New Britain herald., 1915-03-09
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 BY "GRAVX."
BY "GRAVX."

Ike Weir, George Dixon, Terry Me- Govern, Young Corbett-all were great little boxers, but the greatest of them all, in the opinion of a ma jority of old time fans, was Joseph Terrence McGovern. He didn't have the 'everness of Dixon, but as fight CT no other little man ever ap- preached him. It is true that Ioung Corbett whipped him-did it twice and thoroughly-but, then, Yelling ton also made Napoleon take the count Which isn't saying that Ma poleon wasn't a great little fighting man.
 s'Terriblc Terry was born in Johnstown, Pa, thirty-ive years ago today, March 9, 1880, and his ring career extended from 1897 to 1908. Of late years poor Terry has been afflicted with some mental trouble, but this was not due, as has some times been alleged, to indulgence and dissipation. Terry was a sober, home loving lad, as boxers go, and the wild gay life never appealed to him strongly.
 Although born in, Johnstown, Ter rvs home from his infancy was in Brooklyn. tIe was fourteen when his father died, and Terry and his broth CT undertook to support the family by peddling and selling newspapers. At sixteen he went to work in lumber yard, and although he weighed only about q hundred pounds and was only five feet four, he soon developed his muscles to the point where he could lift weight as great as the average man.
 He first used his fists in earnest in defending his employer against the attack of an enraged employe. lie gave tile fellow a good beating, al- though he was only about half as big as his opponent. That gave Terry tho idea of becoming 2, professional scrapper, and, although his mother threatened to take him across her knee if she ever heard of any such exploits, he entered an amateur boxing tournament and whipped all corners in the 105-pound class.
 McGovern began scrapping as a professional when he was seventeen, and during his first year in the rins. he defeated all his opponents. with the exception of Tommy Sullivan, with
 
 when Jimmy Barry retired, Terry claimed the bantamweight title, and knocked out Casper Leon, the Italian boxer, who was his principal rival When Pedlar Palmer, the English featherweight champion, came over to fight George Dixon for the title, Me Govern, although only a bantam, chal- lenged the Britisher. Just to show up' the pugnacious Terry, and as a preparation for his bout With Dixon, Palmer consented. The fans got the surprise of their lives, for the little l Brooklynite knocked out the English 1 man in less than a. round.
 1 Early in 1900 Terry stopped George Dixon in eight rounds and became the featherweight champion of the world 1 He whipped Dixon again a few i months alter, and knocked out Joe l Cans, Eddie Santry, Oscar Gardner, 1 Frank Erne, Joe Bernstein, Aurelio ! Herrera and others as prominent.
 Terry looked unbeatable when, late in i 1901, he was matched with Young 1 Corbett, the Denver boy who was l then coming to a front. The fight
 was staged in Hartford, and in a fero- 1 cious slugging match Terry was knocked down and out in the second round. All the sports thought it was a fuke but in 1903, at San Francis l co, the Denver lad again proved that he had the Indian sign on Terrible l Terry. For ten rounds McGovern seemed to be winning, but in the