Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1915-09-08
PRIZE FIGHT IS
HELD IN STREET
OF SOUTH END
Bloody Bare Knuckle Battle by
Youths of Weequahic
Section.
CONTEST INTERRUPTED
BY A SQUAD OF POLICE
Many of Spectators at Fight
Went to Scene in
Automobiles.
CONTEST INTERRUPTED
BY A SQUAD OF POLICE

Two young men stripped to the
waist fought six bloody rounds with
bare knuckles last night in the street
at the corner of Osborne terrace and
Book avenue. The contestants were
surrounded by fifty young men, while
referee and timekeeper preserved
the amenities of the prize ring. Sec
onds with towels and stimulants at
tended to the wants of the fighters
between rounds and urged them on
during the fighting.
The bout was broken up when
woman resident telephoned to the
police of the Sixth precinct. A wagon
load of officers was sent to the scene.
1t was discovered approaching
through Book avenue. A lookout gave
the alarm and the fight ceased.
The fighters with their attendants
and the ring officials made off in four
automobiles which went north in
Osborne terrace. The remainder of
the crowd disappeared into the shrub
berry which lines the road for blocks.
No one but two small boys were in
sight when the police arrived, but
neighbors say that practically the en-
tire assernblage, fighters, referee and
all, were members of well-known.
families in the fashionable Weequahic
Park section.
Lonely Spot.
Although Osborne terrace from
Hawthorne to RenneC avenues is
lonely stretch, with but two houses
the entire distance and these unten-
anted, three houses on Book avenue
are within $50 feet of the corner where
the fight took place. The electric light
on the corner of Book avenue and Os-
borne terrace, under which the ring
was pitched, is the only light for
eight blocks on the terrace.
A better place for the fight could
not be selected in the city, one of the
residents of Book avenue saying to-
day that strangers are not seen pass
ing oftener than one in week ana
none after dark. The corner is pro-
tected also by rise of ground to the
west between the terrace and Sey-
mour avenue, so that passersby on
Seymour avenue would be unable to
see the crowd only block away. The
lookout who gave the warning was
Stationed in Book avenue on the top
of this rise.
A woman living IN one OF the houses
near the scene of the fight said to-
day that she was startled about 8
o'clock last night by the sound of a
sharp voice crying, Break, break, T"
following muffled sounds of a nature
she could not describe. She looked
out of a window and saw prize fight
in progress. Describing the fight she
said;
"One of the fighters had blood all
over his face. In little while one
was knocked down and then the
referee commenced to swing his right
arm up and down and call out num-
bers. While he was counting the
numbers the boy who was knocked
down would get up and then they
would commence to fight again,
Fighters Would Rest.
After a little while another man
on the edge of the crowd would hold
arm and shout out something.
Then the boys would stop fighting
and rest, while the men with the
towels would fan them and give them
something to drink.
Sometimes when the boys we're
fighting they would catch hold of
each other. and then the older man
would push them away from each
other and cry out, "break, break. "
That and the numbers he called out
when one of the boys was knocked
down were the only words / could
understand, although almost every
one was saying something
The woman said the crowd OF men
ranged In age from eighteen to thirty.
The fighters were naked to the waist
and fought with bare hands.
The fight probably had progressed
one roun1 when the woman's atten-
R,-e4 81 OF ad
reporter for the Evening Star. She
went on to say: THE two young
fellows were just coming towards
each other when / looked out, and
two or three men behind each OF
them were calling out things | could
not understand The older man had
his coat and vest off and his collar
and tie were off. He did not say any
thing but Just kept moving around
little.
Il know the other neighbors saw
and heard as much as | did, but |
don't know who telephoned to the
police, 7 don't know either how long
the boys were fighting, but they
rested four or five times while / was
looking at them. ! heard this morn
ing that almost all the people in the
crowd and the two boys-I say boys,
but ! guess they were about twenty
one, both of them-belong to good.
respectable families right around
here"
Grudge Affair.
1t Is believed that the contest was
a 'grudge" fight and that the parties
to the dispute had decided TO settle
their grievances in ring fashion.
The Sixth precinct station had no
report of the occurrence on their
books today II was learned that the
patrolmen who went to the scene of
the fight questioned the two small
boys who were found there after the
rest of the party had fed.