The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1919-07-04
Tens of Thousands
Gathered at Ring
To See Big Fight
BY H. C. HAMILTON.

I
TOLEDO, Ohio, July AT nine
o'clock this morning the gates Of the
massive arena built at Bayview park
here by Tex Rickard and Frank
Flournoy swung open for bleacher
patrons and the first move for the
dav for the twelve-round worlds
championship bout between Jess Will
lard, champion, and Jack Dempsey,
challenger, had been made.
A long line of patrons of the ten
dollar section was waiting last night.
Through the long hours they stuck
some sitting on boxes, munching at
sandwiches, others alternately stand
or lying down.
Rickard hoped to have the cheap
est seats filled within an hour after
the gates were opened. Shortly
thereafter the other gates were to
open and what was expected to be
the biggest crowd that ever saw a
sporting event in the United States
was to start through.
The arena built in octagon shape
is equipped with many entrances
each labeled for the section to which
it leads. Holders of tickets were to
be carefully separated and directed
to their particular sections. To make
sure that no confusion EXISTED
Rickar dand Flournoy had engaged
GOO soldiers, recently discharged
from the service, to act as usher'
and social policemen. These men
under the command of former lieu
tenants and captains, were sworn II
as special deputies, with power t.
make arrests. They were armed
They were instructed that the aisle
must be kept free. No standing pa
irons, according to announcement
some time ago, were to be allowed.
The structure, it was expected b
James ]. Mclaughlin, of San Fran
cisco, it's designed, would seat abou
10000 persons. If all seats are TAX
en- it will eclipse by about tiftee
thousand the largest crowd ever q
a sporting event in the United States
The greatest crowd, if memory
e correct, attended the last footba
! game between Yale and Harvard
n New Haven, Conn. Estimates the
: placed the number present at abol
i $4,000, but these figures were CT
+ down considerably by an official al
nouncement, which placed the atten'
ance at something more than 5000
The first bout of the day was
start at 10 a. M, according to a
Thacher (correct) president of Il
Y Toledo Athletic club, under the au
pices of which the bout was beiI
staged. Something was to take pla
- every minute of the time from tn
y on. At 8 o'clock, the promoters pla
ned to have the championship co
le tenders step into the ring. By 81;
d at the latest, it was stated, the DO
ne would be on. Many things can ha
as pen, however, at such times, a
1y many persons predicted it would
A or later before the principal gla
ators of the afternoon would go II
action.
ms The two heavyweights have been
y training here for more than thl
it days. The work has been hard a
of fast. Each was trained to the VI
best of condition. Dempsey suttel
to bit of i'll luck some weeks ago wi
in an eyelet on a glove used by one
M his sparring partners scraped
;ea eyebrow and cut deep cash. He
Ct Trained from boxing until it was hi
ed.
ob The training period Of each
cir in sharp contrast. Dempsey devo
,a+ A great deal of time to building
"a weight to a point where it wo
,n+ more nearly equal that of Villa
,-o for he needed weight to offset
49, great poundage of the champ
." Willard, on the other hand, arri
~ in camp fat and slow and wor
'"O strenuously to take off weight.
'em process, therefore, was one OF bu
oil ing toward each other. The diff
ence in weights was expected to
and about forty pounds, perhaps a i
a'- less.
so Willard towers to a height of
in feet six and half inches. DEM
is six feet one and half inch.
un- difference is startling, but Demps
as punching power was expected by
followers to offset any advantage