New Britain herald., 1915-01-01
BY "GRAVY."

The year 1915 will mark the cen
 tenaries of many distinguished men,
 among whom may be mentioned Mr.
 John Leechman and Benjamin
 Caunt. The first. named, who con-
 tested with Caunt the title of pugilis-
 tic champion of Great Britain, made
 his debut in this vale of hard knocks
 On the first day of January, 1915,
 and his centenary thus falls on the first day of the New Year.
 1t was not by his real name of John Leechman, however, that this gladiator of bare knuckle days was known to fame. In the ring he was known as "Brassey,' a nickname which he gained in his pugnacious youth because of his employment in a brass foundry, and which stuck to him through life. Brassey was born in Bradford, England, and worked as a blacksmiths apprentice before he ! entered the brass foundry. As q shop boy Leechman carried chips on both shoulders, and was ready to fight at the drop of hat--or without that provocation He was only sixteen when he made his first appearance in 1 the ring against a lad named Hart ] ley. Leechman was victorious and ! got $1O for his efforts. That looked l like easy money to him, and he soon 1 sought another match, whipping Ned i Patterson and getting away with s16. i This second battle of Leechman's car ger lasted seventy-two rounds. Fancy the poorest dub in the ring today
 scrapping seventy-tWo chapters for l $16!
 Ieechman got s25 for whipping George Ireson in his next engage 1nent His defeat of Jem Bailey in 1885 won for him the big sum of ] $50, and the next year he got $100 for beating Tom Sorutton.
 l It was in 1886 that Brassey en-
 gagged in his first really important bat 1 tie, which was with the clever Ben 1 digo, afterward champion of Eng 1 land. This bout was staged at Shef-
 field, and the young blades" of that city assembled by hundreds at the 1 ringside. Leechman was still work l ing in the foundry between fights, and
 his toll kept his muscles as hard as i iron. Both men were ideal athletes l in appearance. Bendigo was the 1 older and more experienced fighter, l however, and celebrated for his cleverness, and he had little trouhle in avoiding the rushes and pile-driv CT l blows of Brassey. After fifty-two 1 rounds, during which Brassey had as 1 simulated more punishment than Bat Nelson in all his battles, he became infuriated and butted Bendigo with his head. This deliberate foul gave BendigO the victory. In 1889 Brassey redeemed himself by, defeating Young I.angan, the fa- nous Irish fighter from Dublin. in a seventy-five round battle. This was a notable performance, and it gave Brassey the right to challenge pionship. The great battle for the title was staged at Newmarket dur ing the races, and attracted the fancy from all over England. Dukes, earls and lords by the dozens, held good places at the ringside. Caunt ] had much the advantage in height and weight, and was a favorite at first, ] but Brassey gave such a good ac-
 count of himself in the early rounds l that the tide turned in his favor. At the end of the hundredth round l Brassey was unable to get up, and 1 Caunt, although he was even more | battered, was awarded the victory 1 That was Brassey's last try at the l championship, which he lost by as l narrow a margin as was ever rec l orded in a pugilistic contest. After this heroic effort Brassey quit the ring and relapsed into that obscurity from 1 which he had issued.