Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1920-04-13

ing TO meet LdnRrOr0 prODdDly Was
the sole object of this unique deci-
sion. And so it was that Langford,
who certainly was entitled to try
at the championship on the strength
of his first defeat of Johnson, never
was permitted to enter the lists for
the heavyweight crown.
Now comes the news that Johnson.
who is an exile in Mexico. is willing
to take on the man he so much dread
ed when he was the possessor of the
title. Evil days have come on the
former champion and he is willing
to pick up the. crumbs that fall his
way nowadays. While both of the
men are has beens" today and only
are practically shells of their former
selves, under the circumstances it is
an even break, and the question as
to the superiority of one or the other
may, finally be decided
1t is this one angle that would give
such a contest an interest in the eyes
of ring followers. AS spectacle it
probably would not be worth going
across the street to see. While Lang
ford forever has lost his chance to
win the title, it at least would fur
nish him the satisfaction of going
down in history as the better man in
the event that he should win. Ring
followers are of the opinion that
Langford would be in better shape
physically in the case of a meeting
He has kept steadily at work in the
ring, while Johnson has done little
serious work in this direction, hav-
ing spent both his time and money in
having good time, one of the rea-
sons for the present financial strin-
gency with which he is confronted.
There seems to be a slowly grow
ing sentiment that no matter what
may be the result of the trial of Jack
Dempsey. heavyweight champion OF
the world, who is charged with evad-
| ing the draft and being ''slacker,'
that he never will be matched against
Georges Carpenter, the French
boxer who is acknowledged as the
heavyweight champion of Europe.
This sentiment is put in concrete
form by William O. Mcclellan, the
we'll known Eastern sporting author
| ity who writes:
| THAT the name of Jack Dempsey
at current writing is not one to
| arouse any particular enthusiasm was
shown at the supper of the Interna-
tional Sporting club, where Georges
Carpenter was the guest Of honor.
IF Dempsey could have been pres
ent that night when 1000 sprostmen
gathered to greet Carpenter, he
might have been given a fair per-
spective on the chance he had lost.
if he has any mentality at all or any
sense of the fitness of things. The
French champion, slim. boyish and
smiling, received the homage that is
due a real fighting man, while every
American sportsman present felt
something of shame over the fact
that the American pugilistic cham
pion had played no part in the big
! fight.
1.-The waning popularity OF Jack
Dempsey males it appear to me that
there never will be a bout between
Carpenter ard Dempsey, no n ritter
what the GU come Of the Dem. 'sey
trial. And Dempsey might have been
a more popular champion thar the
late John l.. Sullivan had h pos
sessed tia sion to realize that a
man mus, play mar S part.
From & European pc 1T o. view the
Marathon race in the Olymn'c games
is the main individual event o. the
entire progra II. 1t is the ambition OF
European lor : distance men to pro
the victor il this race. To win I1e
| event means more to a European
athlete than the winning Of any other
event. 1t carries with 1t not only the
plaudits of the crowds. but it has
lasting significance with the Euro
pean public. particularly the country
that the winner halls from. The win
ner is for all time public character
in his own town. He is looked on as
a champion of champions. and is a
figure of note in his community.
1t is these factors that are making
the coming Olympic Marathon at Ant
werp the one big prize that European