The Alaska citizen., 1916-07-10
MAKES MOST MONEY
 ON LOSING BATTLE. l

The benefit given in New York City recently to George (kid) La yigne. former lightweight champion of the world. was the cause of lot of gush printed about that great lit tie scrapper, by men who pose R. sporting authorities, but who really do not know much about their sub jects, especially when discoursing about fighters of several years ago
 Some of the New York scribes put on the loud pedal telling about battered that stout little negro, Joe Walcott. into submission in two great battles If George Lavigne was a slim youngster.' then Dugdale should take something to fleshen up.
 Lavigne was five feet three inches tall and from the waist up he was a hammered down heavyweight. He was built a good deal like Young Corbett who came along after him though his face was not nearly so large He had an arm like heavyweight; he surely could hit and he certainly could take 1t.
 George Lavigne is blonde and he had the face of a kid. His brothers. Billy, who died in Seattle, and Frank. who lives there now, did not look much like him. Billy had dark hair and was much larger man than George. Frank. too. Is dark and a different build from George He Is taller and not so husky around the shoulders.
 One thing the New York writers are right on-George Lavigne was probably the greatest little scrapper that ever rubbed his shoes in rosin. He seldom weighed more than 130 pounds, yet he took them on at all sizes-flghting tough ones at 133 to 140 pounds and even battling with men who weighed around the l5O-pound mark.
 Another thing the eastern fellows do not know, or if they know it they did not mention it, is that Iavigne got more money when he was beaten by Mysterious Billy Smith in San Francisco, March 10 1899, than he got for any fight that he won.
 It came about in peculiar way and 1t was through no knowledge of the kid. who never faked a fight or pulled a crooked turn in the ring He was beginning to slip little and his brother Billy, who was his trainer and manager, fig ured that Smith would whip him. Smith weighed about 152 pounds and was the toughest, toughest scrap per of his time. He stood head and shoulders over the kid and when they shaped up it was like big man scrapping with a beardless boy
 But Kid Lavigne took them all on, regardless of size, and to show how popular he was, he was actual ly the favorite in that fight, de spite Smiths tremendous advantage in weight and strength and his great reputation as a rough house scrap Der.
 Jim Mcdonald, well known in Seattle as a baseball umpire. was the referee of that fight, and in the seventh round he wanted to give the fight to Lavigne on a foul, for Smith was using his rough tao tics, kneeing his man at every chance, using the elbows and all the rough stuff which he knew so well how to put over,
 Lavigne would not take the deci, sion. He said that he had never in his life won a fight on fo1l and did not propose to begin then. In the fourteenth round Billy La vigne jumped into the ring and made a bluff as If to crown Smith with a water bottle. Kid Lavigne's ear was torn and he was bleeding and looked bad, but Smith could not put him down.
 Of course when Billy Lavigne jumped into the ring Referee Me Donald could do nothing but give the fight to Smith.
 Kid Lav1gne was furious and cursed his brother Bill fervently and fluently After Billy Lavigne had settled up the financial end he went to his brother George and turned lot of money over to him,
 Whats this for?" asked George.
 Billy explained that he and Harry Corbett had bet on Smith. taking the short end and had cleaned up
 George Lavigne was mad enough to kill his brother Billy. and he ab solutely refused to touch a penny of the money Billy had won. Billy sent Georges share to their mother in Saginaw. Mich
 George Lavigne never spoke to his brother Billy after that. In 1907 Billy died suddenly in Seattle. Billy was not angry at George and often tried to make friends with his young CT brother. but the former champion