Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-15

ing than any other man in the history
of the game, had been declared insane
and will pass the remainder of his days
in an asylum. Says an eastern writer
of this queer specimen of the unusual
in the fighting game:
Joe Grim's adoption of the prize fight
profession was originally due to Mike
Costello, a prominent figure in Little
Italy and well known in boxing circles.
At the time Mike was told OF the
strength of the young italian Joe was
a bootblack, scraping through the week
on the four or five dollars he was able
to amass.
Mike took him in hand, and 1t was
not long ere he was showing at the To-
cal clubs, his hackers Offering a for
felt to any one who could put him
away inside of the local limit of six
rounds Gradually his reputation ex-
Jack O'Brien, then in his prime, failed
to make any noticeable impression
upon Grim before a local club.
He then took on all the heavy-hitting
pugilists, lightweights, middleweights,
and even the real heavyweights, all
though Grim never weighed more than
1855 pounds until lately. One of his
feats which will be remembered for
many a day was five fights against the
hardest hitting group of boxers then in
the game within ten days.
In this short space of time, hardly
time enough for a bantam to recu-
perate from even mild fight, Joe Grim
stayed six rounds apiece with Peter
Maher Joe Cans, Kid Carter, Bob Fftz-
simmons and Charles McKeever, when
these pugilists were in the heyday Of
success.
No gamer or pluckier man ever
stepped in to the ring. 1t was only his
bulldog tenacity of purpose to remain
the limit which enabled him to hold out.
Not for a moment would he seek quar-
ter, and although he was beaten almost
to pulp on many occasions he would
not permit his seconds to stop a bout
to save him from punishment.
For this unprecedented stoicism, Joe
became the idol of the Italian colony.
Restaurants were named after him,
bootblacks bedecked their stands with
fighting pictures of their champion, and
whenever Joe was billed to fight before
a local club it was a signal for a parade
through the crowded streets of Little
Italy.
The night of his fight with Jack
johnson at the National A. c. Is an
event which will be remembered by all
the fighting fans of the city. over five
thousand enthusiastic Italians, accom-
panied by four brass bands, paraoed
downtown and then proceeded to the
Scott house, the meeting place of the
principal followers of the sport.
Joes present plight is all the more
pathetic in contrast to his former days
of prosperity. In his experience in the
ring it is estimated that Joe earned In
the neighborhood of $4,000, and 1t is
safe to say that rs per cent of this sum
was gambled away shooting dice. Joe
was an inveterate gambler, and a few
hours after he had submitted to a
merciless pummeling in the ring for the
sake of a few dollars. he usually made
his way to the gambling table and was
soon relieved of his pile.
| A reminder of his Unsuitable mania
for gambling Is a $40 bill now on eX-
hibition in Atlantic City in window on
Atlantic avenue. 1t was after a pad
night at craps that Joe lost $500, all but
a single $40 bill.
"This amt no good to me-" exclaimed
Joe in his broken English, as he took
the remaining bill in his pile and tore
it to tatters, and then threw the hand
full of bits into the air. AS memento
of the occasion the proprietor of the
plant collected the shreds of the ten
spot, pasted them together and they
| are now framed and on view at the sea-
shore.