Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-19

/ good coaching. not the yelling, but the
| alcrtness Of the mind of the man on the
| line in taking care of the base runners,
and the managers are beginning TO re-
alize this feature
What was the hardest fight I ever
had? Well, it happened a long time
before ! was Il years Old
Jack Johnson, when i'm indianapolis
last week. recalled his first effort in the
prize ring when he related the story of
his first battle as boy Of l. years OF
age. said Johnson.
1t was fourteen years ago, near my
old home in Galveston. Texas. that I
had my maiden battle. I was matched
with John Lee, who WAS regarded then
as the heavyweight champion Of the
south. He was q veteran of the ring
and I was only kid II years Old and
the trouble we had IN pulling off that
fight didn't add anything TO my conf
denuc.
1--WE were matched to fight on the
beach near Galveston, but the authori-
ties got after rs and chased US fourteen
miles INTO the country. There in an
open field the ring was pitched, and
before such spectators as were able to
follow us in our flight we went at it.
Story OF His First Fight
"Say, but that was a fight. Lee was
a big colored fellow. who weighed 1S5
pounds, while I weighed only 15s pounds
then The hot sun beat down on us as
we fought about the ring, and l never
did remember how I put that fellow
down and out in the seventeenth round.
But 1 know I was a mighty happy kid
when he finally went down and failed
10 get up and sail into me again in that
/ seventeenth round.
after that fight I concluded that
there vas more money for me in the
prize ring than in anything I could do,
and l resolved to stick 10 it, For a
year or two I was the stalking horse in
the training camp of various fighters.
I trained with Dan CreedOn, Tom Ira
cy, Joe WalCott and other fighters.
"Of course I was proud TO win the
title from Tommy Burns, and I was
glad I was able to defend It against Al
Kaufman and Stanley Ketchel but l
don't think I ever got so much salts
faction out Of any battle In my life as
/ did when / won over Frank Childs in
twelve rounds in Los Angeles in 1902.
Badly Treated by Chids
/ Il worked with Childs when he vas
/ in training for several Of his fights
+ while he claimed the colored heavy
/ weight championship Of the world, and
the way that fellow treated me was a
shame
81 didn't mind 50 much what he tried
/ to do to me in training quarters, but
! Childs wasn't on the square with me-
and l would have starved to death for
all he cared.
Now maybe 7 didn't tell Chllds all
about this when 7 got him going in our
| Los Angeles fight When I saw I had
him 7 thought of all the mean things
he had done to me. and every time
handed him one I told him about 1t. J
certainly repaid Childs with interest
for the dirt he had done me when I
practically ended his ring career.
after my fight with Childs ] was
given recognition, and I have worked
always with the heavyweight cham
pIonship i'm view.
II ann not trying TO reduce weight
row; in fact. ] have taken on twelve
or ffteen rounds since my fight with
lIetchcl, and 7 want to build up so that
viii De- iu shape to get i'm and work
down 10 tine condition i'm the last five
or sly weeks before my fight with jeff
l'ies."