Omaha daily bee., 1909-02-28
PUCILISTS OUT OF THE RING
Difficult Task for Many to Earn Good
Living.
MEAL TICKETS HARD TO FIND
Kid Mccoy Has Then All Beaten In
the variety Of BssIaess Ventures
-Some Have sseeeeded IN
Dtaereat Profession.

I NEW YORK. Feb. z-"Hov can a star
pugilist earn q comfortable livelihood after
his fistic prowess has left him and he finds
himself all in. minus a bank roll- asked
the old New York sporting man during a
eonfsb with his friends the other night.
They can't ali ~ actors. bookmakers.
salooh keepers or bank burglars"
Il tell YOU boys. it's q tough proposition
for a champion. who has been feasted and
petted b. the sporting world. suddenly TO
find himself a dead one-knocked out and
unable TO Earn any more coin with his
mAwieys
There's big Jim Jeffries. the king OF
them all. who quit the game about four
years ago and was going to make a bundle
raising alfalfa on his Los Angeles ranch.
He started a saloon and had an interest in
a fighting club on the side. but now they
say he's sold all Of these things because
he couldn't make them pay, and IL on his
way back 10 the hstic arena.
The whole trouble with these fighters.
except a few OF course. IL that they are
not business men. Half OF thsrn live % in
the air in dope dreams.
Among the old time fighters years ago
there were few who managed to make out
after their ring careers were at an end.
John Morrissey made a pot OF money keep
ing a gambling house here and In sara
togA- but he had a good business partner
IN Reed. who handled mos, Of the coin.
- recall thai Morrissey's widow went
through with the money John left her, so
her friends up around Troy had to bury
her.
They say Reed left quite a large for
tune. much larger than Morrissey's. why?
Well. simply because Reed was the better
financier.
became Good Lawyer.
And there was big Ed Price. who fought
some hard battles in the ring forty or
fifty years ago. When ne returned from
the ring he took up the study OF Law and
became a successful member of the legal
profession. Price was really a wonderful
man. considering the hard knocks he re-
ceivsd in his early career. He wrote sew
eral popular plays and could converse in
diligently IN French. German and Chinese.
He was a great favorite with the CHINA
men OF this city and was attorney for a
whole bunch Of them. Whenever a chink
got into trouble in Chinatown he always
found Price the man to get him out.
Just before he died a couple Of years
- NN' A8Er AWE 9ALLEn1AAAN -
Tended two Cinnamon charged with muir
der in the first degree. 1t was a remark
able trial. and the way Price had the two
ehinks turned loose surprised every one
who followed the case. Price was more
one Of the most brilliant speeches ever
heard in the criminal courts. He left
about a quarter OF a million dollars.
HPan Ho0on uvl1 Fo.~It r.-. AM -
the heavyweight championship Of America
IN 1878. got religion shortly sfterward and
became a sort OF a preacher in Jerry Nc
Arlty's Mission. He was known as the
reformed pusilist and managed to keep
the wolf away from his door.
Religion His Refuge.
Another fighter with religious procliv-
tiles was Billy Frazier OF Boston. who left
the pulpit to combat Jack McAuliffe for
the lightweight championship IN lsS6 After
a hard battle OF twenty-one rounds
in Boston Frazier was knocked out. He
took to religion again after this defeat.
hut after preaching up in New England he
decided to tackle McAu.iffe again. SO
they met at the old Manhattan Athletic
club here in 1892 and Frazier was sent 10
dreamland in the third round. John l.
Sullivan. who acted as referee. told Frazier
he'd better return to church work and give
up fighting. Frazier took the big fellows
advice and has been preaching ever since.
Don't you think the fly Kid Mccoy
Las gone the limit on all kinds OF ven
lures outside the ring: He certainly has
not left a stone unturned When he posed
as a middlewelght champion he opened a
festive saloon in the heart of the Tender
loin on ore of the most prominent corners
OF Brosdwsy. For a few months he did
scme business. but st soon faded away.
and the nimble Mccoy soon disposed Of
his end OF the venture.
Then he started a boxing and physical
culture affair in Forty-second street.
where he and another fly gent undertook
to teach actors. brokers and sporting men
how to be strong and use their fists. Those
who got too strong received some smart
lessons in stopping blows with their faces
and soon retired. not only TO save their
manly beauty but also 10 think it over.
while Mccoy and his pal laughed behind
the scenes and looked for more comeons
Mccoy a HswItBE swell.
Mccoy, however. wanted the moner 10
rome quicker. 50 he went into the diamond
and jeweIry business in Long Acre square.
NNE a TINE tAc hNN -ot1 bAAtrIiu6 stohcs
to ali SORTS OF people and rode around
tosn In a swell auto. Finally his partners
woke Up TO the fact that Mecoy's ex-
penses were too heavy for the firm, so
he retired from the concern and became
an agent for an utomobile D This
enabled him to spin around among the
swell hotels and lobster palaces where the
mflionaires dine sna wine At night.
Il don't know how many machines he
sold. but Mccoy dropped his auto game Ia
a short time and opened a detective agency
with Peabody. a former Central office
man. who had been bounced from the de-
partmeat 81 Commissioners Bingham
1t was soon evident that Mccoy did not
fancy this Sherlock Holmes act. for he
tried hard 70 get back into the fighting
game BY boxing a stiff named Stewart at
the National Athletic club. The bout was
such a farce that the crowd went home
III. So now we hear that the ny Kid Is
over IN Paris. where he and Tod sloan are
supposed 20 open m American barfOom
for the entertainment OF American million
aires Can YOU beat this record for keep