The Alaska daily empire., 1918-04-24

For more than quarter Ol cen tury after our New Orleans battle John l.. Sullivan continued to be one of the most conspicuous figures in the sporting life of America. The passing years, instead of moving him into oblivion, merely hallowed the greatness of his warrior days, mel lowed his feelings and retained him as the pugilistic idol.
 Harly a month passed during all that time that John l.. didn't figure in one way or another in newspaper columns. His picturesque personal ity. his keen sense of humor and the frolicks and the outbursts of boyish spirit always made him a good sub ject for stories. John l.. was born publicity getter and he was ever do- ing stunts which kept him in the public eye.
 Through the years of his prime, one of John L.'s ambitions had been to take a fling as bookmaker on the race track. He realized it in 1901-to his sorrow.
 A day or two after John l.. opened his bookie stall a red headed youth slouched up to the stand and asked: "Whatcha Quotin' on Little Gem?"
 John L. hadn't posted his price at that time but he looked around the ring and saw that the other bookies were laying 100 to l against the chances of the horse hat had made a miserable showing in every race in which he had figured.
 Hundred to one" answered John l..
 'Tu take a dollars worth" an swered the red headed youngster Whereupon he laid a dollaf's worth of silvers and coppers on John LIS stand. John L. looked at the pile of junk" and beloved:
 Get away with that stuff. Bring me back regular money if you want to bet here"
 The "bricktop" extracted a crum pied five dollar bill, saying:
 Could I bet as much as dat on de hoss?"
 "Bet all yer wants-de skies de limit Wid me- answered John L., grabbing the "fiver" and giving the youngster ticket reading "50O to ," against Little Gem.
 A short time later the red head ed youngster returned to bet two dollars more with Sullivan. Just before time he came along with three dollars. And each time John L. generously gave him odds of 100 to, l, although by that time the oth- CT bookies had become suspicious of the rather heavy wagering on 100 to 1 shot and had reduced the odds to 30 and then 40 to 1.
 Little Gem won the race-by a nose-and after that the mere sight of a red headed youngster wearing cap was enough to reawaken the memories in John L. of his tragic bookmaker days.
 John L., beneath his gruff interior, had keen sense of humor and of tentimes permitted himself to be the victim of jokes by his friends. One which bears telling has to do with John L. and Nat Goodwin, the ac- tor, who was one of his warmest friends and greatest admirers
 John L. was standing one day with group of friends when Goodwin came along and commenced to up braid Sullivan in loud voice. Good win called John L. all sorts of names the kind which, uttered by anyone else would have sent John l.. into a rage. But all through the tirade, the pugilst remained silent. In the words of movies, John L. was reg istering fear" AS climax to the abuse, the actor slapped John l.. in the face and openly announced that John L. was afraid to fight him that he could whip John L. with one hand tied behind his back, etc.
 Then Goodwin strutted away while the friends looked at John L. in amazement and wondered whether the champion of champions" at last had lost his courage. John l.. offer ed no explanation at the time and it was not until some weeks later that the real facts leaked out; that the whole stunt had been put on simply to win a bet for Goodwin. Goodwin had boasted to someone who did not know of the intimate Sulli-l van-Goodwin friendship that he could go up, could call John L. names and slap his face without the fear of a comeback-and John l.. helped him to make good"
 The bulldog courage and tenacity of John l.. Sullivan have been by words for more than twenty-five years. He was a man who never quit. The story that best illustrates this characteristic has to do with a runaway accident which happened in Bridgeport, Conn, when John l.. went to see Terry McGovern, who then was training for his fight with Kid Corbett.
 John L. hired sleigh from a liy-