Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-06-11
Billy" Recap to Referee
Willard Dempsey Fight
He Is Chosen by Tony Bddle Because of Honesty and E
perience in Boxing and Wrestling Sports
Ru Associated Press.

Philadelphia, June 1.-THE selec-
ton of William H. Recap, sporting
editor of the Philadelphia Public
Ledger, as referee for the fight be-
tween Jess willard and Jack Demp-
sey, was announced to-day by Major
A. ]. Drexel Biddle, who as presi-
dent of the Army, Navy and Civilian
Board of Boxing Control, was re-
quested by Tex Rickard, promoter of
the fight, to name the referee.
Himself a fight promoter and a
former amateur boxing champion,
Mr.. Recap has for many years been
a close follower of both professional
and amateur boxing. He has refer
eed a number of matches. the most
recent one being been Kid Williams
and Pete Hermann, in New Orleans.
He is president of the National
Athletic Club, of this city. He is
also a polo expert and acts in an Of
fetal capacity in most of the polo
matches in this section.
Recap is all this and more. He
has done more to expose crooked
boxing and wrestling than any other
sporting writer of the day. When
Lew Tender played Harrisburg for
a cheap place by feigning a broken
hand, thus getting Joe Barrett bar
red from the Capitol City, Recap
voluntarily took up the count against
Tender, although he is Philadel-
phias favorite son. Lew Tendler
and his manager have disgraced
themselves in HARRISBURG, was the
virile way in which Recap began MS
story on this scandal, and for num-
her of years this battling editor has
maintained his principles for clean
sport and fair play against all oppo-
sition. This is one prime reason he
has been chosen ahead of Corbett
and all the other ring lights or noted
referees. He will be square and he
knows the game.
Rocap made his first hit in the
Dempsey-W Willard literature with an
article asking whether IL rounds Is
long enough for a worlds heaVy-
weight bout. 1t attracted much at
tention, for. that, in fact is the thing
most discussed right now. Recap,
with his certain knowledge of ring
history pointed out:
"Since the inception of the Mar
ouis of Queensberry rules when the
late John L. Sullivan discarded the
London prize ring code and SKIN
tight gloves and adopted the Pill
lows no championship battle mas
ever been limited to so few rounds
as twelve. Is that limit enough for
Jess Willard to prove his superiorlty
over Jack Dempsey? Is thirty-six
minutes in the ring sufficient time
for the relentless slugger to beat
down or land a Knockout blow on his
giant opponent? Does this doubt
make the bout especially attractive? =?
Will the ardent fight fan be salts
fed with twelve rounds of boxing
with an indecisive result? If there
is a knockout, yes? But should the
contest go the limit and opinions
are divided which is the winner, in
will leave a bad taste in the mouths
of those who lose and they will ever
lastingly condemn the whole affair.
He then pointed out:
"It took Corbett tweny-one rounds
to beat Sullivan down. and here Is the
pugilistic tree so far as heavyweight
titular bouts run since 1892 to the
present
ION January 25, 1894. Corbett beat
Charley Mitchell in three rounds.
Then Corbett and Fitzsimmons met in
their memorable battle at Carson
City, March II. 1897. and the ex-Cal-
ifornian bank clerk was sent to the
floor in the fourteenth round. James
]. Jefferies, known as the California
bolermaker. loomed up on the pugi-
listic horizon and stopped Fitzsimmos
in eleven rounds on January 3, 1899.
Corbett then decided to take a crack
at Jeffries. and after outboxing the
big fellow two blows to one for TWEEN
ty-one rounds, was knocked out in the
twenty-third, on May II, 1900. Fitz-
simmons then asked for an encore
with Jeffries and on July 25. 1902. was
again knocked out, this time in the
ninth round. Coroett was not salts
fed with the result of this Coney