Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1905-10-08
BOB FlTZSIMM0NS DISCUSSES
THE CAUSE
Asserts That "come Easy, Go Easy"
Is Reason for Financial Disass
ter to Majority of
Scrappers
BY Bob Fitzsimmons

bad financially after winning all kinds
of good hard money in the prize ring,
and / began to think back over the list
of men 1 knew, something of in one way
or another who have come off no
better.
It's IA funny thing but the average
| fighter never has much horse sense
when it comes to handling money.
say the average, but L don't count my
self in ON the average by a whole lot,
because I've got a neat little bundle,
and 1 am going to hang on to it, I'm
plenty cagey enough for that.
It's an actual fact, though. that most
of the fighters have gone off, and
have wound up in restitution at the
end.
Perhaps some of these college sharps
who find good living in figuring out
| things OF that sort and writing yarns
about them can tell what angle i'll
boxers nature brings him down that
way, but 1 can't. and so I'll leave it o
| them.
Yankee SuIivan's Case
| I've been looking up the records a bit
of late, and the first instance [ can re-
member off the bat, so to speak, is
yankee" Sullivan.
Anybody who knows anything about
the ring at all knows he was top
notcher in the game half century
ago. Yankee was, as l say, real
fighter and his real name was Frank
A. Murray
He went along and beat everything
that was put up against him for aWnlle
and a good while at that, until he met
Tom Hyer, and Tom took his measure.
Then he stacked up against John Nor
rissey, and John trimmed him, too He
was down and out, and he went west
He landed in California somewhere i'll
the fifties. and the records show that
he ran across the vigilantes who were
dealing out law and order in Frisco
about that time.
They figured him out for bad man,
and he went to Jail for awhile. While
he was there it was doped out that ne
was mixed up with gang OF pursiats
that were pretty busy there, and Whlle
there wasn't a shred of evidence against
him, the vigilantes arranged TO execute
him. -
mt IN q game fight, just the same. He
hadn't a penny when he passed over
the divide.
Had IS Cents at Death
Everybody remembers John P. Glow,
who was shot through the heart by
policeman at Denver IN lSSo' lLE
policeman's name was F. c. Marshail'
and the shooting occurred December o;
When they went through the dead
man thew found fifteen cents and that
was everything he had in the world but
his clothes, and yet he had cleaned up
q good bit of money in his day.
There was John Morrissey, who gath
erred IN more money than any other
fighter of his time, not even eXceptlns
John l.. Sullivan, and he died win
forty-fve cents in actual cash on NM
After Heenan put him down and OUT
he went into the gambling game anu
opened up somewhere on Broadway Ill
New York I've been told on good au-
thoritv that at one time Morrissey was
worth so. 500, 900 and that he was steered
nv old commodore Vanderbilt in some
big real estate deal.
After the commodore passed away
Morrissey hit the tohoggan and passed
OH to join the rest,
It's a fact, too, that his WIDOW Went
to work in a collar factory up in Troy
n. Y, and worked for years for dol
lar a day.
They tell lot of stories about Nor
rissey and it has been said he gave
his wife $SOO,OOO worth of diamonds
ana JlldL SIG uSGu w Inv W '~NA
all at once.
Dipped in Politics
OF course it's history that Mowissey
became a state senator of New YORK
and later a congressman, but 1t dldn
make his fall any softer that We neard.
1t was his fault, in a way, too, that
Bill Poole got his death in 1855. It's
a long story to go into here, but Bill
got mixed up in politics and double
crossed Morrssey some way.
They were going TO mix it up with
the bare knuckles and they were gong
to meet ON a dock, Each man was 10
have two friends. but Poole showed up
with 800 and the beating Morrissey got
soured him for years.
OF course he was going to get square
and he did it in February of the next
year. A gang hoped him one night
when he was in StanWiX nan on the
Bowery and Bill was shot.
He lasted nine DAYS and he went over
with the rest. 1t isn't necessary to men
ton that he had two dollars and a hall
when they looked him over.
George Fulljames got his up In Mani
teba a few years ago while he was in
the ring with an unknown.
- A local man had some heavy money
on the unknown and when the time
came where George was 6OllS w NAM
his opponent his, the local man Drained
him with bungstarter. 1 don't believe
the case was ever looked into by the
police.
Dies a Pauper
Then there was John Gully, a crack
erjack English fighter, He made a
pot of money and after he left the ring
got seated in parliament, and then
went in for racing and some dickering
on the exchange,
He began to drop his cash as If he
was catching cold, and toward the end
feared he was going to die in the work.
house.
A lot of his old pals, however, saved
him from that, and he died pauper
actually.
Ned Baldwin, splendid fighter, who
gave Jem Mace whole lot of trouble
to put aWay-come to think of 1t, Jeln
never would meet him for the worlds
championship, after all-was shot in the
back in New York by loafer he had
fed and taken care of for years.
1t was the merest accident that he
didn't go to the potter's field. He was
absolutely stone broke.