The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-03-18
GOSSIP AND COMMENT
ON CURRENT SPORTS

Steve Griffin came to town yester-
day and the baseball season is now Of
ficially declared open.
Mickey Keliher notified the Peters,
burg management that he was ready
to. sign q contract in Goobertown as
Fred Clarke did not seem to desire his
presence in Pittsburg. Manager
Heinie Busch notified Mickey yester-
day that Petersburg did not need him
this year and that he had been turn
ed over to the Hartford club. of the
Connecticut league.
Than Langford has gone back to
his old meal ticket, Jim Barry. and
given him another beating In Aus
tralia- Than and Jim should have
their act down fine by this time. they
have rehearsed 1t so often. Barry has
lasted all the way from one to twenty
rounds with Langford. He has gone
down in punch and he has given the
black man battle, seemingly, for a
good long distance.
When Than cannot find anyone else
to- meet him he falls back on Barry,
who is said put himself in readiness
for battle by using a hypodermic Just
before entering the ring. After jab
from the neddle Barry probably
doesn't care what happens to him.
Jim Hall who just died, might have
been a world heater had IL not been
for disposition to dissipate and also
for a red haired Australian named
FitZsimmons. Bob and Jim hailed
| from the Antipodes. Fitz arrived in
/ this country by way of San Francis
go. Hall by way of London and New
York. Bob had defeat tackled to his
Whan he arrival Hall
the man who had been named the
winner. Bob didn't like to explain
that defeat, He said at one time that
he had received enough money to
pay his way to this country by laying
down to Hall This did not tend to
raise Bob in the esteem of the sporting
fraterity, but when Ruby Robert ex-
planned that he never thought the
news Of il would get beyond Aus
tralia the sports forgave him on the
ground that he was nothing but a
poor soft boob who didn't know any
better
Fake or no fake the fact that, Hall
had been a winner over Bob Fitz in
four rounds made the Australian mid
dleweight look pretty good to the
fancy when he arrived in this coun~
try with Charlie Mitchell and Squire
Abingdon whose full name was Ahing-
ion Baird, il a dim memory may be
rusted.
The squire was rather notorious
He had once driven costermonger's
cart--~one of this little donkey at
| fairs--up the steps of the house of
parliament. had been accused OF beat
ing up an old man for which his fac
totum. Charley Mitchell, was arrest
ed and served a month in Jail and was
one of those fiashy coves who imag-
inaH that ha a 10 In
recklessly. swore- roundly, drank
heavily and acted generally like n
bully, cad and bounder. No doubt
he was a very fair sample of what Is
old days would have been called a
bluff old country squire.
Mitcheils father-in- law, Pony
Moore, kept a public house and the
squire frequented il a lot Mitchell
had won the amateur championship
of Great Britain and later on became
the recognized champion middle
weight of the United Kingdom. He
added the title of heavyweight cham
pion but that title was also claimed
by ALT Greenfield and, later on, by
Jem Smith. Matcheli. however, had
gone down in defeat before Jim Cor
bett in three rounds and went out Of
the game. Ted Pritchard laying claim
to the middleweight crown. Hall had
beaten pritchard and had clear
claim to the English and Australian
titles when he came over here to box
Fitzsimmons, who had beaten Jack
Dempsey for the worlds title.
Mitchell Hall and Squire Abing-
don Baird made great trio, but the
chances are that the squire was little
more than 81 mark for the two pugi-
lists. They helped him spend his
money and when Hall and Fitz were
matched Hall didn't try very hard to
protect his hackers money. The
squire put up the money demanded
for Hall, but Jim dod not overtrain un
less il was on mixed ale. What Fitx
did to him was a shame, The squire
in his role of Bully Boy seconded the
pugilist ne had backed. even. as many
noble lord had done in days gope