The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-12-16
DISAPPOINTMENT
HURT NJ GOVERN
After Being Defeated by Young
Corbett He Rapidly Went
Down the Line.
By GEORGE SIIER.

Poor Terry McGovern, only q years
and 9 months old and an inmate of an
asylum for the insane. 1t hardly seems
while ago, a few years, was the most
talked of man in American pugilism,
should 50 utterly collapse. Young,
strong. sturdy, full of vitality and the
most terrific fighter in the bantam and
featherweight class for five years, and
today a total wreck.
That either speaks i'll for the game
or for travelling the pace that kills.
Which of the two? 1t certainly cannot
be the game, as he was never a chop
ping block for his opponents, so it must
be attributed to the pace"
Terry, during his short and success
ful ring career, engaged in nearly 100
battles and was defeated twice, mis-
conqueror being Young Corbett. He
lost his first fight to Corbett on Nov. %,
1901. i'm the second round, but received
no punishment worth mentioning.
Punch on Jaw Did IL.
A punch on the jaw sent him to the
canvas and when he arose ne received
another blow on the same spot, which
put him out of the running The pun
ishment he sustained in that contest
did not affect him in the least, but the
fact he was defeated and lost the
championship, on which he set great
store, did. That defeat did more to
unbalance his mind than did all the
punishment that he received in all of
his battles combined
He broOded and brooded over that
setback. He considered it a scratch
victory and the quickness of it, presum-
ably, was, but when sixteen months
later COrbett repeated the trick at San
Francisco in eleven rounds he thought
differently. He. however, would not
credit Corbett being his superior and
the more he thought of the defeats ad-
ministered by the Denver lad the more
he brooded over them. Misery, il is
said, loves company. And misery seeks
forgetfulness in the flowing bowl and
other designations.
Career as Bantam.
Some say hard training and hard
fights are accountable for McGovern's
present unfortunate condition, but
brOoding over his two defeats and try
ing to forget them by travelling along
the broad path, probably, is the direct
cause The first time / saw Terry was
at the LenOx club, New York, the night
he defeated Patsy Haley in eighteen
rounds. That was March II, 1899 He
had met a number of good little men
prior to that and was considered the
fastest and most terrific fighter of his
weight and inches this country ever
produced. Terry was a bantam in those
days, and exactly six months after he
beat Haley he knocked out PedIar
Palmer at Tuckahoo, n. Y, in the first
round. The battle was for the worlds
bantamweight championship, and at
which L OBLIGATED as referee
He posed as the champion in that d.
vision only four months, during which
he cleaned up every little fighter that
had the courage to oppose him. On
Jan. 9, 1900, he moved up into the
featherweight division as a champion
aspirant and won the title by defeating
George Dixon in eight rounds.
Knocked George Dixon Out.
He knocked out the colored lad, but
Tom ORourke, DixOn's manager.
tossed up the sponge in token of defeat
before the referee could toll off the re-
quired ten seconds. Tom did this to
prevent the fight being recorded as a
knockout, but the battle went down in
ring history as a K. o.
Terry then went down the line. beat
ing every one. He was then a we'll
behaved boy and, to the best of my
knowledge, strictly temperate. I re-
member the night, in Chicago, that he
knocked out Eddy Santry in the fifth
round, and a number of his admirers
were opening wine. but Terry could not
be induced to touch a drop of it. After
a tWo-hOur drinking session Sam Har-
rls, Terry's manager, who looked after
his interests, must have known his con-
dltlon when they matched, or rather
permitted, him to engage in fights with
Murphy, Nelson Britt and Corhatt
Fortunately for all concerned, he es-
capped injury in those contests and this
must be attributed to his wonderful
vitality. Terry was an honor to the
game, and the pity is there are not
more like he was before he went