The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-05-16
.PUGILISTS ARE
MAD FOR MONEY
Demands Of Modern Fighters
Are Exorbitant
PURSES REACH THOUSANDS
Champions of olden Times Satisfied
With Few Hundred Dollars, But
Nowadaye Star Boxers
Want Fortunes.
PURSES REACH THOUSANDS

L IoAl inc OHldhd Dee.
New York-'It seems TO me that the
fighters of the present day are money
mad said the veteran sporting man the
other night. why, even the great
Heenan-SaYers fight was only for $1,000
side Away back in 1856 Tom Paddock
defeated Harry Broome for $1,000 and the
championship of England, and the next
year Sayers whipped Perry, the Upton
Slasher in a severe battle for a similar
amount. In 1868 Tom King, after a hard
fight, defeated Jem Mace for $500 side
and the English championship. In 1866
Joe Goss and Mace fought a Strengthening
draw for $1,000 a side.
Then go back to some of the bare 4
knuckle fights decided on American soil.
Harry Lazarus fought Denny Harrigan
in 1855 for $500 a side up in Canada. Harry
was a OF the well known lzzy Lag
arus who ran the F'alstaff, a famous old
sporting hotel on James street, New
York They battle sc rounds in LOG min
utes and Harry won. After the fight
Lazarus shook hands with poor Harrigan
and then collected $50 from the specta-
tors for his antagonist This was con-
sidered a very important fight at the
time and all the leading New York sports
were at the ringside. Just think how
much the victor got out of this affair
after he paid his training and other eX-
penses. Why most of the fighters of to-
day wouldn't accept $500 forethree weeks
work to get into condition, While Harri-
gan and Lazarus trained hard and faith
fully for three months.
What Joe Coburn Got.
AL that Joe Coburn, afterward cham
pion of America, fought Ed Price for in
1856 was $500 a side. The battle took place
at Stlll Pond, about nine miles from Bos-
ton, and created great excitement among
eastern sporting men. Price was a hand
Of of
10 inches and weighing 165 pounds when
he entered the ring. He was a native of
London, England, while Coburn was born
in Ireland, being feet 912 inches tall
and weighing 15S pounds. The battle
lasted 16O rounds, in 200 minutes, and
was the longest bare knuekle fight ever
held in America up to that time. Later
on however. James O. Neil of New York
and j. Fitzpatrick fought for four hours
and 20 minutes at Berwick, up in Maine,
for $500 a side, on December 4. 1860 Price
was ia remarkable man aside from his
ability as a fighter He studied law and
| was admitted to the bar to become a
| noted attorney.
After this long battle with Price Co
/ burn began to pose as the American
| heavyweight champion, and the following
| year he faced Harry Gibbons, from Bel
, fast, Ireland, for the title and $500 side.
| The ring was pitched in large orchard
| which an old farmer up in BERTHE county,
! Canada, had donated for the occasion.
| Coburn was seconded by the noted Or
| vile Gardner and Jimmy White, while
Gibbens handlers were John Pyburn,
afterward a Brooklyn police commission
er, and Hen Wrinkle. 1t was a good stir
battle, with honors even. up to the 2lst
round, when Coburn landed a corking
blow over the heart and the lrishman
went down and out. So you see that
away back so years ago fighters could
score knockouts with blows in the body
Coburn's blow reminds me of the famous
solar pexus punch with which Fftzsim-
mons stopped Corbett at Carson City.
Figures Look Ridiculous.
after Coburn got back to New York
and settled his training bills he had
lust $50 left to spend about town. When
you compare this with Tommy Burns
$50. 900 for losing to Jack Johnson it seems
ridiculous for Coburn was greater pug
fist than Burns in every way Why,
boys Coburn would have whipped Burns.
johnson, Ketche. Kaufman, Langford
and the rest of the present crop as easy
as rolling off log.
"Some of these modern fighters want
$500 for car fare before they will come to
town to talk business with club match
makers But the old-timers. you can
bet, had to walk If they didn't have the
price | forgot to say that the small
winnings of the old fighters were often
grabbed by INSCRIPTIONS sheriffs or cop
pers as the price for keeping them out
of jail so that there wasn't much left
when the final count-up was made.
I In 1858 the notorious Yankee Sullivan,
who was known as steel Ribs be-
cause of the terrible body punching he
could withstand, fought Saucy Aleck, an
Englishman, 90 rounds in So minutes, and
after a bloody battle he won a purse of
lust $40 The famous John Morrissey
fought Prof. Charles f. Ottignon at the
latter's gym in Crosby street, this city,
the same year for a s25 purse. 1t was
glove contest for points, but Morrissey
made the professor shed much claret be-
fore the bout was over.
Barney Aaron, who died several years
ago and Dan Kerrigan, noted rough
and tumble scrapper, split ten-dollar
bill once after a redhot four-round argu-
ment Patsy Marley and Con Orem, two
as game fighters ever pulled Off shirt
in Che ring, fought rs rounds In two hours
and five minutes on the turf in Delaware
for $50 in the same ring where Con Fitz-
gerald and Ed Wilson had just finished
great mill At the end of the 10th
round company of soldiers suddenly
arrived and captured more than 100 OF the
spectators. This occurred in october r.
1863 and among the prisoners who were
escorted to Fort Delaware were Coburn
Orem, Jim Saunders, Harry Hill, Ed Will
son. Captain Turner Tom the Boatman
, ana many others. Billy McMullen, how
ever. managed to bail most of the crowd
out the next day, and when they came
before General Schoepf, the commander
of the fort, all but the fighters, who had
been pinehed, too, were allowed to go.
Bayonets and Boxers.
"It wasn't such a pleasant trip going
to fights in those days of the civil war,
for there We're soldiers everywhere, When
i saw the bayonets at the Marley-Orem
mill | never knew | could run so fast
through swamps, thick woods and across
shallow streams. Poor Orem After hid
ing for three hours and sleeping In a mud
puddle he was grabbed as he crawled
out of farm house where he had gone
to get drink of water. All OF which he
suffered for $25, his share of the stakes.
"Nobby Clark, a squatty Englishman'
who earned reputation by defeating
Jimmy Elliott few months before, bat
tied with Denny Harrigan just outside of
Weehawlen ian December, 1850 for 5000.
The mill began Just at daylight and all
the leading sports were on hand. 1t was
a tough fight. the men pounding each
other for three hours and fifteen minutes.
Nobby was wonderful scrapper for his
size, and won after Harrigan had re-
ceived terrible beating. The worst part
of this affair was that he had to walk
more than a mile in the rain and mud
back to the old ferry, as our carriages
had disappeared in some mysterious way.
''The notorious Owney Geoghegan, who
ran a low boxing dive on the Bowery,