The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-03-13
Stacks Battle With Cole
 Memorable for Ferocity

For sheer ,ferocity and deYi1ish lor11- talIty no other contest in ring history ranks with the bout between Jack SaIck and King CoIes which was fought 1e0 years ago today. March 13, 1755, al Kingswood, in GIoucestershire, Eng land. In those days prizefghting was itself a brutal, dangerous sport but the battle between Slack and Cole was so devoid of science and so re- gardless of rules that it does not de- serve to rank as a prizetght. It was unique. and happily so, in pugilisttc history.
 Jack Slack became champion of Eng land in 1750 by whipping Jack Brouga- ton, the father of scientific pugilisnn. That was a combat in which youth and brute strength were pitted against experience and ring cunning, and the former, represented by Slack, was vic toriouS. In the five years that inter vened before his meeting with Cole, Slack had somewhat improved in his knowledge of pugi1ism, and had mas tered some of the crude science of the game.
 King Cole was not a pugilist, but a miner. He was a brute and bully and had long terrorized the rough continuity in which he lived In his quarre1s with other miners he always invited them to go to a, remote part of the pit to settle their difference and some of his antagonists never re- turned. He was accused of having killed a girl and her lover out of jeal- ousy, but this crime could not be proved.
 When Slack was touring the country giving pugi11stic exhibitions, he re- ceived a challenge from this terrible King Cole, whose real name was Cor nelius Harris. Jack had no desire to meet the ferocious collier. but declared Ne would fight him for $500 side King Cole promptly replied by putting mp the money, which represented years of savings. The miner had so terror ized the community that he was given food, drink and lodging free, and so had been able to save all his wages.
 With the money up, Slack had no choice but to fight the challenger. King Cole. had never fought in a rings and was absolutely ignorant of the rules made by Broughton to govern the game. The miners, almost to a man. hoped that the big bully would be soundly whipped by the pugiIist, but for a time it. seemed that they would be disappointed. Probably no other pugiIist in history was ever called upon to face so zferocious and eunfaiE oppon- ent. King Cole fought with the des- peration of the devil. He would rather be killed than lose the money he had saved, and he used every sdfabOlicaI trick he had learned. in his career as a rough -and-tIrnb ble fighter.
 'eThey hammered away at each other with such indiscriminate violence as would have killed ordinary mortals a dozen times over," wrote an eye wit7 ness. Iron fists fell on iron faces, and seemed to produce even less re- suits than a couple of hammers and anvils would have done for the con cussion of hammers and anvils would at least have emitted sparks, and these were wanting in this process Of human pounding"
 King Coles. desperate onslaughts finally told on him, while the ring craft of Slack enabled him to husband his strength for a last supreme effort In the early part of the devilish en- gagement the miner seemed to hold the advantage. but gradually he lost the upper hand, and Slack became tho master of events.
 When the men came up for what was to be the final bout, Cole was staggering with weariness. Slack was little better, but he. had at his com mand one more mighty punch, and when it landed the collier fell dead to the world, finally vanquished. King Cole lay unconscious for nearly an hour, and doubtless many hoped he was dead When at last he recovered he shrieked with the voice Of a thous- and devils, and blood and foam came from his mouth, making his biackened face hideous. Slack had immediately left the village, which swas doubtless a fortunate circumstance for him.
 Governor Whitman's first boy waEI