The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-05-25
EDITED by WAGNER
STATE OF BOXING
CAUSES WORRY IN
new YORK NOW

New York, May 25-The status OF
professional boxing in New York State
after November Is is causing promot-
ers of bouts and owners of boxing
clubs considerable worry these days.
When Governor Whitman signed the
Slater bill at Albany recently it mark
ed the beginning of the end of the
F'rawley law which, since July, 1911,
permitted the holding of ten-round
glove contests in the State Of New
York in legally licensed clubs. The
Slater bill which will wipe the Fraw-
ley law off the state statutes next
November is expected to- leave the
legal issue as to the holding of glove
fights in New York state just where
it stood prior to the passage of the
Horton law, twenty-one years ago.
Prior to 1896 fighting and sparring
were violations of the Penal Law in
the State of New York, and boxing ex-
hibitions with or without gloves at
which an admission fee was charged
or received, either directly or indi-
rectly were forbidden. In 1896 the
statute prohibiting sparring was
| amended, and allowed athletic clubs
to hold boxing and sparrtng matches
provided the club owned the building
or had a lease for at least one year
upon the building. This was known
as the Horton law.
On September 1, 1900, the Horton
law was repealed, and boxing and
| sparring were forbidden in the State Of
New York up to July 1911, when the
F'rawley law provided that the provi-
sions OF the Penal Code should not
apply to any sparring match or ex-
hibition conducted by a club licensed
| by the State Athletic Commission.
During the four years in which the
Horton law was in effect many not
able ring battles were fought in the
Empire state and several champion
ships in different classes changed
hands From 1900 to 1911 no contests
of prominence were decided in New
York but many bouts were held UNI
der the CLUB membership plan by
which the promoters claimed immun-
| ity from any infraction of the law on
| the ground that no admission fee was
charged.
/. The repeal of the Frawley measure
by the Slater bill, which will go into
effect next November, has been anti
cipated by many club owners and pro-
moters throughout New York State.
Several of them are engaged in pol-
ishipg up their charters, which have
lain on dusty shelves for nearly six
/
members, with the idea of receiving
| the membership plan.
| That the Frawley law was a fruit-
full source of revenue, to the state
Golfers during the first, years of its
enactment and operation is shown by
the annual reports of ethe New York
State Athletic Commission. Include
ling the latest, which WAS for the fifth
fiscal year, ending November 30 1916,
these reports show that the Gross re-
ceipts of the several clus amounted
Ito s4,502, 2S0.51 and the total tax on
this amount paid to the State Treasur-
er was $262,259.25.
Taking into consideration that al
| most full year will have elapsed e.
fore the Slater bill becomes operative
1 and that many important ring con-
tests are to be decided here in the
meantime it is fairly safe to predict
that the sixth and final years boxing
under the Fraw1ey regime will be pro-
| ductive of a tax which will bring the
| total amount of income to the state
from this source up to one-third of a
million dollars.