The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-06-18
1PORT YARNC
BY THE VETERAN

THE EASIEST money that John L. ever got away with came to him after a bout which was fought on this date in 1885 when he defeated Jack Burke in five rounds at Chicago. For this little session in the Windy City. which proved to be nothing more than a little amusement for the Boston Strong Boy" Sullivan got $4,300.
 After John L. became champion by whipping Paddy Ryan in 1882, the whole world wns secured for a man who could take the title away from John. and Burke was but one of the many false alarms who were touted as coming champions. Sullivan found all of them, with the exception of Charlie Mitchell of England. to be easy and rich picking. He got $12.000 for his exhibition with Tug Wilson; S11.o0o for the fight with Mitchell in Madison Square Garden. when the Britisher knocked him down, $1S.oo0 for showing tip the widely advertis- cd Herbert Slade, $10,000 for de- feating John Laflin in three ronuds at tho Garden; S12,000 for his two brief bouts with Ali Greenfield; $7,00o for his second bout with Paddy Ryan. which was stopped by the cops; ss.soo for stopping Dominick McCaffrey in.
  rain, and nutritious sums of the long green for his many other victories.
 These sums of course, cannot be compared with the fortunes that arc given the heavyweights of today, but back in the old days purses such as those enumerated above were consid- cred as being quite as generous as the hundred-t sand-dollar stakes put up nowadays
 CEvENTY- THREE years ago today O the first regular baseball game was played in Hoboken. N. J. The game had been played before by inn promptu clubs on vacant lots. but 1t was on June 14. 1s46 that two reg ular and organized clubs with names clashed on the diamond. The con- testing clubs were the New fork Knickerbockers. the pioneer outfit or baseball, and the New Yorks. a rival bunch formed n little later than the f"Knicks." Having no grounds of their own. the players crossed the river to Jersey and "crossed bats' on what was then known as Elysian Fields. The championship of New York was involved. and, while the affair didn't arouse much enthusiasm. quite sprinkIing of fans gathered about the fold.
 Under the rules drafted by Alexan- der q. Cartwright and adopted by the Knickerbockers late in 1895 nnd ac- cepted by the New Yorks in this fis- toric encounter, a game was 70 con sist of twenty-one counts or aces. but at the conclusion an equal nun per of hands must be played In modern baseball language. this meant that victory perched on the banner of the club which scored the first twenty one runs.
 Although the newspapers paid no attention to this historic conflict, the name of the players have been pre- serycd. Monakers of Hiberpian orl- gin didn't figure as luminously as I'll latter days, although one Murphy played an important part In winning inc contest for the New Yorks. The New Yorks won the game in four in- nings by a score of twenty-one to one. The victorious nine consisted of Ran some. Davis, Case, Murphy. Tnomp- aon Trenchard, Labor, Winslow, ana Johnson The defeated knickerbock- CTS roll of players was Adams, Avery. Turney. Birney. Tucker, Pauldins' .Tryon, and two brothers named An thony.
 Nearly five years passed before an other regular ball game was played. r-be In,ckerbockers were reorganiZ- ed in 1851 and met another New york club called the washingtons, af- terward called the Gothams. The S,rrt game on Manhattan Island was niayed on the Red House Grounds Of thc latter club. located at wi;at is now the corner of Second avenue and 1o6th street.
 JOHNNY O'LEARY. the western S lightweight. was born in seattio' wash. June Is. 1893. O'Leary began fighting in 1910. and has since foush' scores of good boys in the cities or the Northwestern states and western Canada. In his first three years Tn fhe ring Johnny fought more than half q hundred contests and never so' worse than a draw. His first long pat tle was fought in 1913 when he de- defeated Fighting Dick Hyland' in 20 rounds at Sacramento. OLeary is real Irish and is . seet 6A inches In height For several years he has been doing most of his scrapping on the Canadian side of the international boundary and fought his way to the ton of the Dominion lightweight heap SETTLEMENT OF