The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1915-03-05
FREDDIE WELSH BEGINS
THIRIIETH YEAR TODAY.


We have with us today Mr.. f H..
Thomas, the champion eater of gar
den sass and lightweight pugiIist of
the universe. Mr.. Thomas Will begin
his th1rteth year today, for he was
born March 5, 1886, at PontypTidd,
Wales In those circles where
knockouts and blocks and leads and
right swings and left hooks an sIch
are staples of conversation Mr..
Thomas is known as Freddie Welsh,
a nom de ring based on his ma
HonaIity. During the last few months
Willie Ritchie. the WeIshman has
not added vastly to his reputation
as a fighting man, but he has annex
ed enough of the long green to keep
his table supplied with carrots and
radishes and cabbAges and jpertaties
for the rest of his life. 1t is esti-
mated that he has at least a. hundred
thousand dollars sailed away, but it
was not SO very long xago when he
looked upon a five-spot with envy :
Freddie first visited America when
he was sixteen, but after a. few
carried the banner and often chit the
back doors and "mooched'' the free
lunch counters for eats, he returned
to good old Pontypridd. There he
decided to become a protest. onal
wrestler, but he didn't shine at the
In 1905 Freddie decided to have
another whack at America He
worked as a janitor, peddIed pins and
needles in Philadelphia, and washed
sweaters for the athletes at Browns
ssey1n's in New Y ork Then he went
to Montreal and worked as q me-
chanical engineer, which he had Sc
lected as his trade The wanderIust
was still on him, however, and he
made his way west, travelling in
sssfde-doo Pu1lmans, and toi1ed in
the harvest fields of western Canada
and the Dakotas.
1t was in the west that Freddie
had his first fight. A gang Of toughs
tried to hold him up for his savings
Freddie objected, and used his fists
assaiiants to flight. When he got
back to New York he read an ad in
paper calling for an athletic In
structor in a gym There were
about a dozen applicants, and the
boss had them fight for the job.
husky 1niddleweight, and landed the
position at salary of $154 per week.
FreddIe's ring debut was made in
Philadelphia in 1908, when he Knock,
ed Young Williams in the third
round at the Broadway A c. In his
early battles the little We1shman
often got as little as two dollars. but
even that looked like easy money to
him after his experience In the west
ern harvest fields, and he stuck to
the game. Now that he holds the
title, after chasing Willie Ritchie sew
eral thousand miles, Freddie isn't
taking any chances of losing it by
mixing things with his opponents.
Freddie Welsh is not the only
sporting celebrity born on the fifth
of March. On this date away back
in 1854 George S1osson, the billiard
ist, was born in DeKaIb, N. 7. It
was more than forty-five years ago
that the old cue veteran, then a lad
of sixteen, nade his bow in Billiard
tournament Samuel A. Thompson,
the once famous slugger of the De-
troit ands Philadelphia Nationals. was
born in DanviIle, Ind, fifty-five years
ago today. He began his league
career with Evansville, and from
1885 to 1898 he was in the major
circuit. This is also the birthday of
Marcel Moreau, the former middle
weight champion of France, who is
twenty seVen.