The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-02-21

name is always accorded the premier
>-----------e position IN any
uuosr @thing except
HEAD II American league
HABDEsTs baseball will be
celebrated lomor-
row al san Francisco by what prom
ises 10 be the grandest crashing OF
conks in the history OF the contest
for the lightweight diadem. For Bat
Ting Nelson and Ad Wolgast. cham
pion and challenger, are going 10 II
over the long route and the one with
the hardest head is going 10 win.
quite naturally the crowd ON the
coast opines that there Is nothing go
ing 10 dent the bean OF the cham
pion, the durable qualities or whose
skull have been demonstrated too
many times to permit OF the least
doubt. Nevertheless. there are some
hard heads developed up around Cad
lilac. Mich. and that Is where VOL
CAST halls from In his battles on the
coast Wolgast has torn into his man
head down. and swinging for the
body. lust as Nelson does, In fact,
his style seems 10 have been copied
after Nelson's 10 great extent IL
may not be backed up with the
tremendous vitality which is the
Danes but IL has proven good enough
20 break UP the hopes OF most OF the
other American nghtweights OF very
nearly hrst-class. and that is all that
has been asked OF II up 10 date.
AS noted above. though. Nelson Is
fayorite. The odds are 10 10 o,
the figure denoting the popular be-
lief in the relative thickness OF the
two skulls. one needs only to watch
the moving pictures OF one or Mel
sons bouts 10 appreciate how Wen
this confidence is justified. IN all
probability. Bat has never fought
strictly legal fight in al his ring
career. His best blow Is delivered
with the top OF his head and some
times il seems as II this Is about all
the telling punch which his repertory
includes. In the first Tight with Cans
which Nelson eventually lost on
foul. he must have fouled Cans AZ
least 20 times with his head before
Referee Siler finally stopped the bout
and awarded Il TO the Negro on ac-
counf OF a low blow with the hst.
Sler didn't guess that blow right but.
on general principles, his decision
was undoubtedly just. Al that, this
Is about the only time that BAT mas
received his just deserts from the
referees All the ring rules ever
adopted have placed butting prominent
ly in the list OF disqualifylng GRIMES.
Yet Rat never seems 10 bother very
much over the selection or referee
and gets away with his favorlte
punch without drawing more than a
score or more OF warnings.
The example Of Nelson is really
exercising baleful Influence on box
ing generally. particularly in those
clubs in which big gloves are used.
BOYS have come TO realize that one
nunch with the top OF the dome Of
thought is worth a dozen with INST.
covered by a siX-ounce pillow. Ana
they get away with II Rarely does
a referee even threaten orenders
/ with disqualification and the situation
is weekly becoming more annoying 20
the lovers OF clean boxing. A pah
on the top Of the head appears to be
the most logical protection against
foul fighters and there are more than
few who believe that this will be
the meals eventually settled on.
Bur it's q cinch that Battling Mel
son will never be champion. with such
a rule in force.
II was the same In Frisco that II
was elsewhere. The sport scribes not
frank enough TO express their opin-
ions sidestepped and remarked that.
From The applause which the retir-
ed champion received, II was evident
that the public was satisfied with ms
condition"
S,o,.o,,,,, Warner Il sureiv no snort