The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-07-05
FIGHT ENTHUSIASTS
AWAIT BIG EVE Mt
At III IN SU \
MULTITUDE GATHERS AROUND
RING AT TOLEDO FOR WILL
LARD DDEMPSEY BOUT.
BLIND MAN IN $50 SEAT
First Preliminar, Draw and Second
a Knockout IN First ROund-,rowd
Collects Slowly in Sizzling Heat IN
der Open Sky--Championship Battle
TO Begin About Half Past 3 O'clock.

ningside. Toledo. Ohio Juiy 4.-The
crowd gathered slowly for the Jess Will
lard.Jack Dempsey heavyweight cham
pionship i2round contest today.
The arena gates We're not opened ur'
til 1915 o'clock. At that time there We're
but couple of thousand spectators
ready to enter The gates.
The sky was clelr. With a cool breeze
blowing Ahpianes and q giant gas
bag TO t2fic pictures OF the contest were
being tested out
The starting OF the frst preliminary
contest. scheduled for 30 o'clock was
delayed owing to the slow gathering Of
tn" spectators.
The original hour fov the champion
ship fight to begin. namely p. m,
remains unchanged. but promoters and
managers all have agreed that on ac-
count OF announcements and other de
lays It probably will be $3.50 before the
bout begins
Tex Rickari, promoter. picked $3.50
as the probable hour when time would
be called for the first round. Because of
the size of the crowd, he said. the exact
hour could only be approXimated.
fIrSt Ire!imiliiry Draw
The first preliminary was called at II
o'clock a sX-round go between Tommy
O'Boyle of Toledo, 116 pounds, and Solly
Epstein of indianapolis. ia pounds.
Tom Bodliin of Pittsburg was referee
and decided the contest a draw.
The crowd continues to gather, but
slowly only a few thousand spectators
being present when the first preliminary
started.
The second preliminary, just before
noon, scheduled to go six rounds, be,
tween "Wop" English and Battling
Wendt, both of Toledo, ended in the
first round. English winning by
Knockout.
Many Women There
At noon the crowd was rapidly gath
ering the arena being about one-third
filled. Among the thousands of coatless
and collarless spectators was q good
sprinkling OF women.
The third preliminary, a scheduled
siX-round contest between Tommy Long
of Detroit, and Johnny Lewis of Toe-
do, ended in the third round with a
knockout victory for Lewis.
BY noon the vertical sun was serving
up to the attendance en- casserole. The
breeze continued, but confined its eff
forts to fluttering the flags on the peri
meter of the arena. 1t did not dip into
the bowl of the amphitheatre.
The seats We're filling steadily with
a crowd which to a man had discarded
coats and largely collars. a Bedouin
effect was produced by the numerous
spectators who covered their heads with
handkerchiefs surmounted by their hats.
The temperature in the press seats
was 112 degrees in the sun, under
which everybody sat There was no
shade in which TO take a more con
servative reading.
A small blaze was started at the
ring side by a cigarette stump. 1t was
eXtinguished with a pail of drinking
water which happened to be at hand.
At 12:45 p. m. the thermometer at the
ringside showed 1l2 degrees.
Blind Man in $50 Seat.
A member Of biz party from Toron-
t. whose train was parked near an
other special from California reported
meeting the last wori in fight enthu-
siasts" in the coast party. This man
wa5 totally blind but paid $50 for a
seat under a 112degree sun for a show
which he could only imagine from what
his friends told him and from memory
OF fights of earle" days before he was
imprisoned in darkness
A brass band made spasmodic efforts |
TO play jazz. but made sorry work of it, |
The brass instruments were so hot that |
they almost burned the hands off their |
players, ana all the pep had sweated |
from the snare drum.
The envy OF all was the aviator who /
iooped. swirled and grated above. Tie I
looked cool, in any event. !
Up in the squared circle, as ir Oh a |
sacriticial altar. The performers IN the !
preliminaries slugged and slipped, pant |
ed and bled exposed to the full fury of |
the sun. The sweat poured off them |
in rivulets as they sought to engage |
the attention of an almost oblivious .
crowd Few even heard their names as
they were announced. Only their sec
onds seemed really Interested At the |
intervals the latter crawled through the
ropes and sprayed them with water and
cooled their spines and pulses with ice.
At 1:15 p. m. the band apparently had
given up efforts to entertain.
Mercury Reaches l20.
The only thermometer in the press
stand rose straight up to 120 degrees,
which was at the top of the tube. A
Continued on page q