The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-02-16
WITIIE RrTUHIE, a4 TO-DAY,
 HAS MADE $1so,ooO IN RING.


 To clean up $15o,ooo in six years is not so worse for a. poor lad without capital, professional training or busi- ness experience, but that is the rec ord of a San Francisco youth, Geary A. Steffen. For purposes of. further Identification, 1t may be added that this Steffen persons operates under the alias of Willie Rftchte. On this, his twenty y-fourth birthday-for he was born in San Francisco Feb. IS, 1891-young Steffen finds himself minus the worlds lightweight title which was his during @ brief period of glory, but in full possession of g. comfortable fortune and the Ameri- can lightweight crown. Just how much of his earnings Willie has saw ed it ia impossible to say, but, as ice cream soda is his principal dlssipa- tion he probably has enough kaie to enable him to live in a scrunptuously furnished apartment on the street called Easy.
 willie annexed the lightweight title from Ad Wolgast in November, 1912, and lost the worlds championship to Freddie Welsh in London last July. During his championship career Ritchie got more than a hun dred thousand beans as reward for his ring labor. The fight with Joe i Rivers at San Francisco in July, 1913, added $19, 900 to Wi11ie's bank roll. He got $8,50O for fighting Leach Cross in New York, and SIS, ,OOO for defeating Ad WoIgast in Milyvaukee.. San Francisco fight fans contributed $17,5Q0i to the Ritchie treasury when he defeated Tommy Murphy last April The fight with Charlie White in Milwaukee, in which the Hebrew got the popular decision. boosted Ritchiess income by $10s000. Willie got $25,0OO for losing his title to Freddie Welsh in Lond don-Which was some sa1ve. These six bouts brought Ritchie a total of $97, 800. Minor bouts and theatrical work doubtless bring Ritchie's total re- well above $150. 900. Most of it he has probably salted down in real es- | tate As a spender Willie isn't any l wild and extravagant sharkey. and i he can loosen up little on occasion, but the sporty crowds that follow in the wake of champions have seen mighty little Of his coin The golf I links have a greater attraction for Willie than the gay white ways, and when he is thirsty he goes right by the swinging doors and patronizes a sody fountain. Before he became fa- nous as a boxer Willie developed his lintenectuaIs by attending school and his muscles by handling large chunks Of coal in his paterna1 ancestors coal I yard. After graduating from those ! TWO 11SG1CUCIOnS E0H 6nLST6d an auto mobile repair shop and. after being wtsed up as to the true inwardness l of the gasoline buggies. became a demonstrator and salesman. While thus engaged he took part in pre- liminary bouts at the DreamIand in San Francisco, but mainly for the 1 sport and not with any idea of talk ing up boxing as 3. profession.
 Hal Chase, who jumped from the lChlcago White Sox to the Buffalo | Feds last year, was born in Los Gatos, Cal, tnirty-two years ago today. The lengthy six-foot f1rst-sacker first played ball with the Santa Clara Col IeEe nine, and made his professional debut at Victoria, B. C., in 1903. In 1904 he played first and second base for Los Angeles. Hal broke into the I majors with the New York Ameri- cans ten years ago, and played such g, sensational game that he was ac-
 claimed as the greatest first baseman I in baseball during his first season in 1 New York. In 1908 he flew the coop I and was blaclxlisted, but returned the next year, and in 1910 was made
 manager of the Yankees. Last year l he was traded to the White Sox, but l didn't like Chicago and Jumped tc the Buffeds.