The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1906-10-06
This is something about Cans.

Before the contest at Goldfield 1t
was eNlson first and last. After 1t
Cans was the whole show. l have
already written what l thought of
the Dane and his most remarkable
stand. l have also covered Cans,
and would have dropped him for
other fighters and fight gossip were
1t not that the colored man has
leaped into popularity and won so
many new friends, especially among
the sport readers.
Cans started his fighting career
ma rough and tumble way under a
shed in the fish market at Balti-
more. His first chance came as he
was walking home with friend one
night.
Kernan's Monumental theater had
been turned into a fighting club in
a semi-sincere way. Cans had
heard of battle royals between col
ored people and wanted to get a
chance to earn little extra money
as principal in one of them. He
heard that one of the colored boys
would be unable to take part in a
contest that night and he volunteer
ed to take his place.
Cans appeared and his showing
WAS surprise. A man who saw
1.-THE battle was much impressed At
this time the man in question was
running restaurant. Cans looked
good to him and before long the
sporting public heard Of the new
colored fighter and his manager, AL
HEREFORD.
HEREFORD assured Cans that he
would back hi INTO finish, and he
did. Cans delivered the goods and
HEREFORD took the money. No one
will admit that Herford should have
taken 1t all. Cans says that he did.
In few years the Baltimore
black boy, after defeating Frank
Erne, was a worlds champion in
small way, at least.
Then trouble came thick and fast
HEREFORD tried for fights and got
theme, but honor and reputation
were sacrificed for money. When
Joe was told to lay down he did it,
and when he was told to win he did
It, and his record shows what
strenuous career he had.
Finally, with fighters afraid Of
, him, and with the public growing
dubious about his actions, he be-
came a worse asset to HEREFORD than
broken bank stock The two men
separated. Then, with his old boss
looking on, Cans starte dtoward
the coast, where he met new friends
and got back into the ring
The story of how Cans secured
The battle with Nelson will make in
teresting reading as long as pu-
gilism is a sport, and that will be
forever.
Cans standing was at zero. He
had nothing to get away on.
Graney. the great coast promoter
and referee, always his admirer and
friend, finally helped him.
Cans secured a fight and every
one remembers what he did to that
Sullivan boy. Then came a rest,
and Cans looked forward to getting
on with the winner of the Colma
fight. At first bot Nelson and
Britt laughed at the idea of fight
in a colored man.
Cans knew that he would have to
go a long way around to reach the
goal. The first evidence of his ate
tics to land eNlson was when he
fought Lewis. Willie Lewis won
and Nolan sat up and took notice.
Jack Blackburn was next taken on
and Cans managed to cross the
tape just by nose. Again Nolan
smiled and there was no question in
Nolan's mind of Nelson's ability to
whip the Baltimore boy, providing
Joe had gone back any distance
Then came the magnificent offer
from the Goldfield club for con-
test between Cans and the Dane.
Nolan had been watching the big
prize. He figured that a man who
had been fighting welterweights
and making poor showing certain
ly couldn't get down to 1873 ringside
and beat Nelson. Time was allow
ed for the public to forget what had
been said about the color line and
then Nolan informed the Goldfield
aggregation on what grounds the
battle could be fought.
The rest of the story is too recent
TO be retold. Nolan fell by the
wayside. The decoy had done Its