The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1910-06-17
seems to get into your blood and your


bones and your muscle.
After winning my first battle was
urged by Billy Gallagher to go on the
road and fight everybody. But was
Just a seventeen-year-old boy and
lidn't feel like leaving the old place
yet I'm glad / didn't. for the two
years Of hard work that followed help
ed give me good level head, and II
anybody needs one it's the young fell
low who makes good In the ring.
l hardly knew whether l intended
to take up fighting or not l thought l
might If l had good chance. but l
wasn't in a hurry. l boxed with Gal
lagher now and then. l had a pretty
good opinion Of my own cleverness;
but, looking back today, l must admit
that l got off easy sometimes when
the newspaper writer's called me a
clumsy giant" and young ele-
plant" l fought to win. and l al
ways did win. and with a knockout at
that What more. can anybody want?
l was nineteen years old when Bill
ly's urgings and the talk of my friends
began to sink in. At last l grew tired
Of boxing for fun and decided to
change my trade and take u chance.
was pretty well QUILTED for fight
Ing. At nineteen l stood six feet two
or very close to 1t. weighed 228 pounds
stripped and measured just thirty
three inches around the waist.
Billy Gallagher was quitting too He
had been doing little fighting now
and then and had been offered match
ho mid ifrhf
In those days. Billy was going to San
Francisco to train and wanted me to
work with him.
After his fight he was to look around
and match me against some heavy
weight
It's lucky didn't think much Of the
money end just about that time Billy
Gallagher and l went to San Francis
CO. Billy trained. and l worked like
a horse with him. boxing and rubbing
him down and making myself general
" useful, not because regarded the
charce Of getting coin out of 1t. but
because he was my friend and l
wanted to help him win. He fought
Needham on the date set to draw.
He got his end of the purse. and then
he skipped without leaving me cent.
j That was my first acquaintance with
the rough side of the game. They
say there's no gratitude in a fighter.
That was my opinion when l knew
that l had been left in the lurch by
my one friend. However, l figured 1t
out that he probably needed the mon
ey more than did. l was fat broke,
but wasn't a soft handed dude.
could fight somebody.
did.
The gentleman's name was Dan
Long. and he hailed from Denver.
The purse for that fight was a thou.
sand dollars in good round. hard. use
full United States twenty dollar gold
pieces. 1t looked like a mint to me
after knocking out few dollars day
handling iron. That thousand dollars
settled things. 1t made me decide
that there wasn't any trade for me
but singing fists.
about that fight with Long. He was
a good big fellow and strong enough
and knew little. SO he had more Of I
reputation than l had.
Well, we got into the ring on thu
night Of the fight. and as soon as the
bell rang we walked into each other
guess Long thought he'd lay me out
But I had seen that purse. and can
non ball wouldn't have stopped me.
The first round might have beer
about an even thing. In the second
Strengthened my left arm out and
punched Long right on the nose 81
hard that he dropped. The referee
counted over him until he reached
ten, and that was enough. I got thu
coin.
Looking back over my first two
fights. l can't say that my style hal
ever changed very much. have
fought lot Of champions and hay,
worked with lot Of good men lik,
Corbett and Fitzsimmons in trainin,
camps. and yet that trick Of crouch
ing a little and using my left hand TO
the knockout blow has stuck to me.
get them all in the body.
have never struck man with m.
full strength. because I've never caret