The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-05-07
DEAN OF PRIZE RING
MIKE DONOVAN, THE VETERAN,
WRITES LIES STORY.
Fought in the Civil War and Has Had
Many Brilliant Battles in Squared
Circle. An Old Friend of Colonel
Roosevelt; Won the Middleweight
Championship From Dempsey; A
Really Very Picturesque Career.

ing at the New York Athletic club
boxing with dozen husky young
athletes and then burns the midnight
electric light grinding out copy for the
book that a publisher intends shall
make a stir because it chronicles the
annals of the life of the dean of
United States fighting men, is a cele-
! brity.
Such a man is Mike Donovan, native
| OF Chicago, fighting man for four
years as a member of the Seventy first
Illinois Volunteers, and a fighter in
the ring for money until as late as
1888, when he defeated Jack Dempsey,
the middleweight champion, in a fierce
siX-round bout.
Constructively Veteran Mike fought
Governor Roosevelt at Albany in 1899,
and five years ago, in the White House.
Donovan donned the gloves with Presi.
dent Roosevelt
Never Uses Fists in Malice.
| He has the unique record of never
having used his fists in malice-he has
delivered hundreds of thousands of
blows that have Jared the bodies of
his ring rivals. 1t was his portion to
shower blows upon John L. Sullivan,
back in Boston when the great "Jawn"
was known simply as 'The Highlands
Strong Boy" ~
! William Inglis, friend of score of
years, writing in Harper's Weekly on a
series, celebrities at Home" was sur
prised by the alertness, the subtle en-
ergy and the power of concentration
displayed by "Grandpa" Donovan when
he called on him recently. The way the
successful dean of American boxers
piled business into his hours at the
club and played on the floor with
children at his beautiful Summit ave-
nue. home up where the street curves
along the breezy hill top above One
Hundred and Fifty fifth street, as
tonished the writer.
Mixes brow is Scared These are
mementoes of the fists of the olden
days when the fighting man took them
on at all weights. His chin is of a
type that indicates battle as long
as there is life,-in his bod..s
Writes of Bout With Sullivan.
1t was easy to wind up a long day
at the club writing special chapter
of his book-the one dealing with Pro-
fessor Donovan's first boxing bout with
Sullivan.
'sI'm telling of that bout in 1872"
said Mr.. Donovan to Mr.. Inglis. 81
was middleweight champion then, and
showing in Boston with my company.
/ had met John some time before and
liked him.
| ut vas customary at that time to
give the star benefit on Friday night.
| | had to look around for some good
man to box with me and I thought of
Sullivan. I went to him and said:
Sullivan, you have told me that
none of the big fellows will give you
chance to show what you can do.
| If you will box with me on Friday
night and make good showing, l will
take you to New York with me dur
ing my training for Rookie, and after
by fight with him is over I'll match
you with Paddy Ryan, or any of the
big fellows
"'Pleased to do it, said John.
Big House on Hand.
Friday evening came, and Sullivan
was on hand The news got about
that there would be fight worth see
! ing, and we had big house-my!
that was fine house.
! "When I saw him stripped, I real
I lied that Sullivan was one of the
best men / had ever seen. Like all
well -made men, he looked bigger with
, his clothes off than at any other time.
| He was a big, rawboned fellow, and
carried absolutely no superfuous flesh.
He had tremendous trunk and arms,
and was very wide and flexible in
the shoulders. His legs were lighter
in proportion than the rest of his
/ body. chats where he got his speed.
He was a determined, dangerous look.
ing fellow.
"Now: you know when you're going
to fight man you can help yourself
and worry him by bossing him around,
making him feel small and look up
to you. So I said to John L: Here,
young IeHoW, you go III IneTe ana
dress Do you suppose that worried
him? Not a bit of it. All right
SAYS John, very comfortably. Dick
Fitzgerald, the manager, followed him
in and asked: What do you expect
to dor
"IDo?' says John. why the best
man wins, of course
Warned to Look Out for Him.
''NIind you, John L. was a raw, un.
known youngster than, and I was
middleweight champion and in my
prime, but he didn't bother about he
for a minute. Fitzgerald warned me
to look out for him, but said: He'd
better look out for himself, or he'll
get what lots of other big fellows have
got
when we sat in our corners on the
stage, I glared across at young John Z.
so as to scare some of the confidence
out OF him. And what do you sup
pose he did? Glared right back at
mc, by golly! as if be was the cham.
Continued On Page Eight.