Los Angeles herald., 1909-04-26
SULLIVAN TELLS
OF kILRAiN FIGHT
OLD-TIME CHAMPION RELATES
STORY OF BATTLE
FORMER RING STAR WILL APPEAR
AT EMPIRE TONIGHT
Great Contest, Will Spar Together
in Vaudeville Before Los
Angeles Fans

former rivals in the former ring days
tonight in vaudeville sparring
act before the Los Angeles public, the
story of his famous battle with Kilrair
at New Richburg, Ala, in july 1882 is
of timely interest. This story has beer
told over and over again, but the pres
ent-day fans never tire of hearing oil
the 75-round battle, and from John LIS
lips the tale assumed sentimental in
terest. 1t goes as follows:
II can remember that scene as ii
had fought the battle yesterday. This
man Fisk owned a lumber yard and he
had built up great rows of seats on al
four sides OF the arena. These were
TANNED with excited men, yelling
greetings and bets at each other across
the ring. There were large trees al
around behind the seats and there were
a lot of men perched up in these.
fright in the center of the slopine
sides, like the bulls eye of target or
the black background, was the greer
ring. 1t was pitched on the turf. Oi
course there was the inner ring where
the timers and seconds and few
favored few were permitted to stand.
Il heard a great yell when we were
about a hundred yards from the arena
and 1 knew that Kilrain was entering
the ring. We pushed through the crowd
at one of the entrances and made oul
way to my corner. 1 got as big a yell
as Kilrain when 1 took my seat.
"Then Pony Moore, Charlie johnson
Jimmy Wakely, Sol Smith, Harry Hill
William Harding, Richard K. Fox, Pal
Sheedy, Mat Clune, Billy Mulloy, John
Broderick, Major Hughes, John Sulli-
van, Frank Hall and half dozen well
known sporting men of that day came
I'D to me in my corner in twos and
threes to ask me how l felt and what
l thought my chances were. l told
them l thought I could win.
Betting Even Money
1.-THE betting was then even money,
and there was certainly money in bales
coming in on both sides. 1 walked over
to Kilrain's corner and shook hands
with him. We made bet of $1,000
there in the ring.
"a heavy silence fell over the crowd.
1t was a perfect summer MONDAY when
the seconds and timers climbed out of
the ring, the word was given and the
great fight was on.
HE was a game man was Jake Kill
rain. He did not fight the stand-up
battle that 1 expected, but he gave me
a terrible fight. When we moved to
each other he came at me with q
quick left. I knocked up his arm with
my left and countered lightly under
his heart with my right as he danced
back. I rushed in after him, hitting
with my left, and before knew how it
happened he back-heeled me cleanly.
The back-heel is delivered by catching
a man as he comes in putting your left
arm around his body, your right fore
arm aross his throat and your right
heel behind his left. Then with sud-
den heave you can throw him over OH
his back. This was the trick that Kill
rain worked on me for the first fall of
the battle, and the crowd roared.
"As 1 was going in my corner 1 said
to him:
so you want to wrestle, do you?
Well, I'll give you enough of that
''In the next round I got to his body
with couple Of hard rights and took a
nasty left under the eye as the round
opened. Then seeing a chance grabbed
him around the body. 1t nearly shook
the wind out of him and it was ]
that got the cheers as we went to our
corners.
"Well, my memory is hardly good
enough to tell the whole fight round by
round, but an old scrapbook in which
I had every account I could find of
every battle 1 ever had was lost in d
fire some years ago, so I will have to
so slow.
KiIrain Cut UP
at was a hard fight. Sometimes he
back-heeled me or croSs-buttocked me
for a fall, but round after round ended
in his going down from a blow or a
throw His face was badly cut and his
body bruised by the time we reached
the twenty-fifth round, and my nose
and left eye were swollen.
II was playing for his heart at the
time, and every time he led out with
his left I tried my hardest to land him
in that same spot again, under the
heart. Constant pounding on any one
spot is the most weakening form of at
tack and his flesh on that spot for a
place maybe six inches square was cut
and bruised by the thirtieth round.
st had taken many hard punch and
some hard falls during the battle, and
long before the fortieth round he began
to land on my stomach. They had
given me tea with whisky in it as a
strengthened, and there was too much
whisky. In the fortieth round / was
vomiting after / had come back to my
corner. Kilrain wanted to call it a
draw.
"T'T give you all the draw you
want in little WHILE / yelled back at
him, and we went on with the fight.
81 came back strong in round or
two and began to press him hard. He
got so he could drop as soon as my
hand landed on him and end the round.
That went on for a dozen rounds or
more. and l was still landing on that
one spot under the heart. Pretty soon
the flesh and skin were pounded loose
from the ribs, and that part had been
pounding was hanging like a big
tumor.
1T said that Jake Kilrain was game,
and he certainly showed it that day.
Though he was literally beaten to a
pulp he came back round after round
for more. He could not hit hard
enough to hurt me any more, but he
came out of his corner with the call,
and carried back.
'"Of course the betting had been COM
ing my way all the time in the latter
part of the fight, and by this time no
one would bet a nickel on Kilrain. He
was plainly beaten man and the
crowd which had cheered for hours
grew silent, as they saw that gallant
fighter was coming to his last round.
The end came in the seventy-fifth
round. Kilrain came out of his corner
game as ever. His legs were unsteady,
his face crushed and cut. His body
leaned against his will over to protect
that awful place on his left side
rushed him. smashed him on the jaw.
knocking him against the ropes and
practically senseless. was ready to
smash him again when something
white was thrown from his corner,
falling almost at my feet. Charlie
Mitchell had tossed his towel in the
ring and the battle was won.
1.-THE next thing l knew 1 was
grabbed by Muldoon and Cleary and
hustled out of the ring while they were
q tba crOw1 that had hrOl<pn fine