The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1918-03-08
Chatter Among the Bugs Ouer the Circuit
1ohnIl.ssHzepHu
MJau,es J.CorbeH

(Note: This is the nineteenth chapter
of series of articles which Mr.. Corbett
is writing on John l.. AS | Knew Him.
II relates many heretofore unpublished
incidents in the life Of the great war
tomorrow
Under a blistering summer sun and
with the thermometer registering beyond
1O0-such were the weather conditions
when John l.. Sullivan and Jake Kill
rain fought their never-to-be-fo forgotten
bare knuckle battle on July s, 1880 The
bout was staged in Richburg, Miss, in
a sequestured spot far removed from
police interference.
Both fighters started off at top speed
with the first call of time The big
champion. smarting under the .taunts of
Silrain and his supporters was a rush
ing fury. Backed by the new found
strength that had come from training
under Billy Muldoons orders the big
BCstonian went at l<ilrain like an ava
lanche, hoping to crush Fighting Jake"
by the sheer force of his attack But
kilrain made it a give-and-take affair.
Realizing that this was perhaps the
only chance he would ever have to win
the championship and all the gold that
comes to prize ring warrior. kilrain
fought as never before in his career
Rarely did he back from the Sullivan
onslaughts during the early rounds, and
the battle resolved itself into a merci-
less smuggling match. Toe-to-toe these
giants stood. smashing away at each
other with all the power in their mas
sive frames.
After time. Sullivan's superiority as
a rngman began to show. And then
INlrain. in desperation, resorted to foul
ring tactics. lie roughed Sullivan when
ever the chance came; he hit low and it
is said he attempted gouging tactics In
clinches. When those tricks failed to
stop the champion, Kilrain went farther
Ito the extreme limit of foul ring work
in that era. He used his spikesl
Unde. London prize ring rules, when
battles were staged on the turf, a fighter
was permitted to wear spikes under the
ball of his foot That was merely to
prevent him from slipping the turf
TO use them in gashing an opponent was
| considered the foulest of ring tricks.
Jake kilrain, unable to stem the furious
attack of John l.. Sullivan by any other
means, used those spikes to rip the legs
of the champion. And he made a CHASTITY
job of 1t.
In almost every clnch Kirain would
| lift his foot jam the spike into Sulli-
vans legs and then rip. Soon the legs
| of Sullivan were transformed into a cut
and bleeding mass, with the flesh hang
J, ing down in slivers. And the turf ON
which the ring was stretched became a
red and soggy mass.
For a time John l.. submitted to Kill
rains foul work without retaliation. But
at last John l. protested TO the referee,
who paid no attention to him. Then
| John j.. decided to do a little rough
work himself. Three times in succession.
after he had beaten Kilrain to the turf.
| John l.. jumped on his PROSTATE foe,
going down with his knees sinking into
the pit of Kilrain's stomach. Then John
L. jumped upon the chest of Kilrain FOR
| good measure"
| kilrain made protests against Sulli-
vans rough tactics, but the referee,
who had not paid any attention to Kill
rains fouiing, evened up matters by ig-
noring the claims of Fighting Jake"
/ The whirlwind pace at which the men
travelled in the early fighting wearied