butte man the
most formidable who ever tackled JefYrics
The fact that the latter was reported to
have tipped the scales at 225 pounds a few
hours before entering the ring made them
think that he would be much slower than
on the occasion when he fought Corbet.
Another element which helped along the
speculative impulse was a knowledge CT
the rules under which the battle was to
be fought. These permitted the fighters
to rough It and protect themselves at all
times. In other words, the sporting men
realized that while the contest would be
under Marquis OF Queensberry rules. there
was some resemblance to the London prize
ring rules.
With two Of the greatest giants who ever
faced each other in the ring under these
conditions. a great fight was looked for.
In all OF tho other great heavyweight
battles. notably those between Corbett and
Sullivan. Corbett and FItzsmmons, and
Corbett and Jcffries. hitting IN the cl.nches
was barred, and they broke clean at the
order Of the referee.
Shortly after o'clock the doors to the
big pavilion were opened and the waiting
througs. which had been admirably handled
by the mounted police and a squad OF pa
trolmen, poured In at the doors The gal
leries were quickly filled and the conserv-
atives among the sporting men soon occu-
pied most Of the high-prlced seats
Compared TO former championship
events. the house ranked about fifth in
point Of size. The high-water mark way
reached when Corbett and Jeffries fought.
$685. being taken in at the door on that
occasion.
The first preliminary was between the
Saginaw Kid and Jockey Burns. 1t
went four rounds and the Saginaw Kid
got the decision.
The second preliminary was between
Billy Means Of San Francisco and Neill
Sullivan OF Portland.
At o'clock the pavilion rapidly filled
UP and the sales to late corners greatly
augmented the number Of spectators. and
It Is estimated the receipts will be larger
than at first announced. There are very
few, II any. vacant seats in the audito-
rum.
The principals for the main event were