The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-12-22
TOMMY RYAN BOXED
IN QUEER PLACES
Fought by the Light of Bon
fires and Won a Bout in
an Ice House.

(This is the third of series Of drti-
Giles by Charles +. Mcthison an tohich
he toiH describe Interesting pu0tilstt1
euents Of the past. The uTiter ioHl cont
fine his observations to contests and
incidents of aohich he acGs an eyetoft-
ness, aud his first contribution toal deal
aoith Que of the early bouts s't Which
Terry McGovern toas contestant, long
before he became the bantam cham
pton.)
Tommy Ryan, who during his career
as a boxer. held the weller and middle
weight titles, had some odd experiences
In the days when he was lightweight
and had not acquired fame or fortune.
Nearly all of Ryan's early bouts were
contested in the middle West, and only
when he became a formidable contender
for the honors of the welter and middle
weight divisions did he drift Eastward
Ryan was born at Redwood, N. ".
March 20, 1870, his name being Joseph
Youngs. His father was French AMI
his mother English. Not getting what
he considered PROPER recognition of his
pugilistic talents IN the East, he went
West. and divided his time for several
years between Michigan and Minnesota.
Several bouts in which he demon
strated his class were fought near De-
troit Mich, and two of his encounters
had spectacular features. The police of
Detroit and the Sheriff of Wayne
county. in which the City of the Straits
is located, devoted a large part of their
time to the pursuit of boxers intent on
settling the question of individual SUI
premacy. and the fighters were usually
we'll tired out before they found O. place
in which to pitch a ring.
Looking for Battle Ground.
On June IS, 1889, Ryan and a De-
troit boxer named Martin Shaughnessy
started out shortly after dusk to find
a spot where they could box to finish
for $50 side and whatever the gate
might be after the hat was passed.
Turnstiles in so far as boxing bouts
were concerned were then filmy dream.
After rid ing In more or less comforta BILE
hacks drawn by spawned animals that
might once have been kings or queens
of the turf, the gladiators and their dar-
ing and intrepid followers reached a
spot on the shore of Lake st. Clair
which seemed safe from magisterial in
reference. II was we'll toward 3 o'clock
in the morning when the fighters, Wear
ing fingerless kid gloves. faced each
other in q ring pitched on the sand
close TO where the waters of the lake
rippled on the beach.
As the promoters did not carry their
own electric lighting plant they built
several large bonfires close to the ring.
and the fighters set to work to maui
each other by the Pickering rays of the
fires. 1t was a weird scene, and those
ON passing craft no doubt thought they
saw a ghost dance.
Shaughnessy was stocky, combative.
hard fighting but unscentiic boy who
never took a backward step.
Even In those days Ryan was cool,
clever, hard hitting boxer, and while
Shaughnessy lasted till the forty-sixth
round he never had a chance against
the heady, relentless Ryan. The rising
sun lit the scene just as Ryan landed
the knockout punch. whereupon the
spectators awakened the hack horses
and started for their homes. The gate"
amounted to S74.
Fought on Ice.
Another bout in the neighborhood of
Detroit in which Ryan was a principal
had the queerest setting in the history
of boxing. Ryan had been matched
with a $50 pound man named Mike
Dunn, Tommy scaling but 100 pounds at
the time Several attempts had been
made to find place for the contest. but
the police invariably reached the spot
first. Then a man who had large ice
house at Crosse Pointe, several miles
above Detroit. offered II to the promoters
and said the police hardly would go
there in search of a fight To the ice
house went the boxers and their adj
mirers, but to their horror found the
structure was nearly full of ice. The
date was May 20, 1889, and the dealer
had a large stock on hand for the sum-
mer at fancy prices.
BY shifting the cakes Of ice about,