The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-06-28

triumph practically put him in ranking next to Jess Willard. A future more brilliant than had been his past was pre- dicted for Dillon.
 Yet, from that day forward. Jack Dill lon never amounted to anything. He reached the crest when he whipped Mo- ran-and then skidded in terrible fashion. In year he was regarded as a has been;" in two years he was figured as practically through. He became a mark for even the jokiest of joke warriors.
 One of the most bitterly contested fights in all ring history was the clash between Ad Wolgast and Battling Nelson. It went forty rounds or so when the ref
 cree stopped it because of Nelson's con- dition, and gave the decision to wolgast.
 The verdict meant the finish of Nelson
 and it practically finished Wolgast. too.
 For Ad, terror before, man of almost
 unlimited endurance never was a truly
 great fighter thereafter The duel had
 taken much out of it. And almost from
 the day he won the title he was an in-
 ferior warrior.
 One of the toughest fights of Freddie
 Welshs career was with Rocky Kansas. the little Buffalo Italian. A rough, slug
 ging type, Kansas made Welsh travel to
 the full limit of his powers in that bout. When it was over, Welsh was badly used up. He had saved his title-but at a ter rible cost. For only a short time later, he fought Benny Leonard in New York and was knocked out. Winning from Kansas had burned him up.
 The greatest fight that Tom Sharkey ever fought was against Jim Jeffries The sailor was wonder that night-a charg- ing, raging lion who never gave Jeffries a moments rest. He was in and at the big boilermaker from gong to gong And howls of rage came from the crowd when
 the referee gave the fight to Jeff. II seemed to be the consensus of opinion
 that Sharkey had won.
 Tom lost the contest--but he gained
 worldwide prestige. It was felt that hs would inherit the Jeffries crown; that he would go to greater glory. But the beating Tom had to take that nigh: changed him. He never was the wonder he had been: never the same slashing, aggressive, whirlwind of man. And i, wasn't long before Tom. then assumed to be only nearing the top of his career | f;.ded into retirement.
 Many persons contend that the great | est fight staged in New York in many years was the one between Willie Ritchie and Leach Cross, when the former was champion It was one of those hair-rais- ing duels, with the crowd on it's feet ] yelling like maniacs from start to finish. | It was ten rounds, no-decsion. Sporting opinion was about 50-5O as to the winner. Ritchie was lauded by his friends as
 unbeatable" Cross was classed by his admirers as "a star of stars" Yet only a few months later Ritchie was beaten by Freddie Welsh and it wasn't long after Cross slipped into the discard
 That one battle had beaten them both. These are only few cases involving champions. or heir-apparents to the
 championship, who fought great fights
 and either won or gained undying fame only to come to a speedy end of theft careers. The record books show hundreds of cases of men of yesterday-and of the long ago-who suffered a like fate, oi which would indicate that fighter is human after all that. no matter how splendidly trained he may be. if he IL forced beyond certain limits. he surren- ders fos all time one of the greatest as. sets which he can havs-stamina.