El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-02-02
Wizards Star Of Hope
Recently Dim. Is Brighter
Heavyweight Fighter nsideraby Buffeted About and
With Poor Showing to His Credit, Is Again in
Line For Success Since Signing With
Gunboat Smith For Bout
d. W. VI. NAUGHToN.

! n AN. FRANCISCO, Calf, Feb. q
! The pugilistic trials and tribuIa-
tons of one Jess Willard of Kan
sas, form an interesting study Once
IN his callow days as ringman, when
his star of hope beamed brightly, he
got the better of Luther MeCarty in
a bout back east
Now If McCarty had been outboxed
I by few others and had fizzIed out
l as so many white hopes nave done,
! no one would have remembered that
: willard contributed in the humbling
I or friend Luther. Possibly Willard
himself would have forgotten about
Z II and the world would have forgot
! ter Jess Willard.
But .McCarty began to climb and
with every rung he gained on the lad
der his reverse at Wizards hands
looked bigger and bigger-fOr Will
ard AS MeCarty,s reputation in
creased so did Wizards. It was
clearly a case of the unearned incre-
ment so far as Jess was concerned but
what did that matter?
Whenever McCarty had new pic
ture taken in cowboy attire, Willard
posed too. And for every paper that
published McCarty's picture one was
found to publish Wizards Jess was
surely thorn in Luthers side.
That a meeting between the pair
surely would be arranged some day
seemed inevitable, but something hap
pened at Calgary and McCarty's name
was no longer associated with pugil-
lStic happenings.
FOrfeits Good Opinion.
willard came west and secured
matches and, by the same token, for
IclLed all the good opinions that were
formed of him by the coast sports be-
went from bad to worse and was re-
garded as one of the jokes of the
white hope movement
He figured in an unfortunate occur
renee at Los Angeles and while await
Ing trial in connection with the death
OF Bull Young, went east and en-
Gagged in bout with Carl Morris
What the New York papers said about
that AFFAIR will scarcely bear repeat
ing and even though Jess, scored a
knockout little later, he must have
been heavy hearted when he came
PACK TO the coast TO answer the charge
les
Then suddenly the world bright
ened. The jury acquitted him and be-
Iore ne was quite done receiving the
congratulations of his well wishers.
manager Tom Jones wired him from
San Francisco that there would be
Jess Willard-Gunboat Smith match
Tor the white heavyweight champion
ship of the world at Coffroth's DAILY
City arena next Fourth of July.
Back Where He Was Before.
He is right back where he was a
year ago when the ambition to get
crack at the title was strong in him.
He is better off in fact. There was
no assurance that he would get a
match with Luther McCarty, whereas
the meeting with GunbOat Smith is
definitely arranged
Under the circumstances it is not for
Willard to rail at fate. He has been
buffeted a bit but the storm of adj
verse circumstances has blown bv and
has left him u1anfn1
feet.
The momentous question however, is
viii Jess Willard be able to embrace
the opportunity that is knocking at
his door? In other words will the
affair with Gunboat place him on a
pedestal or toss him back to founder
again in the slough of despond
Did you notice we are giving Smith
and Buckley all the money! manager
Tom Jones asked. well, whether
you did or not we are doing it. But
what's the difference? After this
thing is over Jess won't want for
money He will be the boss heavv-
weight of the world and the theatrical