The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-08-29
CBy John Arthur Johnson1


Walter Lewis was quite a useful ama.l
teur boxer IN rough and tumble sortI
OF way, aud as he WAS very Keen 2pouil
the "mitt' business. he and ! used "a
put on the gloves quite often In his blGI
room at the back OF the shop.
| must confess at once that The d!s-,
plays We gave were anything but scien.I
ufic. but stu they were AT least Of AN
earnest kind though chiefly chnraCtos-|
ized by the biff. bang. slug, slug sort|
OF boxing SIR, | soon found that u
could both give and take punishmca'd
and thus one day, after we had been rn-
joying a more than usually hurricane ten
minutes. Lewis suggested TO me that ,.
might do FAR worse than take up the|
boxing business in earnest
ITS this way. Jack" Inc said. YOU'VE
got the physique and frame OF a lighter'
and thus II only YOU Will study the gamt|
scrlously-that is 10 say. VIII learn the|
scientific side OF boXlng-you should sc
far and make deal sight more money
than you Will at your painting job.
This advice sunk I'm. and after ponder.
ing over my prospects pretty deeply-Ivt
always been believer In the look before.
you-leap policy decided TO return tS
Galveston once more and see whether
could find some sportsman in the neigh~
borhood who would put up some money
10 back me against some OF the pest loca
men. So once more ! found myself AZ
home and right glad my people were 70
see me- and even now ! remember Win
pride the affectionatc hug with which my
mother greeted me when I told her bad
come back TO stop while.
Nv first real regulation contest wat
with that well-known hghtcr Joe Choyn.
ski OF California, an uncommonly usefw
heavyweight. who. at one time ana an
other, took on such hstic celebrities ~
Peter Jackson. Jim Corbett and Joe Gods
dard, the last OF whom he Defeated
When we met Just over ten years ago
Choynski weighed about lS2 pounds
while tipped the beam nj about the same
N..f, sxg.ly t1
weston and proved n very hard hitting ar.
fair. which ended in draw. as the police
interfered in the third round. and so per
torcc-per police force, In fact-We mao
to retire. as
world realize that ! at least possesseo
considerable promise.
This Is how one sporting writer tx
plains my rise. and maybe It's as SCUM"
an account as could be given:
kid Cnrters temper gave jack John
son his chance 10 become Vorlo
champion. II does seem ull ssr liz. =.
that little thing like that WouIo sls"
. man such chance. but that's es true
as anything th6t was ever said. ana oIu
Billy Jordan. the famous Frisco an :
nouncer. was the man who helped John'
son in his start. ,-,, c~,a-
the famous Brooklyn middeweight. was
training at Crol's Gardens. In AlaIneas'
for his contest with Ccorg" 1atuners
which 10 take DIPff III s'h'N
cisco. Carter had big colored fellow
for a sparTing partner, and all We kneS
OF him was that his neme. likc nluss
other tar babies. was Johnson. re W.
n big. good natured fellow, who iold lnc
funniest stories We ever heard ana va
always kidding with sornepodJ.
one afternoon. Just before the con.
test a bunch Of newspaper men Nsn. ,,s
over to Alameda to see Carter WORK out,
II was the last boxing stunt he woula
do before the battle. and scrlbeS lIuin l,
several Frisco papers took ihr tup. ~ W
KID worked the pu'lcvs. ana tnch oa,.s
FOR johnson and the gloves. on couIss
he wnntcd 10 make n showing ano
started 10 pummel his sp9rring pdr.',s :
rs most boxers do The besr tns .in,,,,
ring partner ever grts rs i,S ,he bis
gloves and Johnson took what Was cyI,i,
ing for a minute or two and 'Den hDoh.u
tho Kid on the stomach ratneI naIu
I, WAS calling Of the apaTrinE paI 'p1s
10 bit tho boss hard. and Carter tore OF
an oath and started 10 clean UP thS -"
with his dnskv Antagonist -, ,tg az
"He was given the surptlso 81 n9 49,
and we almost fsil off our chaitS, ~
cbangc was so great Instead ot beatIiH
Johnson II was Carter h!mseH VINO ~
beaten and but for INC lnt"t l'i Ft,i"l ~, ~. -
Bjllv Jordan. there might no, 10 90
anvtbinr Ieft OF Carter except Wv
6iocL eveS He was beaten az cfety
,Urn unable 10 land on the clever coloI.d
fellow. and the more he mIASeu VIZ
madGer h" got. -, - nnJeav-
ored TO make peace between the TWO. ous
johnson lost his Job. and next gay az
sporting writer In Frisco tolo o.
marvellous colored fellow thry nan =
irirn carter. and he was giTen su.n
bons, that after Carter had b"cn ocNs.s
hv Gardner he was gwen VIC
chance. -, roh,son
Three DAYS before his contest J9hnSSsi "a
wss taken Flci. and only on the asy ~ ~
The battle came out of tho hospllhl- =,
Went into the ring and made cia,urhr. ~
lool llkr an old woman. Att"r INA,
big fellows out there would nave neay ne.,a.s
10 do with him. and only the ia,hsry
.uch a. Jack jcffrieE-Jlm'T brotne'
and Joe Kennedy. would give nm ,hs
lance Roth were carried ou' OF -
80 Johnson worked his way Id
,b9n trimming all that he met, unss
,hsre WAS no one TO meet except Tomnf
Burns ,,., o.c,,,of|
~, nv risn iH the boxing world. nno
give IL because II IN only natural tha, ~ ~
,clating ones experience, onef.i' III III
shouid-veIi. what shall say!-wsnls.
peThaps be kinder 10 oneself than or ,s
ppugbt 10 be. For that reason prefer ~
lie, others tell Of my struggles 70 "'s