The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-04-17
HOW JESS WILLARD
GOT FIRST START
First Fight He Saw Was Be
tween Two Second Class
Welters.

In this article, Jess Willard, heavy
weight champion, tells in his own
words about the first fight he ever
saw:
Some OF the story tellers are in
clined to stretch yarns about me out
to ridiculous extent. One OF them
said once that l whipped a big fellow
who owed me $50 because he would
not pay it and after he had given me
check for the amount l beat him
into town by running faster than his
horse could draw a wagon. ACCORD
ing to the story had to reach town
first to get the check cashed before
he could have it stopped. AS l have
already told you | could run some in
those days, but ] don't remember that
l ever pitted my legs against those
of horse. l think too much of my
legs.
The first man who ever paid any
attention to me in serious way as
far as fighting is concerned was j. d.
Brock, of Oklahoma City. That was
soon after the affair at Reno between
Johnson and Jeffries when the whole
country was swept with the white
hope craze, now SO happily wiped out
by the affair at Havana. l confess
right here that I was fired with an
L
/ pictured myself the real candidate
for the title held by Johnson and in
my dreams could see myself crowned
the king of them all.
See First Fight.
$50 I went to see Brock, who was
running club at the time. He look
ed me over and thought I could de-
tect an amused smile on his lips. a
couple of nights later he invited me to
see fight that he was holding in his
club and you may not believe it, but
that was the first regular ring encoun-
ter that ! had ever looked at.
The contestants were Clarence Eng
lish and Harry Bower, welterweights,
and strangely enough Bower was at
the ringside to see me win the cham
pionship from Johnson.
We'll l was lost in admiration at
the sport and the skill those boys
showed and l made up my mind then
and there that IL l could ever get to
be anywhere near as good as they
were that l could whip Jack Johnson.
Neither of them was champion, but
believe me, thought they were about
as wonderful as could be turned out.
I could not sleep that night for think
ing about that fight and my ambition
became raging fire within me.
ut was with difficulty that could
think or talk anything but fight after
that and Brock, seeing was in deadly
earnest, decided to give me chance.
So they set me to working in the
gymnasium and l can recall what a
butt l was for lot OF jokers and
kidders about the place. They put
up all sorts of jobs>on me but quit it
when threatened them with some
horrible sort of punishment and once
cuffed one Of them for putting some
| shoemaker's wax in my boxing pumps.
He Gets a Match.
"It was along in August, 1910, that
first met Brock, think, and he didn't
get me fight until the following Feb
ruary, claiming that needed the train
ing. Other people scoffed at this and
said that the more trained the WORSE
but I surely thought was doing fine
and plowed along doing q lot Of things
wrong and very few things right. But
the old ambition was there and 1
imagined / was doing fine.
1.-THE idea OF hitting out straight
never was shown to me and clawed
out with my punches like the rawest
amateur. something with the motion
that girl uses in throwing base
ball. Ii was a joke the way fought.
but you couldn't have made me think
| SO. / thought 1t immense.
Then came the night OF my first
| fight and l was nervous as a boy
about to speak his first piece. There
was a great throng out to see. me,
which didn't do me q bit OF good,
either.