Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1912-01-12
FINISH OF YOUNG CRITIC,
WIZARD OF THE RING
John 6arleycorn Put Once Wonderful
Boxer Down and Out.

The appeal Of Martin Costello and
Albert Griffiths to be sent to the work.
house for the winter at New York the
other day, as told in the little news
despatch, is another chapter in the
sad ending of the careers Of two of
the most promising pugilists that ever
came out of Australia. The names
must have sounded strange to many of
the present day followers of the ring,
but to men who are versed in ring
history or who knew the game Is or
30 years ago, the names Of the two are
familiar, although Costello was nick
named Buffalo" while Griffiths was
known as Young Griffo."
Each in his class was a remarkab bic
man. Critic was the better known
and was undoubtedly the finest boxer
that ever pulled on a glove in ring
in this or any other country. He
came here in the early nineties from
Australia, following the influx of pug
fists from the land Of the Southern
Cross, at a time when F1tzsimmons,
Dan Creedon, Frank Slavin, Jim Hall,
Peter Jackson, Tut Ryan, Joe Goddard,
and others were in the zenith of their
fame and prowess.
Critic was the featherweight cham
pion of Australian, which title he won
from Australian Billy Murphy, the
Little Torpedo" We knew how good
Murphy was, for he had beaten Ike
Weir, the Belfast Spider, and from this
we got an idea that Critic must be
something of a wonder. But We were
not prepared for the remarkable abil-
ity he showed when he opened up in
this country. He boxed a few times
on the coast but without attracting
much attention. He went east and
was matched with George Lavigne,
the Saginaw Kid, afterwards the light
weight champion Of the world. They
met at Chicago in an eight-rounda con-
test.
Now, mind you, at that time La
Vigne was wonder in our estimation.
We figured that nobody living had a
license to make a monkey of him, and
| American sports felt so secure about
the outcome that they were inclined
| to laugh at the pretensions Of the
| Australian in hooking up with La
vigne. Try to recall what happened.
Lavigne was a novice before Critic.
| The visitor proved himself to be one
of the wizards Of the ring, and the
way he flayed Lavigne was a caution.
Instead of going in with his head
down or in crouching position, Critic
stepped forward fully erect, with the
| left hand slightly extended, the right
resting easily across his chest. The
/ feet were well together, but so placed
as to give balance of the best kind.
| There were no waste moves on the
part of Critic. He simply walked into
| Lavigne and like flash stabbed the
| left to the nose. Lavigne's counter
was parted, and then, like series
of lightning darts, the left and right
Of the Australian were whipped into
! Lavigne's body and face All this
! time Critic was practically breast to
breast with the Saginaw Kid. Occas-
ionally Critic weaved his body in and
out, merely pulling away far enough
to let lead pass him, but was always
| In position to counter effectively. He
did not footwork as we know it know
| and every punch was timed and placed
with the precision of a machine. Il
| was a remarkable exhibition and made
Critic one. Of the greatest drawing
cards that every stepped on a canvas
| Shortly afterward Critic was match
| ed with Billy Murphy and Johnny Grit
| find at Boston, and he messed these
up so badly that the men, first class
| in their day, were Inundated. Ther
came his match with George Dixon
the worlds featherWeight champion
They boxed % rounds to what was
| called q draw, but this was a courtesy
to Dixon. rather than a real indication
of the merit of the men.
His escapades, however, killed GriffC
as a drawing card, and he drifted bach
to Chicago, where he kept slipping
lower and lower until finally, after
several terms as vagrant, he was