The San Francisco call., 1909-12-13
GLEASON SEEKING
SITE FOR BATTLE
ne Wants to Stage Bio Bouf in
San Francisco IF the Law
VIII Permit
By WILLIAM ]. sLArrERy

By WILLIAM ]. SLATTERY
Jack Gleason is soon 10 sart a ram
paign TO set the wheels OF political in
nuenee in motion in an endeavor TO
Ind the legal loophole which viii per-
init IS round battle between Jef-
fries and Johnson in the heart OF san
francisco. There is city ordinance
against fights of longer than 90 rounds,
duration, bat as the statutes of the
state do not cover this particular point
Nleason is hopeful that he viii be able
40 get around the vital issue Those
on the inside declare that the promoter
H&S an even chance if certain things
break right for him
II VIII mean much for the fight and
much Tor the promoters ii it takes place
ln the city proper They may talk as
they viii about Celma and Ocean View
and the various suburbs. but none of
them fgure with the city itself when
u comes TO staging a great. big attrac-
zion And apparently there Is only an
ordinance as barrier to Gleason IS
fond dream.
According to the latest. the promoter
has three sites i'm view here-the old
Mechanics pavilion Tot at Ninth, Lar
kin and Market streets, the ball park
al Fifteenth and Valencia streets and
ihe ocean Shore grounds at Twelfth
and Mission streets. Either of these
places would be suitsb bile but the first
named is far superior. j ceNers more
ground and ii is more centrally To-
Gated than the other two. Gleason is
not vet sure whether he can negotiate
a deal whereby he can secure this
choice site.
The ban park would be an expensive
place for two reasons. IN the first
place il would be necessary 10 postpone
the games for at least a week. As the
date for the big fight is right in the
middle Of the baseball season. when
The crowds arc largest. this would
mean loss of several thousand dol
lars. The receipts OF q ball game on
the afternoon o. the great national hoii-
day alone are generally as much as
those taken al an ordinary night.
Then again it would mean that the
beautiful green diamond would he
badly torn up. and this might start
trouble with the baseball ma gnates.
To I'D the ball park SO that it would
accommodate 25.000 or 10000 would IN
itself be very expensive task es-
peciaIIy as work would have TO be
rushed.
II the Mechanics pavilion lot is Sc
cured. Gleason and Rickard wih nave
10 go to enormous expense in erecting
q I
would entail an outlay of 10000 or
possibly more. for such an arena VIII
have 10 be = first class one. otherwise
the hungry crowd would surely tear II
down long before the fight starts.
The ocean shore property is central
lv located and is large enough Tor an
immense arena. This could easily be
secured. Il has been rented out to va
rious persons for various attractions
during the last two wears and lately II
has become very popular as an amuse-
lneut place. The Marathon race there
Yesterday drew q crowd OF not less
than 6.0o0.
But all this guessing and figuring
viii 90 no good unless Gleason is for
tunate enough TO land the necessary
permission TO stage the mill in the
heart Of the city. It viii take a lot OF
political influence and lot Of clever
wire pulling. But II is Rossiofe, never
theless, though the general public does
not look upon II in this light.
Finish fights have been under the
ban in san Francisco for about 20
wears or since the palmy days OF the
old California club. They had hghts
there which went more than 100 rounds,
which many Of the veteran fans will
recall very readily. The Corbett-
Jackson affair Of 81 rounds is still
fresh in the minds of those who saw it,
The chances are that the Jefries-
Johnson battle viii be over within 20
rounds. II fl is ever fought AT all. But
this is not the proposition. Jen has
insisted upon 45 rounds or more, ana
rs most championship battles are sup
posed TO be finish affairs. or practically
finish affairs. there seems to be a gen
eral demand for the longer route.
Gleason emphatically declares that
he viii pull the fight off in most any
old arena. barring Conroth's- And he
SAYS that he has nothing against Cof-
froth either. but he just wants to make
it plain to every body that the Colma
promoter has nothing whatever 10 do
with the affair. Perhaps Coffroth will
come back with the reply that he won't
rent his arena to Gleason.
Monte Atten continues to rule 10
70 favorite over Danny Webster,
whom he meets at Dres inland pavilion
on Friday night The local fans like
Monte. despite the fact that Webster
fought him off his feet in both their
10 round mixups in Los Angeles dur
ing the last few months.
webster attracted quite a crowd at
his ocean beach training quarters yes
terdav afternoon. He is an earnest
1ittfe fellow and goes al his work with
will. He is on the Wolgast order
and keeps boring in all the time. His
tast lunches are delivered while in
cloee and this is the reason why his
friends claim that he will be able 10
-escb Attelrs stomach and wear him
5ovvn before the 20 rounds are over.