The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-10-03
RECALLS MEMORY
OF OLD FAVORITES
lack LandOn Drops Into Town
to "SmOke" Talk With
Old Friends.
VISITOR KNEW THEM ALL
WAS FRIEND AND BOOSTER FOR
ALL SPORT STARS.

The Hot Air club was in lively session
Saturday night. Each had told Of the
great duck slaughter Friday, and of the
opening OF the duck season for thirty
years back. Ducks were the whole thing
in the way of conversation until an old
time newspaper man asked: Did you
have a talk with Jack LandOn?' Many
old-timers said that they had, and then
came a smile all around; some young
ster had asked, "Who is Jack LandOnE
In the smoky circle were seated old
newspaper men, Old-ttme f1ght-gOers
and old-time followers of sports from
coast to coast and even across the At
lantic. They knew who Jack Landon
was, because they each had seen Jack
Landon always at the ringside or IN
the fray himself.
Gradually the yOungster learned as
the "reminiscences went around that
from 1885 to 1900 everyone knew Jack
Landon who knew anyone in the sport
ing game AS the sporting editor Of the
New York Evening Sun, Jack Landon
was the first man TO push the sporting
page in a great American daily. he
set the pace for years-they all watched
his dust. He was the authority in many
lines; he was the friend of all the top
was read in more than one country, and
he was the best fellow you ever saw.
Now Jack Landon is enjoying the ma
terialized illusion of every newspaper
man, to get out of the newspaper bust
ness. He is the advance manager for
IN Dreamland," the clever and anus
ing play which will be seen at the Co
lonial theatre this week. While out of
the game" like all others who have
left the ranks, LandOn'S best times now
are with a number of the old-timers in
the newspaper business with minute
or two i'm which to look back.
A few minutes for Landon and the
old-timers matcrialized last week, and
they got him TO talking.
Great Old Gang.
What a gang of the old fellows with
big hearts and big hands we used to
have i'm New York" he continued. You
remember the Bob FitzsimmOns dinner
We had after his victory over Dempsey.
1t was only a comparatively few years
ago. and yet how many of them have
gone. il makes me feel like an old man.
Around that table were Macon McCor-
mick, the dean of the sun staff, now
long since dead. There was Bayard
Rrazier of the Daily News and "P. Jay
Douohue of the Recorder. both papers
also long out of existence. Big Jim
Kennedy of the Times and sam Russell
of the star, Bob Turnbull of the Trib-
une. Frank Gill of the Herald. Bill Norr
of the World. Long Tom Evans of the
Brooklyn Eagle with whom l sat i'm the
rain and wa tched the Sullivan Mitchell
fight at Chantil'y. France; Sam Nelson
of the Evening sun and Colonel Bill
Harding of the Police Gazette.
81 al Irg .saf
through the burning hot day and hotter
rounds of the SulIivan-Kilram fight at
Richburg, Miss. wearing a fur coat on
which a placard told of its gift to the
wearer by Richard X. Fox.
They all were of the old school of
sporting writer's, who were sent every
where by their respective papers and
were given all the space they wanted
to give their followers the real hot news.
1t used to be news then, and when a
fight was scheduled it went through,
and it was a fight, and anyone that had
a championship belt was called upon to
defend it right along.
Fitz Was BashfuI.
'T remember I was the first of the
writer's to get pictures of fighters in the
papers. The first was of Bob Fitzsim-
mons and the time 1 had to get Lanky
Bob to look pretty was a COrker. At
first he fatty refused to pose in silk
tights He said that his undeTpinning
was too thin. Finally the matter was
settled by his donning two pairs Of
wooden tights under his silk ones, which
fattened things up a bit. Nowadays the
fighters don't want any tights at all,
only a show of their blacksmith muscles.
Il often think that we will never
again see such battles as we did when
Charley Mitchell, Peter Jackson, Sulli-
van, COrbett, Joe Choynski, Peter Ma
her and the rest of the old fighting crew
were at their best. I expect TO be in
Frisco when Ketchel and Johnson meet
and there may be a few of the old guard
there to make a reunion. They say that
the interest i'm the fight is falling off.
and / don't blame the fans. We used
to have matches in which both men had
a chance. Like many of the critics now,
I do not believe Ketchel has a chance
against Johnson; no little man has If
Jeffries and Johnson meet, the old
timers may sit UP and admit that it
looks like what used 10 be in the ring,
but that l even doubt.
Nowadays I am busy all the time
with my theatrical business. have a
coming star in Emmett Dewey. and I
know that he viii make friends in salt