Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-31
BELL BOY DIES
IN BOXING BOUT
=
Lives Only Few Minutes Follow
ing Conclusion of a Six
Round Bout
FIGHTS TO HELP MOTHER
Enters Ring on Promise of SIS
to Send to Needy
Parent

NEW YORK, July 30.-In an effort
to add to his earnings. which as a bell
boy in the Garden City hotel on Long
Island amounted to but SIS a month
and what tips he might collect, Hugh
Grant, youth of 10 years. living at
Tuckahoe, N. Y, died in Mineola, L. l.,
after a boxing bout for which he was
to have received SIS if he proved a vic
tor. The lads reason for wishing to
increase his income was because he
was the sole support of a widowed
mother.
Grant went to the Garden City hotel
last May from the Hotel Gramercy,
this city. Peter f. Mclaughlin, pro-
prietor of a hotel at Mineola organized
the Powhatan club last February 20,
which was to foster amateur boxing.
There We're about 200 charter members,
including several persons we'll known
in the Long Island summer colony.
Grant Joined the club and pestered
Mclaughlin for a match. A siN-round
"go" was arranged between him and
Tommy Welch, a Jersey city amateur.
Grant adopted the ring name OF
kid Burns" and began what he
called training" Every night after
work at Garden City hotel he went to
the attic and SPARED with the other
bell boys. To get light on his feet he
boxed barefooted, and at the autopsy
yesterday many splinters of wood were
found in his soles. The boy was proud
of his own apparent prowess, but more
especially he wanted to add to his
earnings that he might send home to
his mother more money.
When he entered the ring in tho
Powhatan clubhouse in the rear Of
McIaughlins hotel Grant-or kid
Burns" as he was then-appeared in
the best of condition physically. lie
weighed 10 pounds. while his opponent,
of the same age, weighed five pounds
more. The battle was fast, and the 2oo
spectators roared with delight at the
cleverness exhibited by the two and
especially at the gameness for taking
punishment that Grant showed. Ihe
six rounds over. if any decision had
been given. it would have been Grants
by acclaim. He walked unsteadily to
his corner at the bell and sat down.
He was bleeding at the nose, but IN
sisted that he had not been hit in the
face. He complained that the body
blows of Welch had hurt him, but said
that he would be all right soon. IN
stead in a moment he fell from his
chair to the floor, unconscious.
DR.. Cleghorn of the Nassau hospital,
who had examined Grant before he en-
tered the Ting, was Ndll'd' iiiN ~
was taken into McLaughlin's private
office. but before an ambulance arrived
from the Nassau hospital the lad ex-
pired Mclaughlin at once called off
the rest of the evening program.
Coroner c. A. Remsen of Roslyn
made an autopsy. 1t was found Grant
was in perfect physical condition, but
that his efforts in the six fast rounds
of boxing had so overtaXed him. per-
haps on account of the heat, that he
died from acute dilation of the heart.
Welch was inconsolable, but was so
frightened that he disappeared for a
time. Welch notified District Attorney
Franklin A. Coles of Nassau county
that he was in East New York and
would be present at the inquest.
No blame is apparently attached to
Welch nor to any of the club officials.
Grant went into the fight soft in
muscle and comparatively unframed
for such eXertion.
On the club roster are the names or
Clifford B. Harmon and Harry Hark-
ness the aviators.
District Attorney Coles said that he
could take no action in Grants case
II the autopsy showed that he died
from his own overexertion, as it did,
according to the public report Cor
oner Remsen also said he saw no
cause for action.