The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-11-03
TAD'STID-BITS
THE GREATEST FIGHTER.

Al Lippe, who has managed many a
bruiser and watched many other box,
picks as his greatest fighter Abe At
tell
There's kid that was born a<box-
or, said Lippe, warming up. "He
started in at Alec Greggain's clab in
San Francisco without ever having TAX
en- a lesson. He worked as q messenger
boy IN the daytime and did his fighting
at night. He licked every amateur OF
his weight in Frisco. then came East
and startled the world with his clever
ness.
"He had a build like lightweight,
but was a very light featherYeight. He
not only beat all of the best feathers,
but he took on the best light and well
teFweight fighters as we'll :, Didn't he
fight Forbes at 11S pounds one night
and the same week beat Buddy Ryan,
who was the boss weller? Can you
name me another boy of his weight do
ing that? The best, McGovern could do
was to get Erne at 1913 pounds. Abe
Attell let the lightweights> come in at
1873 pounds. He didn't drag them down
to skin and bone before he faced them
They talk about Joe Cans outpoint-
ing Abe in a private bout one day.
That's a joke. Cans was training Ia
fight Nelson and Abe agreed to give
him four-round workout at San Ra-
fael. A big mob went over to see them
and, of course, Cans had little the
better of 1t, but wait.
Joe had just had an operation on
his nose and asked Abe to lay off the
smeller during the go. OF course, Attel
agreed. Can you imagine Abe boxing
without using left to the face? That's
about the same as tackling a mule When
you make the mule agree to fight only
with his front feet
rt..1-& H.. -
as often as Attell did with as few de.
teats. You can't name one. He was
the leading lady of the feathers anC
the star of the pugili5tic snow, vol
can take 1t from me-
Tiv Kreling. one of the old-t timers ir
Frisco gave Marion Salazar an inter.
view the other day and during the chat.
ter. panned the old-time fighters to q
crisp. Here's some OF the Things thai
"They're all the time talking about
what happened at the old California
club-about how Corbett and Pete
| Jackson boxed 81 rounds.
Know what Corbett and Jackson
really did? Just stood and looked a
| each other for six and seven rounds a
| time-until Mr.. Fuldo ordered Hiram
Cook to stop the thing and throw then
out,
| fornia club, The fights were so inter
esting that the spectators would g
out In the middle Of them and eat han
| and eggs,
Sure they did! Used to go acros
| the street and buy drinks--at the Char
| ter Oak saloon, at Cully's. at the Gram
Hotel bar and at Sashman Doyle's.
Tom Sharkey was fine fighte
| with his little short arms and bul
| neck and muscle bound to boot.
"All Tom had as fighter was shi
on his chest and the two best pres
| agents In the world-"Spider' Kelly an
| Tim McGrath.
THAT'S all the old time fighters ha
press agents The fighters nowaday
have managers.
when you wanted to see a fighte
in the old days you had to go to Harr
| Maynard's or to some other saloon.
| Nov when you want to see fight
er you go to q hotel and send up you
card.
"The fighters OF the old days not onl
| didn't know half as much about fight
ing, but they didn't lead the clean live
that fighters now do.
George lie Blanche, the marine
landed back-hand swing and stoppe
| Jack Dempsey.
"Just Imagine the chance that a ma
would have of landing sucker swim
like that on modern boxer.
1.-The one thing I remember about l.
Blanche Is that for three days aftC
he stopped Dempsey he, was drive
around in q cab with his feet stickin
out the window.
"Jim Griffin thinks that Jim Jeffrit
was the greatest OF all champions be
cause after each OF his fights Jeffrit
made a bee line for Griffin's saloon.
~ remember Jeffries fighting CT
Rubin q 20-round draw and coming o,
Of the ring with his head as big as
barrel from the punches he stopped.
But think of an oiu-timer just aft
winning fight making a long trip, {
Dempsey did after he whipped Willai
to drop some money into the apron
his mother, or rhinnk of them tell
phoning their mothers, as Benny Leoi
ards, did from San Francisco to Ne
! | York.
mo, they couldn't have telephoned
! but they could have teiegraphed
written.
George Dixon wasn't much. =
! looked like a little colored lacked, al
Johnny Kilbane could have pecked hi
} Peter jackson would have stood
much chance OF Whipping Jack Jahl
! son as / would
Tho old-timers boxed like they We
catching butterflies"