New-York tribune., 1919-02-06
Dempsey Starts
East to "Chat' -
With Rickard
Promoter Is Not Wholly
Satisfied With New
York State Boxing Bill
By w. o. Mcclellan

get his first peek at Tex Rickard the
man who Is to pay him S27 500 for
meeting Jess Willard for chance at
the heavyweight championship DENIM
sey Is due Saturday. and the articles
VIII be signed with fitting ceremonies.
obsequles or whatever is deemed most
fitting for the occasion.
In the meantime Tex ckard Is point-
ing his shell-like ear toward Albany
wnere the boxing bill for the State of
New York is under discussion. The bill.
as 1t was launched on its career is far
from satisfactory to the Western pro-
moter. 1t has q clause whereby no
higher price THAN $40 can be charged
1or any boxing contest. While ten
whole bucks used to be a good price
to pay for sight of two sets of cauli-
flower ears in an aura of tobacco
smoke, it would be only the bottom
price for the Richard show.
IL VIII cost just fifty simoleons to be
anywhere near the ringside when Jess
wizard, the most expensive of the
champions. throws off his bathrobe and
gets his glimpse of Dempsey's fighting
physiognomy. So if the bill as pro-
posed by Senator Gibbs should be
PASSED New York City hardly will be
cluttered up with the championship
battle. The Middle West will probably
be the scene of the show.
Tulsa Wants Bout
Tulsa Okla, is starting to bid for
the bout. There seems to be some
superstition out in that region that the
oil wells would gush more freely after
the excitement of heavyweight cham
pionship or that more of the money of
trusting Eastern investors would drift
that way with a fight. But Rickard
solemnly declares that he is not after
any advertising with the fight. 1t is a
separate business proposition with him
and he expects to make plenty of
money out of it as "a spectacle Rick
ard IS m ost sanguine person and the
strangest part of 1t is that he has vet
to be disappointed.
There will be some sort of a formal
conference Saturday when Dempsey
arrives. 1t probably W II be held at the
Claridge, where Rickard signed articles
for the Willard Moran fight. Some of
you will recall the flashlights Of that
momentous conference the table COW
cred with champagne bottles and the
bewlldered and self conscious express
sions of Wizards brace OF managers.
1t la ted almost as long as the current
peace conference at Versailles and got
only little more space.
The finer sens iblities of the old
timers have been shocked a little at
the very informal way in which Rick
ard close negotiations with Dempsey.
There were no wine bottles on the
table and the entire conference lasted
about nine minutes. There were only
nine newspaper men present and Benny
Rosenthal and Abe Attel were not
even sent for. Some of the old-timers
are so Indignant that they want the
match cancelled on the ground of ir-
regularities in the prelimnar es Con
sequently Ricka.d feels that he must
make some concession to pub ic
opinion. The formal arrangements
wi nnrNr9ev will b made Saturday.
"Still. l can't see why this fuss is so
necessary" said Rickard 81 don't see
why fight has to be arranged close to
a bar. 1t looks to me as though that
is all old stuff when the fighter was an
outcast I'd like to make my matches
in a bank, where the forfets could be
showed at the cashier. It's more bust
nesslike."
One Irritating Point
There is only one irritating point
about the match for the Dempsey forces.
The verbal agreement, which will be
put into writing Saturday, has the pro-
viso that Dempsey shall not engage in
any other bout until he meets Willard.
That will mean that Dempsey will have
to depend on his histrionic abilities for
q living during the interim. Just now
he is leading man for the Dempsey
Burley-G Cue Company, and is said to be
exerting considerable elevating influ-
ence upon current drama.
Hitherto Dempsey has been earning
corside ab t'an tie $50 m tn,
which the United States government al
lows to its iignJl- men, by the simple
process of swim ing re tless rght to
the Jaws of the available heavyweights.
He still had few saved up-enough of
them to carry him through the spring
and sun mer.
But Rickard has decided that it would
be unsafe to let Dempsey continue
along these lines Not that he has not
some confidence in Dempseys ability TO
take care Of himself and of his oppo-
nents. but at the same time, if Demp
sey happened to show up poorly in
minor match, Richards chances for the
necessary $250000 gate might be en-
dangered. Dempsey was to have boxed
NJ ske at New Orleans in the near fut-
ure, but this bout is off automatically.
Jack Kearns Annoyed
Jack kearnS was greatly annoyed cy
story that was circulated the other
day to the effect that Dempsey was
travelling under an alias and that his
real name was unpronounceabe. 1t was
so reported that most of the cham
pionship contenders relatives were now
engaged in the 30 shevist movement
or with some of the Czecho-S.ovak
armies.
lis guys name really is Dempsey"
declared Kearns. "And that is more
than the Nonpareil can say. His real
name was Kelly Not that Kelly is
bad monicker. On the contrary. it's
such good monicker that am sur
prised that the Nonpareil did not
keep it.
But want you TO understand that
my birds name is Dempsey. It's Will
lam Henry Dempsey and / can produce
the Bible with that name in it. The
book is out in Co orado, where Dempsey
has FIVE brothers and sisters. Old Mar
Dempsey was Harp. His mother WAS
part Scotch and part Cherokee. So
Dempsey is q Scotch-lr -lrish-lndian and
that's a tough tribe of Indian to be-
long to-"
Rickard has been considering one
tentative site for his arena in the event
that the fight can be he d in New York
City This one is the lot adjacent to
the Polo Grounds in the lee of Coogan's