The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1921-12-22
DID WILLARD DESIRE
TO FIGHT DEMPSEY?
MENkE SAYS, NO SIR
BY FRANK u. MENKE

AIN I IL SITdnSe-lKe, Ino Wdy JesS
Willard has stepped right out of the
sportive picture ever since the REAL
CHANCE was afforded him to take
another beating?
FIR nigh onto two years, neighbor.
the big bezc from the wilds of Kansas
shrieked to the pulsing world:
"Oh, lemme at that there Dempsey
again-oh, lemme at him"
'Haw. haw, haw." exclaimed the
world in rebuttal, whereupon Jessica
always burst right out with:
Please, gents, do not give me the
raZz. That bird of a Dempsey did lick
me once, but that was an accident.
Yes. gents, a accident. Just lemme get
at him now and I'll fix him. Won't
somebody match us-ain't there any
body in this here whole world who will
lemme get another crack at him p
For quite long time there wasn't
anybody quite like that-there wasn't
a soul of all the billion souls upon this
earth who thought enough of Wizards
chances to make remarks about re-
matching the gladiators of Toledo. And
all the while Jessica lamented about it
and begged to have somebody sic him
right onto the Utah Mauler again.
Jessica Walls
"Oh, if I could only fight him again
oh, OH" walled Jessica. I'D give
anything in the world, gents, to fight
that there Dempsey again
At this iuncture Tex Rickard be-
came soft hearted-or, as some per-
sons put it, quite soft headed He an
nounced he'd promote another battle
between the two blokes of the first and
second part. He got a verbal accept
ance from Dempsey and then chased
the printed contract along to Willard
for signature
Now, in view of the shrill pleadings
from the vocalizer of Jess, one as
sumed that the big Kansan would have
shimmied in glee over the opportunity
that raped right on his very door.
The BIG CHANCE - the longed-for
chance-had come.
And what happened?
| Ever since that hour the conclusion
has been strengthened that Jessica
never did want to fight Dempsey
again: that Jessica. unhappy over be-
ing forgotten by the teeming thronSs.
wanted to get his name and picture in
the paper as a reminder like a ghost
of the past. So he garnered cheap
publicity in the form of challenges and
defis and things like that
Contract Not Returned.
The contract which Rickard sent tc
Willard never was returned Rickard
claims he never has heard from Will
lard since then. But on the heels OF
the news that Rickard had sent a
fighting contract to Willard, came Z
story out of Chicago to the effect that
Willard had struck oil on one of his
LEASES.
No authoritative statement about
the strike" ever came from Willard
Nothing ever came in definite fash
ion from anywhere about that flock
of gushers which it was reported be
gan to gush on Wizards propertie;
lust at a time when heirship to mil
|, lions in oil profits could be used a.
an excuse by Willard for ducking the
match.
| Is the oil strike story true-or was il
Just chased around as an alibi fol
Willard's failure to accept the mattel
with Dempsey?
If YOU think that it's true, how dC
you reconcile it with the Rews item @
few days ago which stated that viii
lard had sold his farm in Lawrence
Kas, and was moving to California
to make that state his future home
Do you think that if Willard strucl
/ oil just few weeks ago in Kansas o.
Texas, he would be moving to Cali
| fornia-and permitting the operation
of his properties at so early date t.
some one else?
Doesn't it seem that Willard wa!
just seeking publicity with his chal
} lenge and that when one was accept
: ed he took a "run-out" powder?
Ii Copyright 1921 BY King Features
, Syndicate, Inc.)