The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-04-10
0PORTORTATO BY w
 ROGER TERRI

. Y ACK Slack defeated Jack Brough- O ton in fourteen minutes at Houn- slow, England, 169 years ago today. April Il, 175o. Jack Broughton, the father of scientific pugilism, the au- thor of the first code of boxing rules and the pupil of Jim F1gg, the first champion, after 0 championship ca reer of eighteen years, found himself completely outclassed by the younger and stronger Slack.
 Ffgg had retired undefeated, and Broughton, the second champion, was the first to feel the sting of de- feat and to have impressed upon his mind the truth of that old adage, Youth must be served" The down fall of Broughton was one of the sad dest and most pathetic incidents of ring history. Poor old Jack fought until he was absolutely blind, when he had to give in.
 His friends immediately deserted him, his famous patron. the royal Duke of Cumberland, being the first to turn against the fallen champion. The Duke unjustly declared that he had been "sold"-the most untruthful accusation ever made by royal lips, for. whatever some of the successors may have been Jack Broughton was as square and honest a man as ever lived.
 It was just six years ago today that Gunboat Smith defeated George Ro- del in ten rounds at New York AL though Gunboat had the shade, the .Boer warrior assimilated all of the shot and shell the navy man could send his way and at the end of the tenth round was still fighting strong. tRodel had a lot of experience as a tighter before he entered the ring. At the age of twelve he enlisted in the Boer army, running away frGrn home to do so, and with his trusty rifle he added considerably to the fdamage done in British ranks during the South African war.
 While he was fighting he was grow ing. and at sixteen ho had reached an altitude of six feet. He entered the ring about nine years ago. He won a scoro of trophies in amateur tournaments in South Africa. and then went to England, and France, where he knocked out a number of heavyweights. but was put to sleep by Sam McVey and Bombardier Wells.
 Norman EIberfieId, long famous as
 
 York Americans, will pass his forty third milestone tomorrow. The To- .basco Kid was born in Mason City, w. Va, April IS. 1876, and this year will mark his twenty-third year in professional baseball.
 The Kids professional career began in 1897, when he covered third base for Richmond. in the Atlantic league, and batted 1855. The next year he was with Detroit, in the Western League, where he began his wonder full career as shortstop. In the mid dle of the 1899 season he went to the Cincinnati Reds, but in 1900 went hack to Detroit. and played short stop for the Tigers during the first three seasons of the American league In 1908 he Joined the New Works, where he remained for seven sea cons He rounded out his major league career with Washington, where he played second and third base in 1910 and 1911. After that he went into the minors as manager, be- coming pilot of the Chattanooga team of the Southern League.
 Jem Belcher defeated Jack Firby in eleven rounds near Linton, Eng land, 116 years ago today, April 12, 1903. As usual at that period, the authorities attempted to prevent this battle for the championship. and the principals and their followers had to spend several hours driving about the country before they escaped the wig ilance of the officers. Dukes, earls barons, knights and other nobles and gentry by tho scores were on hand however, when the ring was pitched in an open field and the two men went at each other. Firby. who was called "The Ruffian," had an ad- vantage in weight of over forty pounds. as well as being considerably taller than Belcher, but young JeIn. although only n boy in years was 2 natural fighter of such great skill and stamina that Firby was but an easy mark to him. This was Belcher's