The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-02-27
sPoRroeRAPHy.i
Birthday Of "erooklyn Tommy" For.
ner Feather1elaht Champion.
By !"Gravy.".'

"S' tSaNhStI"Ctbhh ShabhPtS"
Brooklyn is known as the "clty Of
churches" but at one time it might
well have been called the city of pug.
lists, for many OF the best boxers of
decade or two ago claimed the
worlds biggest suburb as their home
port. Jack McAuliffe, Jack Dempsey,
Jack Sicily, Brooklyn Jimmy Carroll.
Brooklyn Tommy Sullivan these
were but a few OF the illustrious ones
who were born or got their fighting
start in the borough Of steeples.
Today Is the thirty.fourth anniver-
sary Of the birth OF Thomas F.. Sulli.
van, otherwise Brooklyn Tommy"
who once reigned as king OF the feath.
erweights. Tommy was reared in
Brooklyn, and 1t was In 1897, when he 4
was sixteen, that he began to make
a noise In the sporting world. Tia
same year witnessed the pugilistic de.
but OF another Brooklyn lad, Terrible
Terry" McGovern, who had been a
newsy in Brooklyn before he took 10
the fight game. Early in their career
the two lads who were destined to be
featherweight champions met in a
Brooklyn ring and boxed ten rounds
to draw.
McGovern was the first to reach the
heights, and in 1900 he. annexed the
featherweight title by whipping
George Dixon. The next year Terry
was toppled from his throne by the
young Denyerite. Billy Rothwell, fight.
Ing under the name OF Young Corbett.
Both McGovern and Corbett had
passed into the lightweight division
before Brooklyn Tommy forged to the
front. The woods were full OF COOL
little lads in those days. but Tommy
whipped them all. knocking out
George Dixon and Eddie Santry,
among others, and also defeating Kill
Herman in Kansas City and Clarence
Forbes in Omaha. He also tackled
several ltghtweights, but was not so
successful in that division.
In 1904 the featherweight title was
claimed by Abe Attell, who triumphed
over Harry Forbes in st: Louis.
Brooklyn Tommy was not inclined to
give up the honor he had been striv.
ing for, and sought match with the
Hebrew. Tommy and Abe met in st.
Louis in October Of 1904, and the
Brooklynite won on foul. After that,
with the title in his possession, Suili.
van held his honors ,unchallenged un.
I'll 1907. when Attell again faced him
In the ring. This time Abe got draw.
They fought again In 1908 at San
Francisco, and Tommy was knocked
out In the fourth round by the clever
little Hebrew. After losing the title
Sullivan retired from the ring, al.
though he pulled two or three come.
back stunts which fizzled.
Sunday will mark the birthday OF
two of the cleverest little boxers Eng.
land has produced Digger Stanley,
the former bantamweight champion,
and Sid Smith, the fyweight boxer.
Digger will be thirty.two years old,
having been born In Norwich on Feb.
Is, 1883, while Smith, native Of Lon.
don, will be twenty-five. Digger start.
ed his ring career in 1901 by whipping
Owen Moran. The next year. after
several more victories, he lost to Ped
lar Palmer. The next year he again
defeated Moran, but lost to Owen in
1905. After visit to America In
1911, Stanley fought Charley Ledoux
for the bantamweight championship
OF Europe, winning the, first bout, but
losing the second. In 1918 he lost the
British title to Bill s.Reynon. the
Welshman, but regained his laurels Ii,
a return bout, only to quickly lose
them again. Sid Smith, ga Hebrew,
started fighting in 1907, and for time
held the fyweight championstipl OF
England. He was defeated in; a bout
with Charley Ledoux, the Frenchman,
in 1918. ~.