New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-07-03
Jim JEFFR|ES THE FIGHTER
Now Seeking a Title He So Ruth
IesSIy Gave Away.
HOW HE JUMPED TO FAME
Fitzsimmons and Corbett Among
Those to Go Down Before
the Young Giant.

James ]. Jeffries, who will strive at
Reno tomorrow to regain the heavy
weight pugiIistic championship. which he
ruthlessly gave away to Marvin Hart
some years ago, is thirty-five years old.
AS boy he was strong and virile, and
he grew up into physical giant, being
endowed with everything that goes to
make I'D a fighter-wonderful strength,
quick perception tigerish courage and,
better yet perhaps. remarkable ability TO
stand punishment. It is said that for a
time he lacked the ambition to win fame
as pugilist and learned the trade of
boilermaking. although his father had
hoped that he would study for the minis
try and follow in his footsteps.
When the ambition to be fighter dld
come it required only two years for him
to vanquish every fighter worthy of con
sideration and to claim the title as his
own. Jeffries was less cunning than Bob
Fitzsimrnons. less scientific than Jim Cor
bett less aggressive than John L. SulH-
van, yet he was gifted with these quail
ties to a marked degree Furthermore, he
was capable Of delivering a blow against
which no man as yet has been found to
stand. and, as said before, he can accept
punishment without distress-punlshmen
that would mean quick death to man or
less vitality.
Having found that he was born fight
or and having earned a fortune and the
right to be called the undefeated cham
pion of the world, Jeffries decided to re-
tire, and the only way he could find to rid
himself of the burdens that the title i'm
posed was to throw them off. He looked
over the field of worthy heavyweights with
a view to adopting one OF them as his heir.
Eight years after his first fight he decid-
ed that Marvin Hart was the heir appar-
ent, and abdicated in Harris favor.
One Of the striking things about JEFF
fries is the fact that it took a great deal
Of argument to convince him that he was
q fighting man at all Despite natures
generosity to him IN the matter of size
and strength. he had a strong suspicion
all the time that he was intended to be
farmer. Through his early life he dis
played great fondness for getting close to
nature via a fishing rod or a gun. and
spent quite a bit OF time among the noun
tains-
He developed q decided fondness for
country life, and when he resigned as
champion. having enough money through
purses, moving pictures and stage appear
ances to do what he pleased, he pur-
chased & farm in Southern California with
the intention of ending his DAYS as g. sort
of country squire. If John Arthur John
son and the color question had not inter
fered with his plans, he would, in all
probability. have carried out that deter
mination
Jeffries was born in Carroll, Ohio, in
1875. but his parents went to California so
soon after his arrival that he is looked
upon almost as a native of that state.
Little is recorded of his doings prior TO
1897 beyond the fact that he was a mighty
hunter a good boilermaker and a rough
and tumble fighter with whom few cared
10 mix. He never was an amateur fighter.
| The first time he entered the ring he did
SO On the spur of the moment, accepting
| the challenge Of a negro fighter named
| Hank" Griffin because Of the money he
would get by defeating the challenger. The
fight occurred in Los Angeles. in 1858, and
! Jeff accomplish the defeat of the negro
| in fourteen rounds. winding up with an
artistic knockout.
While this victory did not seem to arouse
| JEFF to any ambition a fighter. it at
tracted the attention Of fighters to him
as a valuable training partner. He sec
| onded niddleweight named Billy Gal
! lagher in San Francisco two years later,
and Gallagher got him a match in 1886
with Dan Long. OF Denver There was
/ s.. 900 purse up, and Long went to sleep in
! the second round when Jeffs left en-
oountered his nose.
! II was shortly after this that Jim Corbett
| began to prepare for his fight with Bob
! Fftzsimmons, which gave the latter the
! championship. Harry Corbett, Jin1's bro
| Their. who was on the lookout for sparring
| partners. sent JEFF up to Carson City, New.
20 Join Jirns training staff. Corbett ham,
mered the big fellow numerically, but Jeff
was absorbing knowledge of the fighting
game through every pore. These were his
| first real boxing lessons. and he took them
| from a master OF the craft Within three
weeks after Corbetts defeat jeff was in
| the ring again on his own hook, doing
away with the aspirations of two promising
| heAvyweights in quick succession In 1897.
| So much had JEFF benefited by Corbett' 8
| training that he was marked as a coming
| fighter at once, and a match was arranged
| for him with Gus Rubin. of Akron, Ohio,
| which was fought in San Francisco in 1887.
| The fight went twenty rounds TO a draw.
In the same year Jeffries fought Joe
| Choynski twenty-round draw. He recalls
this fight particularly. he says. because
Choynski landed on his jaw the hardest