New Britain herald., 1915-03-17
Sp0rt0grAthy
BY "GRAVY."

One of the greatest middleWelghts
and light heavyweights that ever
climbed into q ring was George Gard
ner. who was born on st. Patrick's
Day thirty eight years ago. Gard
ner was q native Of the town of Lis
doonvarna. in County Glare, Ireland,
where he grew to a height of nearly
six feet. He began his ring career
in Manchester in 1897, and in the
following year he went to Montreal
and knocked out Thunderbolt Smith
in the seventh round. He then re-
turned to the New Hampshire city
where he had made his debut and
fought several other bouts. Nearly
all Of his early battles were won by
knockouts, and by the time he had
passed his majority the man from
Clare had demonstrated that he was
terrific fighter and the possessor of
soporifc punch.
George first met defeat in 1899,
when he lost in eighteen ROUNDS to
Jimmy Handler at Brooklyn He
next defeated Jack Moffatt, the
Springfield, Ill, middleweight, and in
a return match with Handler knocked
out that scrapper in the third chap
ter. After winning on foul from
Kid Carter, one of the leading mid
dleweights of that period, Gardner
returned to Ireland for a visit. While
on the other side he fought several
battles in England, knocking out
Frank Craig, the Harlem Coffee
Cooler" and defeating Jack Scales.
In 1901 Gardner returned to Amer
lea and was offered a match with
Jack Moffatt in San Francisco. He
defeated the Illinoisan IN three rounds
and remained in the Golden Gate City
some time. He twice fought Kid
Carter in San Francisco, winning the
first bout in eighteen rounds and the
second in eight. He lost the de-
cision to Joe Wolcott, the Barbados
Demon" in a twenty-round fight, but
in 1902 he again met the clever
| black in San Francisco and was de-
clared the victor. He also fought
two battles with Jack Root, the Bo-
hemian battler, losing the first on a
foul, but winning the second, staged
! in Salt Lake City, by Knockout
| il the seventeenth. Before leaving
the Pacific coast Gardner was matched
with Jack Johnson, and stayed the
| full twenty rounds with the big black
although Johnson was given the de-
| cision.
| On his way back to the east the
Irishman stopped in Chicago and
again bested his old opponent, Kid
Carter Early in 1908 he met his
countryman, Peter Maher, in Bos-
| ton, and knocked him out in the first
| inning He then went to Louisville
/ and defeated Marvin Hart, the Ken
| tuclxian who afterward claimed the
| vl,% nr'e
battle was with Jack Root at Forte
Erie. Ont, and he won in a dozer
rounds
| Gardeners famous battle with Boil
F'itzsimmons was staged in San Fran
cisco late in 1903, and he went tht
full route of twenty rounds, but los
the decision to the lanky Australian
| BY 1904 it was evident that Gard
ner was going back. Marvin Ear
held him to a draw in Boston, ant
in two bouts with Jack Root he go
a draw in the first and lost the sec
ond. He again whipped Kid Garter
this time in Milwaukee, and knocked
out i'm Jeffories at Butte, but wa
held to q draw by Jim Flynn in ;
ten-round affair in Denver.
About ten years ago Gardner tough
Mike Schreck in Salt Lake City, ant
was knocked out in the twentieth
round. In 1906 he took the coun
from AL Kaufman in Los Angeles
and the next year he was knocked
out by Jim Flynn in San Diego. Tha
practically ended his ring career, al
though he fought a few more unim
portant bouts, and was defeated b.
Tony Ross at New Castle, Pa, an'
| Inv toin ut DiaQO