The Washington herald., 1918-07-26
JACK DEMPSEY
CAMOUFLAGER?
Heavyweight Who Meets
Fulton Tomorrow of Old
Irish School.

From the brilliant pen of Damon
Ruymon. OF the New York American.
comes the following on the powers Of
the Dempsey family as battlers:
There have been quite a number
OF Dempseys in the history Of the
prize ring. beginning. of course, with
the original Nonpareil, but aside from
him the only other boxer of that name
to gain any particular fistic fame is
the Jack who meets Fredward Fulton.
the Pallid Plasterer, at Harrison Sat-
urday wind, weather and the draft
permitting.
This Jack did not take his name
from the Nonpareil. as is commonly
supposed. His last name is really
Dempsey-or. at least, all his family
goes by that name, despite rumors
that their legal handle is Shinsky-
and he borrowed Jack from his
brother, born John.
The present Jack was originally
William, Will or While, as the case
may be. His brother John was a
sort of a fighter around the mining
camp Of Colorado, the state where
William was born. He was no great
shucks as a ringman. but when
Brother Bill turned boxer he adopted
Brother Jacks first name.
There was stin another Jack
Dempsey around Colorado about the
time the newest Jack was a small
boy; a second rater. who once
knocked Young Corbett kicking in
two rounds and went twenty rounds
with Abe Attel, but this particular
Jack was Of another tribe of
III
name. however. and that is the name
cient stationary firemen in all Pueblo
county, SO we hear tell.
The current Jack Dempsey was
born at a town called Manassa,
which is about as big as your hat,
over in the San Luis Valley of Colo
RADIO. a region manufactured by God
Almighty, and made wonderfully
beautiful in every detail by Him.
Manassa is in the heart OF an agri-
cultural section and Jack has
bought a ranch there.
Old Man Dempsey raised his boy
to be rancher and young Jack has
quite a bit Of knowledge about that
more or less fatiguing, but intensely
productive dodge.
Jess Willard. before he became a
fighter, and subsequently, a circus
freak, was also a ranchman, run
ming largely to live stock. Jess once
worked out as a real cowpuncher,
making the second American champ
produced by the range in the past
ten years, Stanley Ketchel being the
other.
AS a rule. however. the fighter
does not come from the soil. JEFF
fries was a boilermaker. Fitzsim-
mons was a blacksmith. John L
Sullivan was a tinsmith. Joe Cans
was an oyster shucker. Jim Flynn
was a railroad fireman. Carl Morris
was a railroad engineer-and is now,
for that matter.
Jake Kilrain was professional
oarsman. Matty Matthews was a
teamster. on~-the word of our IA
vorite historian of the ring, John
Parnen Dunn; Jack Munroe was a
miner. Jim Corbett was a bank
clerk. Billy Papke was a miner. The
original Jack Dempsey was a cooper,
So was Jack McAuliffe. And Jack
Skelly, now a newspaper man.
Terry McGovern worked in a lum-
Der yard. Ad Wolgast was a cigar
maker. Stanton Abbott was libra
rian. Tom Sharkey a sailor. Frank
Moran a sailor-both in the navy
Gus Rubin a pressman, Peter Maher
brewery worker. Ike Weir a
pockey, Australian Billy Murphy a
tailor and Joe Goddard a miner.
, Fulton. as said before, was a plas-
terer. The only other plasterer-pug
we ever heard of besides Fulton was
Tommy West, a good middle-weight
Of the old school. Joe Choynski was
a salesman. Jim Coffey was a mo-
torman. Jack johnson was a dock
walloper. Tommy Burns was a pro-
fessional lacrosse and hockey player.
Some of the lads never had much
OF any occupation aside from fight
Ing, having picked up the gloves at
an early age. Young Corbett was
one Of these. Benny Leonard is an
other. Ted (Kid) Lewis is still an
other.