Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1921-06-23
HAS SOME M BLOOD
Jack Depmsey Claims Mixture of
Irish, Scotch And Indian Blood
Makes Him Good Fighter

name by which the worlds heavy
weight champion was christened,
was born twenty-six years ago in
Manassa, Colo. The prefix, Jack
was assumed by the big fellow when
he had grown to mans estate, and
had chosen the fistic ring for live
lihood. IA fighter he had the idea
that by assuming the christian name
of Jack" some of the glamour IL
not the wonderful boxing science
which the original Jack Dempsey,
Brooklyn's famous "Nonpariel." po-
ssessed as the middleweight title
holder might revert to him.
The champion is the sixth child
Of family of eight. Three of his
brothers and three sisters are alive
but the youngest OF the eight, who
was named Bruce, died about two
years ago. When Dempsey was z
years old his parents, Hiram and
Celia Dempsey, with all their child
rem moved from Manassa to Mont
rose Colo, where they lived for nine
years. Then the Dempsey household
was shifted to Salt Lake City, Utah,
and that is the place which they
including the champion, claim as
their home.
Born of rugged parents, Dempsey
claims that he has Irish, Scotch and
Indian blood in his veins and in
sists that the fighting qualities for
which all three of these races are
famous have been bred in the bone
and blood and have come to him in
generous portions from his antece-
dents.
Most of Dempsey's early life was
spent in the open on a farm but
later he alternated by working in
the mines except in harvest time
when he found it more remunera-
tive to devote his strength to reap
Ing wheat and other crops in the
grain belt. In this way Dempsey
kept himself in fine physical condi-
ton, the hard labor developing the
wonderful muscles which proved to
be such useful factor in his win
ming the worlds heavyweight title.
Unlike his challenger, Carpenter,
Dempsey had very little early train
ing for career in the fighting arena
while the French champion was a
close student Of the glove game and
an actual competitor when he en-
tered his teens"
According to Dempsey's own story
his first fistic encounter was in an
improvised ring at Montrose, Colo,
when he was about 10 years OF age.
His opponent was young black
smith, named Woods, whom he
knocked out in the third round. This
initial contest netted the now cham
pion s25. His next fight also re-
suited in a third round knockout,
Andy Malloy, who had previously
walloped one OF Dempsey's older
brothers. being the victim.
When he was 20 years old Demp-
sey began rowing around taking on
bout whenever the opportunity Of
fered, while between times he re-
turned to odd farming jobs or
worked as a miner. His first east
ern experience in the fighting arena
was in New York city where he met
Andre Anderson, Wild Bert Kenney
and Lester Johnson, a negro, IN ten
round no-decision bouts. This was
in 1916.
During the following year Demp-
sey knocked out AL Norton and
Charley Miller, each in one round.
Later he won from Willie Meehan,
Carl Morris, Bob McAllister and
Gunboat Smith in four-round bouts
in California, and was knocked out
in one round by Jim Flynn, the
Pueblo Fireman" In the follow
ing year Dempsey reversed this by
knocking Flynn out in single
round and followed up with a series
of knockouts, among his victims be-
ing Fred Fulton. Battling Levinsky,
Perky Flynn, Arthur Pelkey ana
Terry Kellar.
Dempsey's banner year was 1919,
when after scoring five knockouts
of one round each in Pennsylvania
and Connecticut. he won the title by
stopping the big Kansans, Jess Will
lard, at Toledo, o.. on Independence