Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-07-06
Lionlike Dempsey Mangles Willard
Into Trembling, Hapless Hulk Until
Body Crumples Up and Jess Quits
Sad Sight He Sits His Corner Waiting the Gong That Should
Send Him Again Into the Already Bloody Take Further Punishment
From the Hands His Youthful Ve Opponent Mes Some Word

Ny AAiAoW W WAC opOIiSC.
cheers that once rang in Willard S
ear were now for the king The
old pugilistic order had changed.
Youth had been served. Once
while sitting in his corner beneath a
pdingy old umbrella covered with ad-
Nvertising signs, before the fight,
Dempsey smiled. He sighted Tad,
the cartoonist, sitting at the ring
side and the beetling brows of the
challenger softened as he relaxed
his features.
That was about the only time.
! His face was so set that many
thought he was nervous. Over in
! the other corner, beneath a neat
new brown umbrella, Willard fairly
beamed On the crowd, nodding pleas
antly to familiar faces in the audi
eice and generally conducting HIM
self like man at function given
in his honor.
A few minutes later and he was
stumbling about the ring like all OK
in a stall, dull and -limbed. 1t
was startling transition.
Dempsey never even glanced at
Willard until they put up their
hands. 1t was Dempsey's way.
| When they stood together in the
center of the ring with their hands
clasped for the benefit of the NOV
ing picture men, Jack did not look
at his giant antagonist. Once he
| winked at a bunch of newspaper
friends!
| Willard, on the other hand, seemed
pleasant and chatty He seemed a
friendly soul trying to make UP to
morose neighbor When they
faced each other to listen to the in
structions of Ollie Record, the ref
cree, Dempsey stared at the floor.
He scarcely seemed to be listening.
Willard was all attention and very
| pleasant.
The men returned to their corners
and Dempsey continued to look
everywhere but at Willard. Some
thing went wrong with the bell. 1t
was on Wizards side of the ring
and it gave off feverish light
tinkle when Warren Barbour. the
former amateur heavyweight. cham
! pion, who was the official time
j,keeper, gave it tug.
Willard heard it /and started to
leave his corner. Then he saw that
Dempsey was still leaning against
the ropes opposite him, his back to
the ring and he realized that Jack
had not heard Willard glanced ex-
pectantly at the timekeeper. Bar
bour gave another yank and again
the bell tinkled softly.
Finally Learns Fight ON
Willard once more started for
| ward but still Dempsey did not
! hear. He stood paving his feet on
the canvas and gazing out over the
lcrowd. From a seat nearby, his
camp Jester, Max Kaplan, fellow
from Long Branch, N. J., where
dempsey used to tfain, was making
IAN unearthly outcry. Jess nodded
and smiled in most polite manner
| anu 1llldlly bCLPSSy SuA HSu a. thS
bell tinkleH and Jack understood
| taht the fight was on.
| They advanced toward one an
| other, Dempsey crouching slightly
and his shoulders moving in that
curious "shin1my" style which he
has made his own. Willard was
fairly upright. Willard made the
first lead. It landed lightly. Demp-
sey paid no attention but kept
marching in. Willard dabbed at him
slightly several times without much
1 effect.
Dempsey walked around, crouched
and "shimmying" as if studying this
strange monster before him. Then
suddenly the Coloradoan began
slashing out. Dempsey hits without
lapparent direction. He sees atar-
get in front of him and he begins
hitting and keeps hitting and he
hits with deadly force. He was hall
leapifg as he hit Wizards jaw
towering above him.
First the left hand, then the right
went swishing upward. His first
lead was for the broad white body
spread so invitingly before him and
Alis fists seemed to sink in as they
landed. Then the attack shifted to
higher ground, 50 to speak. VII.