The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-02-18

i ms seconds were permitted 10 uIaS nliii
 back to his corner and were allowed 3o
 seconds to revive him.
 | Fighting under the London prize ring
 rules permitted the type of combat
 termed rough and tumble" in these days. 1 Ring science of the present was an un- l known quantity. Brute strength and l knowledge of wrestling tricks were the greatest assets a fighter could have. A | ringman in those days not only was per | mitted to punch his rival but also could
 wrestle him, trip him, or use any other
 methods in an effort to throw the man to the ground, and thus score knock | down.
 ] The main ambition of each fighter was to hurl his foe to the ground with so much force as to knock the wind out of l him and to render him hors du combat. | Oftentimes bones of fighters were broken l by the tremendous force with which they were dashed to earth. Frequently men were knocked out without ever hav- l ing been struck by solid blow from the I fist. The opponent would grab him, lift him high and send him crashing to the
 ground, and then fall on top of him,
 knees crashing into the fallen fighter s ! chest or head, rendering him unconscious. | John L. became champion in that era; l a period when great strength and wrest- 1 ling tricks were the chief needs of a | fighter. Punching wasn't a trick that | had been developed to any degree. But l the Boston Highland Strong Boy" dis liking the wrestling tactics, set about de- veloping the punching end of the game. | And it was John l.. who really per- | fected the knockout wallop and made it world famous.
 l From obscurity as a Boston laborer to l fame such as few men ever have known; ] from poverty to riches which enabled I him to become 'the best spender in 1 America;" for nearly 70 years the most I spectacular figure in the life of sport l loving America: the most idolized man that pugilism ever produced. That Is Sullivan's life story.
 l The mighty warrior has passed into the great beyond. But he will live ever in memory. The tales of his triumphs through the years he reigned supreme, taking on one after another the mightiest battlers that a decade could produce. l They've called John l.. the Champion of Champions" And so he was.
 l The crowning achievement in the ca | reer of John l.. was his brilliant, won- derful victory over the drink evil. Dur- | ing his heydey he proudly boasted that | he could drink any man under the ta- ble.' Once, when he heard that man i in the west had taken IS mixed drings 1 in succession, John l.. announced he would take the "drinking championship" unto himself. And he did by imbibing l 100 mixed drinks one after another. | This was the man who announced years l ago that q am through with drink for I all time" The public laughed at his l resolution, John l.. and strong drink seemed synonymous. But John L to the surprise of the world, never took an other drink of liquor from that day on. Not content with merely setting a splen-
 did example by his reform, he took the l lecture platform in behalf of temperance; | he attacked the whisky evil with all the ferocity and power that he used against his ring foes in the earlier years 1 And John L. without doubt brought
 back to total abstinence more drunkards 1 than any man that lived. l The fight against '1 he Black Bottle
 was the greatest John L. ever fought i and it was his most glorious victory.
 (To Be Continued Tomorrow)