New Britain herald., 1915-01-08
 Basketball Here 7onigh

BY "GRAVY."

Gus Ruhlln, Who was d OtAr among the heavyweights in the days when that division had such good men 4as Corbett Fitzsimmona.' Sharkey, Jef- fries, Maher and Mccoy, was born in Canton, O., just forty-three years ago today, Jan. 8, 1872. Gus died in 1912, at the age of forty, but his memory will be honored as long as the annals of the ring are preserved. Although he took part in many famous bouts, Gus never got away with much coin. and his entire ring earnings were not over s5o.0oo. When he quit the game ten years ago he settled in Brooklyn and opened a cafe, which became noted because of the suffrage sentiments hung on the walls. Gus wife was an ardent suffragist, and she made his place a center of propagan- da for the cause.'' A suffrage leaflet was given out with every. drink. Ruhlin was always 8 great family man. With his first ring earnings he ! bought home for his parents in Akron, O., and he left his widow fortune estimated at $30,00O.''
 Although born in Canton, Ruhlin began his pugilistic career in Akron, and he was ever after known as the Akron Giant" He was a giant in height. standing six feet two, but he seldom weighed over 1S5 pounds in his fighting clothes. His first ring bout was in Akron in 1896, when he defeated Jim Wood. He was then matched with another big fighter, Con Tobin, and the battle was pulled off at Barberton. Tobin was New Yorker and had had much ring experience, while Gus was novice, but the Akron lad had the advantage of the sage counsel of Kid Mccoy. The H Hoosier boxer had taken quite shine to Gus, and thought he had the mak- ingsj of a great fighter. Tobin made Gus look like a boob in the first round, and the second was about the same, but under McCey's coaching the Akron giant woke up in the third and got in a few good slams. Mccoy noticed that Tobin showed no special fondness for body blows, so he in structed Gus to devote all his atten- tion to Cons midriff. Ruhlin fol- lowed instructions, and in the fifth round Tobin quit, declaring his arm was broken.
 After a couple more battles, Billy Madden came to Akron with Steve ODonnell. Gus gave Steve a good lac
 
 pressed Madden that he took Ruhlin> under his wing. In 1897 Gus was matched with Jim Jeffries at San Francisco and held him to a draw in twenty rounds. Gus then made a trip through the south, whipping Tut Ryan at New Orleans, Tex Smith at Hot Springs, and Woolf Bendorff at Baltimore.
 About this time Gus got the notion that he was good enough to lick his former teacher, Kid Mccoy. and so expressed himself. The Hoosier in vited his former pupil to go to it, and they met in Syracuse early in 1898. The bout was for twenty rounds, and Mccoy let it go the full limit. During that period the Kid amused himself by making Gus map over to suit himself, and the clumsy Ruhlin never once landed a solid blow on his tormentor. A little later, when his face had healed, Gus fought Tom Sharkey at Coney Island, and the sailor knocked him out in the first round. Gus revenged himself on Sharkey in 1900 putting the sailor away in the fifteenth. and in 1902 he knocked out Peter Maher, the Irish champion, in Philadelphia He was knocked out by Bob Fitzsinm ons in 1900. In his last battle about ten years ago at Colma, Ruhlin knocked out Jim Mccormick in the eighteenth round.