The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-07-25

mantle of all champions, ever con-
test for a purse worth while. The
Olympic club offered $4,000 to the
winner and side bet of $4,000 was
made by the principals, Sullivan's
$4,000 being put up by his "backer."
There was no losers end to that
purse. Corbett got it all. When, in
the twenty first round, Sullivan lost
victory and the championship. he
hadn't a penny.
Barratt O'Hara, an historian Of the
prize ring, relates that Immediately
after the fight Sullivan's straitened
circumstances were made known, and
a benefit" was suggested. Corbett,
he adds, Immediately offered to con-
tribute $1,000 to his, fallen adversary.
There was a gate" money of a
sort at the Sullivan Kilrain fight, but
there were only few hundred per-
sons present, and whittier the money
went no one knew. And neither Sui
livan nor Kilrain cared. The side
bet, posted for each, represented
money furnished by their respective
hackers, and when time was called
for the seventy sixth round of that
historic contest, Charlie Mitchell,
rum ng from Kilrain's corner asked
Sullivan If he would give Kilrain a
present if the sponge were tossed
into the ring. Sullivan readily
agreed, and the fight ended. AS the
loser in this famous contest, kilraln
received gift Of $1,000 from the
man he had faced through seventy
five of the bitterest rounds ever wit
messed i? a prize ring. For being
pummelled three rounds-nine min
80 To- n,.I nj q
days ago received 100000, with the
gate money from the moving pictures
still to be heard from.
Side Bets the Attraction.
None of the old fighters fought for
large purses. In fact, the side bet
was the attraction and If the fighter
had money of his own he bet 1t all,
besides wagering all he could borrow.
Kilrain, for instance, in order to
get a chance at Sullivan fought Jem
Smith, the English champion, on
Smiths own soil. The fight went
106 rounds to a draw. There was
only a side bet of $4,000 at stake and
changed hands. The principals en-
dured LOG rounds of vicious bare
knucks fighting for glory alone.
Sullivan and Mitchell, several
years later, fought in the rain and
mud in Chantilly, France. The side
bet was $4,000. The contest was de-
clared a draw at the end Of the thir-
ty-ninth round. The weather made
a continuance of the battle impossi-
BILE.
Before John L. became the cham
pion he went to New York City,
where he was unknown, and offered
to advance the vast sum of 800 to
any man who would stand before
him four rounds. The challenge was
accepted by one Steve Taylor, a
clever fighter, and a contender for
the championship. The exhibition
was staged in Madison Square Gar
den and the public was invited to
come and pay its admission fee. Tay-
Tor didn't last four rounds, Sullivan
hit him a dynamite blow in the
second round and Taylor was
knocked out of a ring to which he
never returned. After deducting
rental and other expenses, Sullivan
received $62 for his work But he
had gained his point. He had firmly
established himself a prime favorite
in Gotham, and he continued to offer
500 to any man who would with
stand his blows for four rounds, and
men continued to fail in the attempt.
Few old-Time Spectators.
Prize fighting, which was an Eng
lish discovery and which gained a
vogue in Great Britain more than a
century ago, was, until recent years,
forbidden by law, and therefore those
who were planning to engage in fistic
combat had to proceed with caution.
AS result 1t was only on rare oc-
casions that these notable early day
contests were witnessed by large
crowds. and the fights usually took
place in obscure country places or on
barges in the bays and rivers.
James ]. Corbett and Joe Choyn-
ski fought one of the most notable of
barge battles in the bay outside San
Francisco, and the money at stake
was trifing, If there was any real
money at all to be given to the win
ner. 1t was a battle for blood; the
weather was severe and the crowd
was of the elect only. Nat Goodwin,
the actor, was one of the spectators
at this battle, which was fought vi
ciously every inch of the way until
Choynski was knocked out in the
twenty seventh round. The men
fought with skin tight gloves. ac-
cording to Queensbury rules.
In the history of old-time ring
generals the outstanding features are
the length OF the contests, the severe
trials faced by the contenders for
fstic honors and the insignificant
financial reward that the men fought
for
Tom Savers, one OF the ring mar
wells of the early part of the nine
teenth century, rarely received more
than $1,000 for any OF his fights.
Savers was a real champion and an
unique one, in that while he fought
all challengers, regardless Of their