The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-05-01
ERA OF BIG MEN
IN PRIZE RING
Fighters Taller and Heavier
Than in the Past.
CHAMPIONS ARE COMPARED
GIANTS ARE BEST DRAWING
CARDS

New York. Aprn g-Tbe advent Of
Henri Piacke. the big Holland fighter.
VINO was whipped by kid Mccoy at Phii-
adelphia recently has added to the in-
preston that heavyweight pugliists or
the present day are bigger and heavier
lnan those OF twenty years ago.
Ihat this IS fact IS shown in the case
Of Jim Jeffries, our own wonderful
champion. JetIrles IS rect ~ lncnes
and weighs, in condition. Z23 pounds
Placke Is feet 5 inches tail and IS said
to tip the beam al $50 in trim. or course,
there is wide gap between the TWO as
IaF as skin IS concerned.
As recently as ISg0 ii WAS rare thing
for a really premier heavyweight 90 be
over or within a fraction Of an iuch Of
six feet. Jim COrbett was the first cham
pi0n OF recent years who did not conform
10 this rule. COrbert measured feet ]
inch, and when ia his proves as a fighter
resulted In match being arranged pc
tween himself and John l.. Sullivan no
one realized or predicted then that Cor
belts appearance on the fistic horizon
opened the way for new race OF heavy
weights.
Up 20 that time John L.. with his
mighty fists coupled with his ieet lO72
inches. was looked upon with pride as the
ideal heavyweight of the day. Very few
a few years men of Drawn and muscle.
towering above six feet would predOmi-
nate In the rims and make ii appear
necessary for man 20 be giant TO De
on the top ruuE of the ladder in the
heavy weight division.
Big Men Are Active.
The wiseacres predicted that these hulk
lug fellows. massive iu chest and limb,
VINO were above the old weight laws and
who, with their six feet OF more, could
look down upon their smaller brethren
would soon become extinct. How can
these big men expect to move with SUI
uclent alaCritE to avoid the little man
with his active right and left and his
va FErIn
immense avoirduDOiS without stumbling
from the force of their own bulky bodies
These were the questions in the minds or
many, and III was generally agreed lLaL
the big men would be slow, cumbersome
and awkward.
But, as has since been shown they were
neither awkward cumbersome nor slow.
ON the contrary they were a set OF quick
men. made of real championship timber,
and In some Instances capable Of making
some of the tabled giants blush with
shame as lar as skill and proWess IS con-
Cemed
Jeffries was thought to have reached
the limit of height and usefulness, but
soon Gus Ruhlin. appropriately called by
his friends the Akron Giant. came along.
Rubin soon became a pugiGstic factor.
Under the coaching and gutelage OF Man
ager Billy Madden. Rubin developed into
fighter of the first water. He moved
about in the ring as If he were a mortal
or ordinary size. There was no ludlca-
Jiou Of his movements that he weighed 20
his height or that ne had a punch that
could down an OK IF delivered properly,
There was nothing sHpshOd about KUN
Inns movements. He was spry and rapid
on his feet
Little fighters those from the bantam
class up TO the we'll built middlewelghtS,
looked upon the new race OF heaNy-
weights In object wonder, and they SUN
regard them in the same light today.
Folks who admire perfect specimens OF
manhood, VITA broad shoulders, nuse
chests and muscular limbs and bones
make deductions as TO the origin or TINS
new race is it the climate. the food OF
the exercise, they ask? But no one vet
has been able TO explain the riddle with
as 10 whether the next ten years Wlit
develop "a race of heavywelEhts who VII!
be taller than Piacke, and who VIII pos
sess the speed and flstic ability OF JeIt-
Most of the big pugilists have come
from the west. Jeffrles although porn
in Ohio, was brought up in Los angeles
Rubin first saw the light at Canton o.
but did all of his athletic work in the
west jim Corbett is native Of Cali
fOrnia. Jack Munroc, another siN-looleT'
has lived in Butte, Mont. California has
also produced some other heavyweights or
lesser prominence i'm Hank Griffin
(cOIOred). TOOthpiCk Kelly, over SIX feet
Jack McNey. Joe Kennedy and Joe Nc
AuHffe, the Mission Boy. All these men
faceti0usly give credit 10 the climate OF
California for their weight and physical
development.
There was a time when Australia held
the palm i'm contributing Dig men 10 me
ring. Frank SlaVln, Joe Goddard jim
Hall and Bob FitZsimmOus were exam
piles, for instance. Siavin was the only
one of the quartet who could boast or
being a shade over six feet. When ln
his prime Slavin was fine eX nple OF
physical manhood, strong, vigorous and a
fighter TO the core. The late Peter JACK
son. "a uugilist who knew his business,
mi "
weight champion had not John J. declared
that DC was undignified TO meet COlOred
man, was feet I iuch- But Jackson
never carried the weight that hunlln ana
Jeffries do Had he done so there is a
question as to whether his extra amount
Of weight would not have been handicap
10 him.
Fitzsimmons IS 9 feet 1lsi inches. But
what ne has lacked in comparison TO
the height of the new race he has made
up tcufOld i'm his knowledge ar the manly
art. EltZsimmOHs likes to nave big men
pitted against him.. lie says that II they
are reached properly they viii fall easier
and cannot regain their equilibrium
without much effort. He has demon
strated the truth Of this assertion IN sew
eral instances. especially in the cases OF
Con RiOrdan. now dead. and tan, pom
uerOus scrappeF TOO Con Coghlan. tire
Irish giant and erstwhile hammer thTOwer
and all around athlete and I'd Dunkhurst.
man of elephautine proportions but
with not much skill. But the COrnishman
missed his cue when he bucked against
Jeffries. Bob had two trips and suffered
temporary s0mnolence in both battles.
Fitz SAYS that Jeffries is more than big
mamie Is colossal beiug, as impene-
trable as the Chinese wall. In this re
spect flJz ls seconded by 0Lher prominent
knucklc experts Ruhlu. COrbett. Kenny
et aL-giants themselves.
EngIand's First Heavyweight.
England'z first heavyweight champion.
who fl0uTished i'm 1I19. was little man
compared to the boxers of today. Figgs
was under s feet and weighed below 200
piOn of that COurEv from 1910 TO 1850
stood feet III inches, and only spOrted
lS6 pounds Ben Ryan. champion of
England I'm 1880. came nearer the new
race of heavyweights than any other of
the foreign milIers. Ryan was 20 pounds
SIN condition yet he was under feet
er as the premier fighter OF England. only
weighed 1S2 pounds in trim, and stood .
feet 9 inches.
Tom Cribb who won the heavyweight
title of England lacked ~ inches Of s
feet. yet they termed him giant in the
early part of last century. when his
name stood foremost as the best fighter
Of his day. Tom Savers. q hero of MANY
stubborniy fought battles. only measured
feet So inches. with an average weight
of 1854 pounds. Maces height is only 5
feet inches and he is more of a mid
dleWeight than anything else scaling $50
pounds On fettle. Tom King is credited
with having beer 6 feet inches tan but
he could get TO ESQ pounds without much
effort
In looking back over the history of
American priZefght champions John e
Heenan stands foremost In the line OF
giants. Heenan is said to have been
feet 2 inches in height yet the best he
could de as to weight was $50 pounds
Joe Coburn. a prominent American bruis-
en- and champion. was only feet Q
inches. while Jimmy Elliott. who was
born i'm ireland. measured s feet / inch.
vi he r---Lcnn II y. -nnmna. VT Ho--r