New-York tribune., 1918-09-29
Sudden Rise of
Dempsey eySimilar
To John Gully S
England's Champion in the
Early sos Was NJ. P. and
Big Turfman
By J. S. Mitchell

No two men who have ever gained
fame in the prize ring have had more
in common as TO their entrance, sud
den rise to the top rung and method of
delivering punishment than Jack Demp-
sey, the present hero, and John Gully.
who tiourlshed IN the early part of the
last century, and who died in 1868 at
the age of eighty years.
Gully quit for want of opposition, as
only one man could be found with nerve
enough 20 tackle him in the last three
years OF his predominance in the
squared ring, and unless something
very unforeseen happens Dempsey will
have to suffer a similar retirement. 1t
can be noticed now that very few are
anxious to sail their lids into the ring
Probably there is one exception, but it
IS not regarded with any great amount
Of seriousness.
Another peculiar circumstance worth
remembering Is that Dempsey and
Gully were the same weight, lSS
POUNDS, both being forty-four inches
around the chest, but Dempsey is a
traction OF an inch taller than was
Gully Like Dempsey. Gully was
aggressive and had the hitting power
n the right place-~that is, around the
region of the shoulders.
NO more spectacular character ever
appeared in the role of prizefighter
than Gully, for not only was he cham
plon of the world in that domain, but
IN turn he was q racehorse owner of
Fhe iirst water, Member of Parliament
and coillery proprietor, and when he
oled was the father of twenty-four
children, many of whom are alive at
OF his grandsons won honors with the
british EXpeditionary Force on the
French battlefront, and emphatically
showed the fighting qualities of their
grandsire.
Gully came to be a prizefghter in q
most peculiar way. The son of an inn
keeper at Bristol, his father went into
debt, with the result that the entire
family was sent to the Kings Bench
Prison to do penance for the delin-
quency. Although only twenty years
OF age Gully had some reputation as
d slugger for he half killed a scrapper
named Bourke on Wimbledon Common
and made punching bag out of one
spray, a hard-hittng coppersmith.
There was no doubt about his courage.
for one day he hung head downward
over parapet and rescued q girl from
a burning building in Bristol How
long Gully was incarcerated has not
oeeh mentioned, but one day he had a
Ylslt tlom fellow townsman named
Henry Fearce, better known to the
world of tistiana as the Game Chick
% Il rt,t,, ! L.
OF England. 1t happened that the visi-
tors room contained pair of boxing
gloves and by way of rousing the
spirits OF the young prisoner the head
turnkey suggested little setto between
the "Chicken' and Gully. To the sur
prise of the onlookers Gully gave the
"Chicken' some fierce wallops. Hear
ing of the affair, Fletcher Read
patron OF the manly art and described
saio: Gully shall fight the 'Chicken.'"
After Gully's debts were paid the
pair were matched. The fight came off
at Hailsham, Sussex, on October 8.
1903, before prodgious crowd.
Among the onlookers was the Duke
of Clarence ,afterward George ". In
one OF the early rounds of the battle,
which lasted sixty-four rounds, Gully
gave the "Chicken" a fearful blow on
The mouth which actually stood him on
MS head but at the cal lof time the
"Chicken" was there again and ready
for business, but with his upper lip
split in two.
For hfty-four rounds it was give and
take. but after that Gully coui dn't see
so swollen were his eyes. and all he
did was to stagger around the ring and
make wild swings at Pearce, who was
IN nearly as bad plight. Finally in
the sixty fourth round Gully's hacker
threw up the sponge. Then the 'Chick-
en-" came over to Gully and grasping
him by the hand. said. you're dam
game man and the only one who ever
stood up to me-"