The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-12-22
Toe-tO-Toe Battling Really Mod
ern, Says Veteran OF
Bare-Knuckle Days
ONCE EVIDENCE
OF FINE GENERALSHlP
Danger of Breaking Hands
Made 0ld.Timers Hold Back
For Hours

Distance lends enchantment 10 the
view" said John l.. Sullivan the other
day. and for this reason, no doubt.
our old.time lighters love To write
and talk about the way the modern
boxers stall and tango, while they, TO
hear them tell IL, always stood toe TO
toe and fought and fought, and kept
on lighting till somebody got polite
sufficiency.
And yet. TO give II to you dead
on the level, the good old pals are
dreaming. They're just like the base
ball fans and ancient ballplayers, who
assure us that there are NO such bat
ters. no such pitchers, as when they
were young-that the modern players
are all specialists OF weaklings. Same
old story: Distance enchants their
view.
Let me tell II TO you RICH an,
II you don't think I'm right go get tn
record books There were plenty q
tango dancers and fancy time-killes
in the bare-knuckle and the skin-glo'e
days. and they spun out their fights
longer. with less action. in many cases
than the shows we holler at so loudly
these pleasant evenings
4
| didn't kick about It as they do now
either. They counted stalling tactics,
in many cases. as vitality important
part of the game. Many fine, old
| fighter, cracking his hands In the
early rounds. with finish fight
scheduled and no limit of rounds to
save him, stalled and blufed and
I lodged: spunt IL out all night long
till daytime or the rural sheriff inter
vened, and thus saved himself and
the money OF his hackers. Isn't that
the truth? And did We ever kick
about it-unless we had our coin on
the other fellow?
Many a star-dead game, too
made II the regular thing TO feint and
dance and wait IL out till the other
man was ripe for picking, and We all
thought IL was proper generalship,
just the thing 10 do. As to slugging
toe 10 toe, as we old lighters are sup
posed TO have done: say. who'd want
TO trade hurricane OF swings on
each others hard, old eraniHms, with
bare hands or little gloves?
Records TO support me? Never
were there a gamer pair than Jack
McAuliffe and Billy Myer. Yet what
did they do at North Judson? Stood
all night and made faces. each daring
the other one to lead. Was there ever
IA grander. Drawer boy than Jack
Dempsey? And how often did thu
, Nonpareil string out skin-glove fight
till he Judged the time had come to
sail straight in and take the chances
Look at most OF Tommy Ryan's early
battles. He'd keep the crowd and
: the other fellow at bay all night, sixty
: or seventy rounds. Selying on his en-
durance legs and ring-circling tricks
To wear slugger down to utter help
lessness
The toe-to-toe style of desperate
smuggling came, really, after the time
OF the bare hands and tiny gloves
when the boys could whack away
swing 10 their hearts content anC
run little danger OF broken hand
I'll confess | loved 10 bat away OF
other peoples framework much more
, after ! specialized in Queensberry
|, work than when | fought Flood ant
Ryan The men who traded franti,
bins came, you might say, midway be
tween the skin-glove battlers and tn
modern style performers
"Tango-dancing in a ring Is tie
, Oldest customs, and the old fellows
did more of il than the boxers OF b.
day do. But there was rhis difference.
az rule, the old boys, with no tire
limit in sight. did 1t TO protect thir
, fame and hackers, and stood readyto
, fight like tigers when they say he
: opening for attack. while too man, OF
; these modern stars tango with the ais.
tinct idea--nothing else--of getting
to the end OF the scheduled show and
coming their coin as easily as pos.
sible"