Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-06
INDIAN SIGN"
IS POWERFUL
SOME MEN ALWAYS FALL BE-
FORE CERTAIN OPPONENTS
Terry meeovern, "Youngo corbett,
George Gardner, Joe Walcott and
Kid Carter Appear as "ln-
dian" Rinasters

Several fight critics in attemntine 60
explain the decisive manner in Witt,
Honey" Melody beat Willie I,a,yis 20
New York in their recent engagement
attribute 1t to the Indian sign"
This is a familiar expression 70 .t,o
followers of pugilistic events. and 10
used many times to excuse defeat of
a local favorite. But for the bene3t
OF anyone who may not be acquainted
with the term a word of explanation
Will not be amiss.
When man is said to have the
indian sign on another fighter II
simply means that the possessor of tbis
mysterious Sign" has defeated a man
once and Is considered a sure winner
any time the pair meet again in the
ring.
It Is an old saying and Is firmly he
neVed in by most of the men closely
connected with the fighting game
Whether or not it was case of I'm
match is inmaterial.
Had It on McGovern
There are plenty of instances i'm the
history Of the ring where it does seem 3
certain that some fighters held the en-
dian sign" on others.
And the more you listen to trainers
and men intimate with fighters the
more firmly are you convinced that
there is great deal of truth in the
idea that certain men can beat others
under almost any conditions.
rake an example that is always re-
terred to by believers in the INDIAN
sign'-that of Young Corbett and Terry
McGovern-and they will tell Won that
Young Corbett could beat the BROOKLYN
terror any time.
"A well Known fight critic visited each
Of the fighters in his dressing noon
just before he was to enter the ring
for what proved to be Corbett's second
victory over Terry. When he asked
Young Corbett how he felt in regard
to the outcome of the fight the Dem
verite replied:
We'll, Britt might beat me- Herrera
might beat me, or you might beat me,
but L can beat this fellow any time.
He was just made for me-" That
showed Corbett's supreme confidence.
In McGovern's dressing room there
was different reply to the inquiry as
to what he thought the result of the
light would be. Terry, who was usu-
ally so strong in his belief that he
could win against anybody. and never
hesitated to express his opinion, said
that night
Il don't know. He's a tough fellow"
That showed the difference, and that
confidence which Corbett possessed and
his subsequent decisive defeat of Nc
Govern is considered positive proof by
many sporting men that Corbett had
the Indian sign" on Terry. And they
claim the Denverite would win any
time the pair start
Gardner Easy for WaIcott
This is one of the most striking in
stances of the Indian sign" There
are many other cases where it is
claimed that certain pugilists could al
ways beat others. Take the case of
three fighters who were active about
five years ago-Joe Walcott, George
Gardner and Kid Carter.
Although many people claimed that
some of the fights among this trio had
a queer" look, there is no doubt that
some of the reversals of dope could
be attributed to the Indian sign"
Joe Walcott certainly had the "sign"
on George Gardner any time they
started, and yet Gardner could beat
Kid Carter who, in turn, defeated
Walcott. In these instances it looks
like a good example of the Indian
sign"
Another case that could be cited is
that of Jimmy Gardner and Buddy
Ryan. Buddy was a first class fighter
in every respect, and yet he was COM
paratively easy for Gardner, While
Ryan beat men with whom Gardner
would not have a "look in" How can
that be explained except by the Indian
sign?"