The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-03-18
THE OLD-T|ME
RING FIGURES
Most Have Passed Away, and
Their Successors Don't
Measure Up.
FUNNY TOUR OF SOME
DISGUISED BALL-T0SSERS
End of Race of Ring FakirS,
as the Public VIII Have
None of Them.
By John l. Sullivan.

By John l. Sullivan.
Well, well, how the names that used
to loom big In all the fight scenes OF
the old days are being wiped off the
slate. During the past year, Jimmy
Colville, who was bottle holder for me
when 1 fought Paddy Ryan in 1884 for
the championship. and who afterward
had whole lot to do with making Jim
Corbett famous, passed In last summer
In Boston. He saw the beginning and
the end of Corbett as a fighter acting
as Corbett's t!nekeeper at that St
Patrick's day fight In Carson City in
1897 when Fitz stored away the gentle
man. Jimmy had the reputation of be-
Ing one OF the squarest men that ever
followed sport Jack Havlin, whose
great battle of sIxty-one rounds to n
draw with Ike Weir in the woods Of
Rhode Island In 1897 was a record, is
also dead. The men fought for four
hours with skin gloves. a man who
could stand Ike Weir off for four
rounds was a game fighter, even II he
didn't weigh more than 122 pounds In
the ring. Poor Jack was about my age
and was born In Boston.
Jere Dunn is reported to be dying of
cancer in Frisco. l suppose that his
trouble with Jimmy Elliott could be
traced to Jere's anger at Elliott duck
ing out of q match with me after Jere
had gone broke paying out money to
arrange for the battle. News comes
from New Orleans that Parson Davies
was stricken with blindness not long
ago In his office In New Orleans.
1t seems strange that some of the
men who were the best Of my advisers
and who used TO predict what was GO
ing to happen to me II / didn't watch
out are taken, while my career keeps
rolling on.
You must have been spared for
some good purpose. John. after all the
rules and other things you've broken"
an old friend said to me a few days
ago. after we'd talked over old times.
But he added. Just what the good pur-
pose is l can't dope out"
1 saw an imitation sport put some
tobacco on a 800 bill, roll 1t into
cigarette. light 1t and smoke 1t up.
This was In Philadelphia some years
ago.
You think you're a spender," says
the sport to me. but ] can tell you
that you're only a beginner. We can
give you pointers down here on how
to make money burn"
You think you're a wonder, sure
thing" says l, but you're just a plain
dam fool. l can spend money, but
don't inhale II, not while so many good
people are looking for handouts"
No doubt that fellow has sobered up
since. and no doubt he has many times
wished for that hundred back again un-
smoked, so I'll keep his name to my
self.
What put me In mind of this smoke
artist was story Doc. Waddell, the
Robinson circus agent, tells OF a
Christmas stunt / did with 500 in a
town near Cincinnati some years ago.
My manager had me on the water
wagon and l couldn't get off, and when
! demanded 800 he didn't want to give
up, But l finally got 1t and l cha ased
out to a toy store and n candy store
and filled two baskets with stuff. and
left n lot of orders at a grocer's and
butchers. Then [ took the stun to q
family that Santa Claus was forget
ting and left the goods and what was
left OF the 500. Doc. Waddell says
that one of the boys OF that hungry
family has made a big mark IN the
business world, for Il change OF luck
set in for the family that Christmas
"He has forgotten all about John LIS
visit" says Doc. I don't care about
that The idea is that 300 bills should
not be smoked up. They ought to be
used,
Tour of Some Disguised Ball-Tossers.
There isn't much sporting blood
> down South. and they don't care for
boxers" The foregoing was printed in
Western paper a short time ago. Call
II off. Some OF the best sporting blood
in the country Is down South, as
we'll know from my experience down
there. Ted Sullivan tells of an expe-
rience he had in the fall of 1888 which
shows how far wrong the above remark
Is.
Ted was taking an all-star team of
ball tossers from ST. Louis to New Or
leans. and In the bunch VERT Charley
Comiskey, Buck Ewing, Cliif Carroll
Tony Quest and others. MY combina-
tion was playing In St Louis ut the
time, and when Ted's ball players
started South word was passed along
the line that they were John LIS slug
gers.
The fun began at Cairo. where a
crowd tackled the train and demanded
TO see John l.. The crowd wouldn't
listen TO any excuses demanding John
l.. Finally they posed a player named
McGinnis at n drawing room car win
dow and told the crowd IL was me Nc
SHnis looked enough like me to pass
@td with two boys tanning him. tho
picture passed muster. All kinds OF
wine and cigars were passed In to Nc