The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-12-22
RETIREMENT OF GRANEY.
Refereed More Fights During His
Time Than Any Other Man.

San Francisco, Dec. 22--The Britt
Nelson battle was one of the first con-
tests or prominence ON the coast that
Eddie Graney has missed refereeing
since he came into prominence. Queer
pug1llstic conditions practically gave
the retiring Graney his fame as a
referee The fact the game was shut
down in New York and many other
places in the United States and that
California alone opened it's gates to all
manner of big fighters whether they
weighed 240 or simmered down to
the lightweight figures or feathers.
Naturally, one section of the country
would insist on boosting" it's own ma
terial in the refereeing line. That is
one reason why Charley White went
into eclipse when the game died out in
New York. George Sfler is limited to
the middle west and other referees are
rarely heard of by the general public.
Graney, the little blacksmith, coming
up, befriended by men with strong in
refereed more big fights during his
comparative short time of action than
any other man living. He retires in
his prime.
Graney, in his career. has been
fortunate to get fights often in which
one man Outclassed the other as in the
last -FitzsimmOns fight, the
Corbett-J effries fight, the F'itzsim-
Munroe battle
The defeat of Young Corbett by Nell
SON weakened the attacks Young Cor
bett and his manager had been max
Corbett decision, which Corbett
thought close enough for, draw. 1t
was the "hollering' which rather
soured Graney on the fighting game,
though in the light of recent events it
has established him in much
stronger position than ever.
Graney first spring into prominence
when he refereed the Joe Walcott-
Il rirrp,1 -
was weak from the weight he was
compelled to make and lost in twelve
rounds. Graney's next battle of i'm
portance was in 1902 when he refereed
the SECOND battle between Jim Jeffries
and F1tzsfmmons, the bout ending in
eight rounds in favor of the former.
In 1903 he refereed several battles of
importance. On February % he called
the Young Corbett- Eddie Hanlon bout
a draw and he officiated in the joe
Gans-Willie Fitzgerald and Young
Corbett-Terry McGovern bouts on
March % and 81, respectively, the
contests ending in knockouts in ten
and eleven rounds respectively. In the
frankie Neil-Harry Forbes and Jim
Jeffries-Jiln Corbett battles on Au-
gust Is and 4 he also off1ciated. The
nrst was for the bantam weight cham
pionship and resulted in a knockout
in the second round in favor of Neil.
The Jeffries- Corbett battle was ter
minated in ten rounds in favor of JEFF
LIES MS last DdLtle IN TINS year was
between Robert Fitzsimnons and.
George Gardner. The decision went
to Fftzsimmons at the twenty rounds
after Fftzsimmons had Gardner al
most frightened to death, so that he
did not as much as strike Fitzsim-
mons a hard blow.
This season Graney refereed several
battles of note. The first was on
February %, between Young Corbett
and Dave Sullivan. Corbett won in
eleven rounds after furious battle.
The Corbett-Britt contest was next
and 1t was this contest that practically
led to his retirement This battle
went twenty rounds and Britt received
the decision at the conclusion of the
bout 1t was claimed that the worst
Corbett should have received was a
draw and that the decision was un-
just
Graney refereed several smaller bat
ties after this fight and his next con-
test of Importance was between Jim
] effries and Jack Monroe on August
26 last, when Monroe proved a false
alarm" not even as much as made an
attempt to fight, being put to sleep in
two rounds of tame sparring.
This was Graney's last battle.