Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-01-06
NOTABLE BOXING REFEREES
George siler Of Chicago Considered the
Fest in This Country.
WELL POSTED, HONEST AND cool HEADED
TrIbuIations of Honest John Kelly
and holiness of wyatt carp
John DuHy n Former
star.


Good. competent boxing referees are
scarce nowadays. OF the men active In
presiding over the championship glove
fights during the last ten or fifteen years
George siler Of Chicago IS practically the
only one still in harness. siler's most re-
cent engagement was in the Gans-Nelson
battle at Goldheld, New, when he declared
the colored man winner on a foul in the
forty-third round much TO the Subtraction
of a majority OF the spectators
siIer has refereed many fights. Some
were private affairs at which there were
comparatively few spectators because OF
the obscure regulations OF the principals
while others attracted the attention OF
sporting men all over the world. Because
OF an almost perfect knowledge Of the rules
OF the ring, couple with rugged honesty
and cool headed judgment, Siler has come
20 be regarded as the best boxing referee
IN America, II not In the world. Much or
his fame has been earned by presiding over
heavyweight contests, several OF them for
the championship.
II was Siler who was the third man In
che ring with Corbett and Fitzsimmons at
Carson City when the freckled pugilist
knocked the spots out of the 'pompadour
gentleman" sner never lost his head in
this memorable encounter, which was one
of the most exciting in the history of the
ring. He was fair to both men and took
plenty of time in counting the seconds after
knockdowns. siler had previously refereed
the F4tzsimnons- Maher fight at Langtry
Tex. which lasted only a few moments
after a trainload of sports had Travelled
600 miles through the alkali desert to see
the mill.
silver In the East.
Eastern fight fans saw Siler in action
when he refereed the remarkable twenty
five-round fight between Jeffries and Shar-
key His decision favored Jeffries and II
was perfectly Just, but there was never
theless a terrific howl from the men be-
hind Sharkey, who declared that the worst
the big sailor should have received was
draw. Siler in rendering his decision said
that he was forced to take into considera-
tion the condition of the two men at the
end of the twenty-fifth round. AS SharkeY
was on the verge of a collapse with
couple of broken ribs and other painful In
turtles, while Jeff was as fresh as the prov"
erbial daisy, Siler explained that under no
circumstances could he show even the
slightest preference for Sharkey, although
for the first sixteen rounds the latter did
the bulk of the work There was so much
fault finding by the Sharkey people, how
ever, that Siler did not officiate again In
the east. He had previously officiated at
the fight in which Jeffries won the cham
pionship from Fitzsimmons at Coney
island, but that was an easy task for him,
as Fitz went to sleep with terrific punch
on the Jaw in the eleventh round.
Siler was once a pretty shifty boxer
himself. He is not a large man by any
means and is about so years old. He has
lived in Chicago for many years, where ne
puts in a great deal of his time writing on
boxing for one of the big dailies. When
Cans rejected Siler not long ago after Her
man had tried to make a bold stand for
the Chicago man, 1t was explained that
Cans was afraid Siler might show some
partiality for his townsman. But Siler
was never known to favor even close
friend in a contest in the ring.
Charles white of New York.
Next to Siler the most competent referee
Of recent years was Charley White of New
York. White for several years was the
official referee Of the Lenox and Broadway
Athletic clubs in that city, when the Horton
law was in effect. White knew the game
from top to bottom, and he also enjoyed
the confidence OF the public. Although he
had many difficult decisions TO make he
was never charged with double dealing. He
refereed the F1tzsimmons-Ruhlin mill in
the Madison Square garden also the Nc
Coy Corbett fake battle in the same place.
although he was in no way responsible for
this disgraceful AFFAIR. He was also the
third man in the ring when Peter Maher
xxrfth
Blap on the ear, but again he was guiltless
Of completely OF this raw job. Whites serv-
Ices were in demand all over the country
Tor time, with the result that he refereed
probably 100 battles in his time. Since the
game shut down in New York he has been
hevoting much of his time to the turf be-
ing closely identified with John E. Madden,
Fred Burlew, Frank O'Neil and other wise
horsemen.
Tim Hursts Record.
Timothy Hurst, the American league base
ball umpire, was another excellent referee.
Tim got into the game with both feet
when the late James c. Kennedy made him
the official referee OF the Empire Athletic
club at Maspeth. 1t was at this club that
Hurst presided over the never-to-be-for-
gotten Walcott-Levigne fight, probably the
most sensational mill ever seen in this
country. Hurst also counted Steve O'Don-
nell out twice at Maspeth when Peter
Maher knocked him cold with q quick wal
Top on the jaw, while he was the Judge
over walcott and Mysterious Billy Smith,
MCCOY and Tommy Ryan and other noted
encounters. Hurst refereed the Sharkey-
Mccoy mill at the Lenox Athletic club and
showed his shrewdness to a marked degree.
The hght was going against Mccoy when
suddenly, In the eight round. the kid put
his hands over his groin and fell to the
S1OOr groaning in apparent agony.
HE fouled me, TIM" walled Mccoy.
Hurst was purple with rage as he began
TO count on the seconds.
zone, twol You miserable fakir!" he
yelled. as he paused between counts. "You