Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-14
PRIZE FIGHTERS
NEVER COME BACK"
If Jeffries Regains Old Form
He Will Be First in Ring
History.
By Bill Blunt.
NEW WORK

By Bill Blunt.
NEW YORK, November Is. 1909.
| 1t is a noteworthy fact that ma
| jority of the persons whom you ask for
| an opinion as to the outcome of the
| Jeffries-J ohnson match become bit
evasive and say they don't know
whether jeff can come back or not.
Very few of the wiser ones care to come
/ out fiatfooted and make a prediction
Most Of them figure that In his prime
he could have beaten johnson as easily
as he did some of the others. But it Is
his condition that puzzles everybody
II he can regain Is per cent Of his old
time form he should be able to defeat
johnson because. in the old days. he
| surely figured 25 per cent better than
the black man. But being in retire
ment six years isn't going to help him
any. Pretty nearly all Of the great fight
| ers tried to do what Jeffries is trying to
| do. and II there are any cases on record
where they succeeded they have been
pretty generally overlooked by chroni-
clers of ring events. Jack McAuliffe,
light weight champion: retired. U. s; A..
is about the lone shining example of the
| truly great fighters who knew when to
| stop. McAuliffe had a couple Of mar
row escapes I'm his last two battles. with
| Young Critic and Owen Zeigler, and 1t
didn't take very close figuring r. show
he boxed an exhibition with Kid Lavinge
and publicly retired. The latter was ac-
claimed champion and held the title
until he was beaten by Frank Erne.
John L. Sullivan whipped Kilrain in
1850. quit the ring for three years. went
to Australia. boxed an exhibition or two
ring In 1892. and what Corbett did to him
| at New Orleans was a full portion. That
good fighter. Bob Fitzsimmons. knows
what it is to try to come back. After
being beaten by Philadelphia Jack
through He was in retirement for a
couple Of years and at his age two years
idleness didn't improve his condition. He
essayed to meet Johnson In Philadelphfa
and the old scout didn't last two full
rounds. That marvel Of cleverness and
stiffness, Jim Corbett, had his lesson In
reha Utilization and with sad results. After
that five-round skirmish with Kid Nc
| Coy at the Garden he crept into re-
tirement for three years. Then he boxed
Jeffries In Frisco and his showing wa
mournful compared to the one he had
made against JEFF a few years before at
Coney Island. Jim Hall, the famous Aus
tralian, who once knocked out Bob Fitz-
| simmons in four rounds. retired In 1896.
He was out Of the game about four years
and when he tried to reinstate himself
| in fast company he was put away IN
three rounds by Joe Choynski. The lat
ter defeat about wound UP his clock.
Peter Jackson. who established the
| wonderful record of going fourteen
straight years without a reverse. fur
nishes an excellent example OF the great
| fighter who tried to come back and failed.
After beating Paddy Slavin In London ne
| withdrew himself from circulation Tor
six wears Then he fought JEFF Ia Frisco,
and his showing for the three rounds the
affair lasted was pitiable. After Sharkey
was beaten by Jeffries at Coney he
knocked out Joe Goddard, Jim Jenords,
Jim Mccormick Tom Conry. Joe Choyn-
ski and Fred Russell incidentally losing
to Rubin and Fitzsimmons. both at
Coney. Then came the big fuss with
Rubin in London. jubilee week. Ruhiln
| won this one. and the hero Of the deep
blue retired from active service. Two
years later Sharkey endeavored to come
back at Philadelphia with Jack Munroe.
and he was not good enough to get an
| even break with boxer OF Munroe
ability. Charlie Mitchell. the English
light heavyweight. fought Sullivan that
| famous thirty -nine-round draw at Chan
| tilly in 1883. After that he was practi-
cally out of the game for six years. not
enRaRlnR a
term. when he tried to come back in
| 1894 Jim Corbett taught him how to take
a Joke In three rounds at Jacksonville.
| He was far from being the Mitchell OF
old and was but toy in the clever hands
Of Corbett.
| Jack Dempsey. the Nonpareil. easily the
best middleweight Of his time until the
ADVENT Of Bob Fitzsimmons. was de-
throned by the Australian at New Or
leans With the exception OF bout or
| two he was out of the ring tribe over
four years. In 1895 they matched him to
box Tommy Ryan at Coney Island. II
was a most pathetic spectacle and brought
tecrs to the eyes of many OF Dempsey
admirers who had known him when ne
was invlncible. AS an act Of mercy. the
unequal contest was stopped In the third
round. Five months later the gallant
warrior made his last public appearance
at a benefit rendered him at Madison
Square Garden. Shortly after he passed
away at Portland. Ore. Some say tuber-
cuosis, others that he died OF broken
heart After Kid Mccoy defeated Jack
Twin Sullivan at Los Angeles in twenty
rounds. he forsoOk the ring for four
years. He always took good care or HIM
self. but when he boxed Jim Stewart
he found II was impossible to come
| back" and although he won by fair
margin he was by no means the Mccoy
who had beaten Gus Rubin. Tommy
Ryan, Peter Maher. Dan Creedon and
q score of others.
| Paddy Slavin the Sydney Cornstalk.
was another who tried to come back and
failed He retired in 1902. was in retire
! ment for Ave years, and though he was
| one of the best heavyweights or his day
was knocked out in two rounds by NICK
| Burley at Victoria. b. C.. when he next
entered the ring. He was credited with
making the hardest fight against Peter
Jackson the black champion ever engaged
| in Kid Iavigne was beaten by Jimmy
! Britt in San Francisco In 1902. Five years
| later after a long course of training. ne
re-entered the ring with Young Erne at
| Philadelphia He made a sad showing
against the speedy Quaker and was woe
fully outclassed. That clever English
| lightweight. Jabez White, retired after
defeating Spike Sullivan In London In
| 1902 Three years later he was induced
| to enter the ring with Jimmy Britt He
| was thirty-two years OF age at the time.
and although he retained his cleverness,
| his steam was gone and he lost to Britt.
Since then he has done nothing OF conse-
uuence in the ring. One could go on ad
| lib and cite instances where talented
| boxers tried to come back. but the
| above will give a fair idea OF how dimcult
| IL is to do so. Jeffries may be able to do
| IL, and the good wishes OF the sporting
clans are with him, but the task Is
| hard one and few have succeeded.