The Washington herald., 1919-07-27
CHAMPS FORCED
TO TAKE. COUNT
Every Title Holder Falls
Before Some Great
Unknown.
By ED. HUGHES.

Jack Dempsey, The Bone-Crush-
er." monarch Of all he surveys be-
tween ropes, is without an opponent
worthy of his steel. Fulton. Wills
Aeehan, Carpenter and Beckett, i'll
IS agreed, are hardly in a class with
the Colorado terror, Already he
has been proclaimed the greatest
heavyweight the ring has ever
known" the trite bouquet that is
inherited with the worlds greatest
fistic honor. They say he is un-
beatable and that the title should
remain in his possession at least a
decade. And to all inward and out
ward appearances this seems to be
so.
But speaking of opponents. or,
rather the lack of them. how about
the Great Unknown, the grim
phantom of ultimate dethronement
and defeat that shadows every new
born pugilistic king as he parts
the ropes. leaving his beaten foe in
the resin of defeat Oh yes, they
claim they are all invincible, the
new champions. but the Great I'm
known comes once in the life Of
every boxer # he plies his clenched-
fsted calling long enOuEh-or more
truthfuIly. too long.
They said IN" sam" fine things
about John L. sullivan. the "OId
Roman" who knew fear Of no living
man and whose Bcrsark lighting
fury disposed Of foe after foe until
u was sincerely believed he was
without a peer anywhere. When the
''Bc ston Strong Boy battered Paddy
Ryan INTO submission for the Ameri-
can championship in s. it was de
rIared the ring had never viewed.
and never would witness his equal
aS lighting man But the spectre
or the Great Unknown traiIed him
from the moment Ryan went down.
And the Great Unknown was an un-
heard of, undevelOped bank clerk in
Frisco. who had little thought of
becoming the premier boxer of the
world the cunqueror Of the mighty
John l.
He was James J. Corbett and Sui
Ivan had defended his hOnors two
years before the Great Unknown
even participated in regulation
glove contest sullivan had been a
rrnadet sovereign eight long years
before COrbett was considered
worthy OF disputing his claim. 1t is
Of such nOndescript puEIlrstIC ma
teriul that the Great Unknown IS
made Of
When the ex-banS clerk left the
ring, where nr had Overrhrown the
Old Roman, be-. in Turn. was aC-
claimed oppuu"n,I"~~ Little did he
realize that tho shadow Of he Great
Unknown hOverrd near and that 1t
wa of mtddIc-wcI-ht proportions.
FItzsimmons. tho Gr.ar Unknown.
feat OF Dempsey. IN" NonpareiI. but
no one ever dreamed he would ever
meet let alone defeat. James J. Cor
bett. He was deemed a marvellous mid
dIr-woi-ht with n terrific punch. but
shy OF the necessary poundaEe to min
gle with the big men CorHctt was
champion two years before F'itZ dis
PEELED these notions and ther" Vas
talk OF a match between them.
Through ,.urlOus twist or fat,
FitzsummonS wa-. faCin- his Great
Unknown when the championship
passed INTO his hands. While Cor.
bett wrrthed in agony ON the canvas
Al Carson from the effect. Of IN"
u1urderOus T'ItZ~rmmons solar pIex.
us punch. a powerful big-bOnrd -iant
Of youth in the COrbett corner spal-
tered cold water on the fallen Cali.
fOrDian and begged him TO get UP
u was James J Jefries. known only
as A lowly sparrinC partner for the
then champion COrbPtt-One Of the
help hired to take hard knocks to con
dition A great man for battle In real
rty. however. he was the Great In
known. who two years later. was 10
crumple the wonderful Cornishmar
whose victory he was witnessing from
The corner of the conquered
Jack johnson. the Great Unknown
fOeman. who was to lay low the for
midable Jim JefTries. was indeed sub
merged from championship view when
the Grizzly retired for lack of Oppo-
sitiOn. He was absolutely unheard Of
when Jef won the lairels. Between
infrequent bouts he stevedOred the
Galveston docks. loading steamers
with freight When JefTries was at
his best. Jack was taking a Knockout
at the hands OF little Joe Choyfnski
and losing to Martin Hart in twenty
rounds. one year after JEFF had re-
tired. Five years later, bounded by
the white pOpULacp and lured by the
sircn jingle Of S1s2 O6f. the Cavernan, n
shell OF his former self tumbled to
Tho floor at Reno from the relentless
blows OF the Great Unknown. johnson.
GoryrEht 1879 b. the WheeIar Sypdiczts Incl