The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-08-18
Women Have Long Been
 Interested in Pugi1ism

SIhe recent appearance of Miss LOT cite Boag in the role of manager of her brother. .tClarry Marshall an as bring boxer, and the attendance of the fair sex at boxing shows in New York, have set the sport writers of the metropolis by the ears. They think ring sport is something brand new and unheard of, whereas 1t is as old as the game,
 The first pugiIstic match of mod ern times, that between James Fogg and Ned Sutton in England nearly two centuries ago. was9W witnessed by many ladies. Actresses by the score, in- eluding the then famous Kitty Give, occupied ringside seats, and there were also many ladies of fashion, some of them titled. Following the custom of that period, the lovely ladies expressed guage forcibIe but somewhat profane.H 1 At the next great ring battle in Eng land, between Broughton and Steven son, the Duchess of Yarmouth sat be ladies of the blueSt blood, including several of the favorites of the Prince
 of Wa1ess were there to cheer Steven som The latter had been a coachman
 and had had a love affair with the wife of his employer, which naturally gave him a romantic interest in the eyes of
 the fair ones. Science prevailed over romance, however, and the. ladies saw
 their fayorite almost killed.
 When Broughtons defended his title against Jack Slack in 1750 all the London papers commented on the number sofi high-born ladies present l It was quite a society affair, as the women most prominent in court circles were there, clad in their most beauti-
 full costumes. That time they saw Broughton defeated, after a terrific contest. All of these early bouts were
 fought with bare fists, and usually lasted from one to three hours, during which time the blood flowed freely. The sanguinary nature of the specta-, cle did not prevent the ladies from
 enjoying it to the full and every dam
 aging blow was greeted with cheers from the feminine element.
 Miss Boag may or may not be the I first woman manager of 3, fighter. but
 several of the old timers got their training in fighting from their mater nal ancestors. One of these, Bill
 Stevens, who took the title away from I Slack, always declared that his mother was his instructor in fighting l and honored her accordingly Mrs. Stevens was a blasksmitth by trade. Stripped to the waist, and with only a single skirt to hide the remainder of l her brawny body she wie1ded a ham mer and shod horses in a s1nithy near Birmingh gham, She was the terror of the neighborhood, and when any mere fI1et11 s1lSP4CSASSt1 LOTt sS1lS VVt1QGQ tnIO him with both fists and usually pol l ished him off. Bill was educated by his mother in the school of hard knocks, and she was inm ense1y proud
 of her pupil when he became a bruiser She was ain interested spectator of his battles, and acted as his second and 1 adviser
 William Thompson, better known as
 Besndigo, was another offspring of a militant mother Mrs Mother may not have been Bendigo's official man 1 ager, but She certainly looked after
 her sons financial interests with great
 care, and was usually on the spot when
 a match was made. When the business l was concluded. Mrs. Thompson would always shake her fist in her sons face
 and say, ttAn' if ye don't lick him, I'll
 slap your chops when ye come home s One of her sons became a famous
 manufactures. of sugicaf instruments,
 and immensely wealthy, but the fero-
 cious old woman was always proudest of her .tBendy,'' who became an
 evangelist after he quit the ring.