The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-01-21
Centenary of Boxing AS
A Sport In America
One hundred years ago!

comparison. In 1916 American civil
Hzation was confined to the Atlantic
sCaboard and a few centers of pop
ulatioh which had been established
inland while the brave pioneers had
barely commenced their conquest OF
the western wilderness. The railroad,
the telegraph, the telephone, the
T transatlantic steamship, the movies -
and most of the other modern utili-
ties and luxuries which we of today
look upon necessities of existence,
were undreamed of. The wireless,
the aeroplane, and the automobile,
| commonplaces Of the present, would
/ have been condemned as the pro-
/ ducts of black magic by our ances-
| tors of 1916.
When we consider human being, as
such, disregarding the appendages OF
science, no such great change is Wis
married. reared children, fought, and
died. What more can be said of the
i average man Of today?
! Life has always been a battle, in
which the fittest survive. Birth, love,
fighting, and death, are universal.
Nothing is quite so interesting as
contest, whether it be between two
men, or millions
OF all the developments of the
fighting Instinct of humanity, not the
least interesting is boxing We may
condemn it as brutal and bestfal, and
strive to$suppress it, yet on the day
following a great championship
match there are few who can refrain
from reading the. horrible Details
Thus it is that of all the centenariesa
of the year just opening. that which
commentaries the one hundredth
anniversary of the rise of boxing as a
sport in America appeals most strong
r. to the red b1ooded.' For it was
in 1876 that the first recognized ffs-
tic contest was fought in an Aneri-
can ring, under the. prevailing rules,
with a title at stake. Jacon Hyer,
k nown as the American Father of
the Ring was on that historic -occa-
sion pitted against one Tom Beasley.
The result was draw, after only a
few rounds had been contested.
Although 1915 marked the begin
ming of real boxing, under prize ring
regulations, on this side of the At
antic, it is not to be imagined that
liver and Beas1ey were the first
bat While pistols were still the ia
vorite weapons of gentlemen in de-
Gliding arguments, rough4and-tumblel
fighting, in which, feet and teeth as
well as fists played a part, was com
mon, especially IN the South, in Ken
lucky and Tennessee. and along the
banks of the Ohio. To gouge out. the
eyes of the opponent was the prfn-
cipaI object, and it was frequently
accomplished.
Among the young bloods OF the
South there were many who were ed
ltcated in England, and there became
interested in real boxing. They in
troduced the typically British sport
into America but it was mainly prac-
ticed by negro slaves Men who had
and ireland were often imported to
train the black men for these con-
tests, and large sums were often wag-
cred on the result.
One of the most noteworthy off
these, early matches was maNe in the
early part of the iineteenth century
at Richmond. Two young blades.s
4oIinenax and Peyton, who belonged
to- the first families of Virginia, met
one day in Richmond, and after Nib
erel Ibations. engaged IN an argu-
ent as to the merits Of their black
fighters. Peyton offered to wager
any sum that his black warrior, Abe
could defeat any black in Virginia and
young MoIineaux- accepted the schal-5
lenge. pinning his faith to young
slave named Tom. Nearly a hundred
thousand dollars was wagered on the
result Molineaux engaged an Eng
1ish pugi1ist named Davis to look af-
ter his man, and, as a result OF this
training and the added inducement
of a present of $500 and his freedom
if he won, Tom triumphed over his
Having gained his liberty
by this means, the negro, assuming
the name of his former owner, visited
England, and challenged Tom Crib,
the champion of that country. The
black man was victorious over the
Esritisher, but was robbed of the re-
ward, and was afterward defeated by
Cribb. Like so many of his success
sors, Tom Molineaux fell a victim to
drink and dissipation.
Although Tonnf Mo1ineaux fought
Crib IN England in 500; it remained
for Jacob Hyer and Thomas Beasley
I'd give to boxing a recognized stand
ing as a sport for white men in Amer
lea For years after Jacobs retire
ment the ring languished, and fistic
fighting was largely confined to the
bul1ies of the cities and the black
slaves and poor whites" of the
South and West.
The American visits of ''Deaf'
Burke, champion of England, and
Samuel @O'Rourke, champion of Ire
landf in the '30s revived in boxing,
and the two fought a notable -
somewhat disgracefu1 battle near New
Orleans the toughs driving Burke
from the ring and threatening his life
when it was seen that he was the
better man. Such diSgraceful scenes
were so often the accompaniment of
boxing matches in America that it
was small wonder that the sport be-
came a. stencil in the nostr1Is OF de-
cency, and was outlawed in most of
the States and in Canada Ben
Caunt, another English champion. Wis
tied the. States in 1912. and took back
with him a young, giant named Char I
lie Freeman, who stood feet 10 1-2
inches in height. Freeman was
circus strong man by profession but
he was Induced to enter the ring in
England, and defeated Bill Perry,
5pugilist honored on the other side
a. sthe Upton S1asher.' The glory
of the Yankee giant was short lived,
for he died soon afterward.
About this time Tom flyer, son of
Jacob, was forging to the front, and /
soon became the Recognized cham
zion, His principal rival was an
Irishman, known as Yankee Sul1-
van After Hyer came a long list. of
irish observation-disclosures, who fought |