The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1914-03-01
CroN's Gar dens Pass Away;
Was Popular Training Camp
Most Famous Boxers in History of Pugilism Pre-
pared Themselves for Battle i'm Choice Spot
"Across the Bay
sy W. W. NAueHToN.

BY w. W. NAUGHToN.
IAN FRANCISCO, CAL, Feb. 2ss--
Who has not heard Of Croll 3
Gardens, Alameda, in its day
the most popular training camp
for pugiists within score of miles
Of San Franciscoa
The place referred to had vogue,
however, before it was known as
Croll's. It was called Neptune Gard
ems thirty years ago. and it was "a
vorite Sunday lounging place for people
from the San Francisco side of the bay.
There were skating. rinks, shooting
not attaehed to it in those years and
not the least of its attractions. was the
3ee-cold beer that was drawn IN stems
from q thousand kegs.
The Alameda folks resented the idea
Of catering TO San FranciHco's sunday
thirst and love OF frlvol1ty and Nep-
tune Gardens were doomed -,
Down through the years the build
lngs and the fountains and the statu,
ary disappeared piece-meal and C!oH
took hold Just in time to save rev
stables and garish structure, All
peaks and sngles, known as the "ag'
wan.
Revives Old Memories.
A few days ago, crew Of earpen-
ters was busy dismantling the Wigwam
and when the old-line sports heard Of
the fact, pugilistic memories OF the
long ago were revived. Why, the hght
fans Of several generations have crowd
ed into that, Wigwam from time TO ae time
TO watch champion ring men prepare
themselves for ring struggles that are
famous in the history of the game.
BY the same token, many or the
stars OF the boxing arena who trained
in the Wigwam have passed TO the
beyond. Let me recall few Of the
names: Jack Dempsey, Tommy Warren,
Paddy Duffy, Peter Jackson, Joe Cans
and Joe Dixon.
The writer was one of those who haa
old rseolleetions called up by the pass
ING of the Wigwam. I saw Tommy
Byan train there for his match with
Jack Havlin OF Boston, at the Califor'
mia Athletic club, a good quarter OF a
century ago. -,
Havlin, / remember, had trouble with
his weight. He was a protege of Tom
O 'Rourke, and it was necessary to keep
him in the Turkish baths for several
hours on the day of the bout: Poor
Jack had nothing left but his pluck
not save him from merciless prodding
Duffy and Meadows.
Just as far back In the abyss or
time I saw Paddy Duffy. of Boston,
train for a go with Tom Meadows OF
Australia, one Of the best welters tho
world ever saw.
Meadows was a peculiar fellow He
knew a boxing ring as a billiard cham
pion knows green table, but there
were codes OF things he didn t know;
he decided the best way to accelerate
reduction was to starve himself.
One day over at Joe Dieve's, where
he trained he boasted that all he had
eaten in twentyfour hours. was an
apple.
marked
'.If ] can only make the weight, I II
lick him sure
after a few rounds was too feeble to
keep his arms up. Both Meadows and
Duffy are dead now.
saw Mike Con!ey,. the Ithaca
giant, train at Croll IS for his match
with big Joe McAuliffe and / saw Pc
ter Jackson train there for his bout
with Jim Jeffries, Jackson was or the
down grade then, although he was still
as proud as Lucifer and resented any
suggestion that he was scarcely the
Peter of old
Peter Jackson Indignant.
At settling time up at the Olympic
club, Gene Vancourt, friend of JET
fries, grabbed Peters hand and said:
.sPeter, Jeff told me to give you his
best and tell you not TO be downcast,
jackson snorted.
90 You tell Jeffries to mind himself, -
he retorted. "Just let him give ME a
return match and bic will be the one
that will be downcast.
I saw Jim Corbett train at the old
Wigwam for his San Francisco match
with Jeffrics. jim; after his Maspetf
experience with Jeffries, figured thai
what he needed most of all successfui
~ to cope with the boilermaker
was weight and muscle.
Corbett's Training Methods.
At Croll's he had his exercise room
fitted up like a professional strong
mans den, There were giant lifting
bars and big weights and all the resi-
of it. but--fhey did not help jim
Tho funny part of it is that while
Corbett was training for brawn JET
fries was training for speed At Jeff,
training quarters, when the fight wa.
near, he said TO the writer; II wan
you TO watch closely and tell me hon
estly if | outbox Corhett.N
Coming away from the ring h,
stopped at the press benches and sal,
TO me: '.Well, did 1923
You certainly did, I answered.
1t was at the Wigwam that Joe Wal
eott trained when they had to keel
him in the boiler room of the ferry
boat coming across the day Of the fight
This was Tom O'Rourke's scheme TO
removing reluctant posnd of weigh
and saving bis forfeit.
Bob 6tzsimmons trained there 10
his match, with Jeffries, and Joe Gan
trained there for several matches
George Dixon. Abe Attell, Tomm,
Ryan, Hugo Kelly and an army of pu
gilists whose names I cannot Just nor
recall also pitched camp there.
And now all that remains of tn
Wigwam are the stump of chimne
and few splinters of wood painte,
red and green and yellow.
America Enters Aeroplane.
NEW YORK. Feo. ss-Arnsrirs is TO make ar