Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-12-20
WHEN JACK MCAULIFFE
FOUGHT HARDEST FIGHT.

Did YOU ever hear the story of Jack
McAuliffe's hardest battle? Jack Nc
Auliffe, lightweight champion OF tho
world in the days when they fought
with bare knuclles or skintight gloves?
Jack was ready to sail for England
under the management of Rob Roy
GRen Benton). where he was booked
for six weeks in the music halls. He
may stay year.
II am going TO establish a training
school for lords and dukes in London, :
said he.
But what about your hardest bat
tle?" he was asked.
HARDEST he cried. What do you
mean hardest. They were all hard"
Take my sixty-four round draw
with Billy Meyer at North Judson. Ind.
Il was fought in the middle of winter,
and the barn in which it was held was
freezing cold. | had to walk the streets
for two hours before the fight, because
| had no place to stay. The crowd was
all against me. 1t was a case of east
vs. west, and 1 was on the eastern end.
Every man at the ringside seemed to
have gun
Meyer was a tough boy. and though
when George Siler had tried to make
him clever, / afterwards stopped him
in twenty-seyen rounds, / was mighty
glad to get draw the first time, and
to escape with my life. The fight was
pulled off by Mike Mcdonald, who was
the Croker of Chicago at the time.
Then there was my fight with Jack
af in
Hopper was a rough, two-handed boy.
It was so cold when we fought that
they had to thaw Hopper out before
we started. well known sport made
a big bet that l would get Hopper by
the seventeenth round. And that's Just
when l did stop him. I had to make
133 fer this fight, and hadn't eaten
much on the day of the scrap. All
through 1t was figuring on the big
feed / would put away when it was
over. Just as / was making for the
lunch some one hollered out; There
goes the last carl" and still in my
fighting toys / made run for 1t, leav-
ing the eats behind me.
But the hardest battle? Well. If you
must have it, guess it was that fight
with Jem Carney on Nov. 16, 1887, just
outside of Boston. A mans hard bat
ties are often made hard by his poor
condition. Such was the case in this
instance.
"Jem Carney was a great fighter,
and a rough one He was the best man
in England, and just before coming to
this country had killed a boxer, Jimmie
Highland, in the ring. We met in a
barn about q mile from Crescent
Beach, Mass, and 100 yards back from
the old Atlantic House run by John
Mckay. Rob Roy staged the bout, and
had his arm broken at it, by the way.
Il had been i'll for some time before
the fight. Dempsey and other friends
tried to have me postpone it, but l in
sisted on fighting. Or. Peter Hughes,
then a well-known Brooklyn physician,
Who by the way, attended Senator Nc
Carren. came up to visit me, and said
I could not possibly go on with the
bout. But l did and it went seventy
four rounds to a draw, John Mckay
stopping it, fearing interference by
the authorities.
For the first ten round | made a
monkey of Carney, / am told, but after
that my illness got the best of me.
Only my headwark and ring general
ship saved me time and time again. |
knew too much of the scientific end of
the game for Carney, and even in my
weakened condition stood him off till
the bout was stopped. l guess it was
my hardest battle, all right
We were supposed TO resume the
fight within a week, as was customary
in my day when a draw occurred. But
we could not find a safe place to stage
the bout and It went down in the an
nails of the ring as no contest
But let me tell you about Arthur
BlisEane,s hardest battle Fresh from
college, [ think he was on the Sun, ana
got wind of the fact that Jack Dempsey
and Jack Fogarty were to fight in an
old hall on Eighteenth street, New
York City. But we wouldn't let him
in at first, and kept him out on the
corner cooling his heels for five rounds.
At that he had beat on the story OF
the battle. WE wouldn't let HIM in
then; HE won't let US in now!
"Then there was Suffering Larry
Jerome the father of the ex-district at
torney and prosecutor of Harry Il
Thaw. suffering Larry was one OF
the big men of sport in my time. lie
attended every fight Of Importance
and backed many fighter.
Il took the hoodoo off certain cor
ner in the New Orleans ring, where
the famous fight carnival of 1892 took
place In 81. poor Jack Dempsey had
used this corner and been defeated by
Fitzsimmons. Several fighters OF lit
tie importance also went down to de-
feat in it. But I took 1t in so, and
won my fight, and Corbett and little
George Dixon, boxing from it after me-
were both victorious.
Il will never forget the heartbroken
condition of the great John l.. after
his defeat by Corbett. 1t was pitlful,
and taught me lesson that made me
avoid fghing that one fight too many