The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-11-10
nze Ring

SO0u SULLIVAN - 6Vlu6 W U6vS
another fling at the stage.
The old-time warrior has persuaded
manager of one of the hurley"
shows In the eastern wheel that he can
keep sober for ten weeks in success
sion. and has been booked for that
length Of time, opening down south
early next month-provided he don't
fall OF the water wagon between now
and then.
All admirers OF the old-time cham
pion will be glad to hear that he has
been sticking pretty close to the
straight and narrow path for some
months. and as result his salary has
been boosted. until he will get $500 a
week and a percentage Of the receipts
OF the show over certain figure.
wonder how many $500 pay nights he
will actually be able to stand?
Five hundred bones a week for John
l.! Why. Sam Berger, the dub fighter
among the native sons, who never won
a real fight in his life, and who got a
sound thrashing from another third
rater the other night. wouldn't even
consider that amount, and Joe Cans.
who has championship title, to be
sure. is getting three times that
amount right now showing out west.
Cans jump from being q chamber
maid in fish market at IS a week to
the star in a company of white men
and women at $500 came in just ten
years time, although the discovery of
the present champion occurred in 1892.
For some time before that" says a
Baltimore man, Joe had been going
around Baltimore with chip on his
shoulder. BY day he served as a me-
NAL for dealer in fish; when the
shades of evening fell he Jared forth
to batter his fellow darkies. He had
picked up not q little SCIENCE but he
was still ignorant of the ultimate Sc
crets, and as a practical fighter he
lacked aggressiveness and that bold
assurance which makes so many VIC
tories. Herford sought him out, lee
tured him, coached him and trained
him and pretty soon Joe began to make
a stir.
But for long while it was impos-
sible to match him against any fight
er Of recognized standing. The cause
of this lay chiefly in Joe's complexion.
He was and Is excessively brunette,
with black, kinky hair and the pecul-
lar features of the Ethiopian race.
In brief, he. was a 'dinge,' or Afro
American, and the fastidious Irish.
Swedish. German and Italian 'pugs' of
that day We're disinclined to meet him.
But Al kept at them. and in the end
forced one of them to come into his
camp. This unfortunate gentleman
was Tommy Butler. Tommy weighed
fifteen pounds more than Joe, but AL
was determined that they should meet
at all hazards. So they faced each
other on the evening of June 20, 1896,
before the Pelican Athletic club, right
here in New York, and at the end of
twelve rounds Joe was given the de-
cision.
That was surprise for the sports,
indeed, for Butler was a f1rst-rate
fighter, but Herford was not surprised.
He saw in Cans a future champion
and laid his plans accordingly. Day
by day he besieged the managers of
other fighters for matches. At first
they SHE'D, because, as had been stated,
Joe was unduly brunette, but by and
by part Of their reluctance began to
rise, from the fact that he was unduly
skilful with his fists. One by one,
however, they had to yield. and nine
times out of ten Joe won.