Grand Forks daily herald. (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1914-1916, 1914-10-07
JAKE klRA|N N
THE CITY TODAY
Veteran of the Ring, Now
Baltimore Resident, Here
on Business.
JUST AS TALKATIVE
AS THEY MAKE EM
Has Word or Two to Say
About Things in the Ring
Years Ago.
-

Jake Kilrain. heavyweight cham
plon OF yesteryear. is in Grand Forks
today lighting over some Of the bat
ties OF former years with Dad"
Hayes, also numbered among the erst-
while stars of the squared ring.
With Friend Cornwall Bowl stand.
ing In each mans corner. the two old
lighters, clinched, spared. chinned
and haw-hawed with each other, and,
through it all the specter Of former
fight days shuffled back and forth.
referring the friendly bout.
With Dad" Hayes as a bait, the
humble sports dopester was able to
draw al interesting line Of talk from
Kilrain.
A Grand Old Game.
"It's a grand old game" he began,
but I'm glad I'm through with 1t. In
u day, 1t was not q case Of treading
the path Of padded gloves and the
profusely decorated road Of wealth to
The championship. We fought. and
fought hard. We got little money,
compared with the earnings Of pres
ent fighters. and. IL the men today
are worth their purses. we earned our
money ten times over.
The fighters Of old are different
from the fighters Of today. Take Jack
Johnson. for instance. He Is a won
derful fighting machine. and there
isn't a man today that can lick him.
But In our day. we could have MUIR
dered him. If n Of us could TURF
back a few pages and put on the old
fighting game. we would crush Jack
Johnson. But there isn't a fighter
today that can do it."
Think you hat the Moran-Johnson
fight In Paris was a fake?" we man
aged to slip in during a verbal clinch.
Moran Fight No Fake.
blow. IT don't believe that talk about
a fake The aristocracY Of Paris, in
Guiding a number of its women, want
ed to see Johnson give ...oran tn:
knockout. That's whv they COM
planned. They knew that johnson had
Moran. and they hollered for him to
put over the sleep blow. but johnson
wouldn't. johnson, YOU must remem-
He doesn't fight to the gallery; he
fights to win and he bides his time.
Johnson could have knocked JET.
fries out in the second round of their
Reno fight. II he2had wanted. john
son told me so himself. I met him in
Chicago a few d~ayssafter. and he said
that he got S6o,0o1 for, the motion
that the fight was to 70 fifteen rounds.
Jake he said to me. I could have
done it in the second round. but I had
to wait until the fifteenth to get that
money And I believe that's true"
What think you of Jeffries?" we
Says Jeffries is Brute.
"Jefries." he began suspictously.
man; he's a brute. He's out Of our
class entirely. Anyone who will beat
poor old F4tzsimmons down the way
Jeffries did is a brute. Jeflries weighed
200 pounds and Ftssimmons weighed
1855, and after F1tx said. come on,
Jeffries, put me out. I've broken my
hand Jeffries went in and beat him
down.
"Jeffries called q blum Of mine once,
and I had to law down under 1t. It
was In Harry Corbett's old place in
Frisco. I had remarked that any or
binary man could beat Jefrtes, and
he heard about II. One day, while
I was sitting at . table in Corbett,s
place. Jeftries came in and planked
$4,000 down in front Of me-
go into the basement and lick you.
II you get back here first. you can
have 1t, but II I'm here first. Til send
It over to the hospital to owe your
ct don't fight in the basement I
said. I aght in public. and I can lick
you in public.
"But that wasn't what Jerries
wanted. OF course. I had to lay down.
My fighting days were over. I was
no longer a conner and Jeffries was"
Speaking Of negro fighters, Kilrain
said:
Never Drew Color Line.
II drew the color line. Some
fighters do. but I never did. I was
Peter Jackson nee in Madison Square
garden, and he was one Of tho finest
negro fighters I have known. When
you go over the ropes. you're equals
anyway. I was there to win and get
the money. I got $4,000 for my end
Of 1t. and when I got It I went back
to my wife,.
where I am ana where / amt. she
tells me what to do. and I do 1t. I
married her when she was q poor.
little woman, and 1 was poor, too. But
we've stuck together al the time and
we pulled through the h%ardships to-
gether. We don't need to worry any
longer. I fought for her: and when
ever I made any money I went back
to her with It," 49,. x Y
Before throwing ND the sponge in
the friendly sparring match. Kilrain
went into another clinch with the days
Of old.
II sometimes .lonR. for the old
times" he said. when I SEQ a fight
today. I almost weep for the old
scraps. Give mo tho good, old days;
when fighters fought like strong men,
when there was none Of this padded
glove business and when there was
no pickering owe gate receipts and
fight stipulations."
Andover has yet to select . captain
for this seasons eleven. Captain Gala
han. who was honored last spring
with the team leadership has not re-
turned to the academy.