The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-09-17


start with $4,000 for fighting
Britton, Kansas, Tender and Ever
Hammer. The poorhouse is a long
way Off FOR Benjamin, even Il he
/ has wrecked a fortune.
AS far az I've ever seen or heard
Benny hasn't bocn uch OF a plung-
er on the race tracks His business
Judgment, shown in match making
ana getting, has been rather
Keen. Funny II he is a boob In Wall
street IL doesn't sound like Leon
ard.
Perhaps Benny is taking an easy
way to stand or touches. for any
champion who wears diamonds and
sports a bank account finds host
of friends" holding their hands
out at every turn. or perhaps Ben
ny has notion that he might az
well take a chance on the stock
market as pay out a huge percent
age OF his ring money in income
taxes. II he wins he has something
more for taxes, and IL he loses he
| Isn't much worse off anyhow, be-
| cause buying and selling stocks is
/ n business. and losses cut down the
| tax.
Benny had a good example Of
/ what speculation can do to a bank
roll in the person OF his own man
| ager, BILLY Gibson.
BILLY Gibson's Tough Luck.
| Billy has often SHOWN himself a
keen business man. In two or three
| business ventures he has made all
| the money he'll ever need and this
| doesn't include his share as Leon
| ard 8 manager-a fortune in itself.
| Yet Gibson has been flat broke"
several times through overconfi-
| dence In his ability TO beat the
ponies, He has been a bookie, a
| horse owner and a race follower,
with oil the ups and downs OF the
| race track. BIN has often told me
that il he could lose interest In rae
| ing he'd be a rich man.
He made money with n merry
/ go-round or carousel at North
/ Beach, with cafe In the Bronx, In
real estate with the Fairmont A. c..
and by managing fighters. The race
. track for years. got II all.
As bOokmaker Gibson always
/ paid. Very often his customers
didn't. As a fight promoter he be-
| came famous for rare honesty, al
ways returning the ticket money
when for any reason a bout was
called Off. Fact--he returned more
than the ticket money, for some OF
] MS thNANIlt4H \ NDlltNltu bll lnt an
ME Oakleys" after clcverly refill
ing the holes punched in them.
1t was nothing uncommon for BIZ
10 refund six or seven hundred dol
lars more than the entire gate TAX
en- in, and then pay the preliminary
boys out OF his own pocket.
Perhaps Leonard backed Billy's
racing judgment Or perhaps he
tried to emulate Leach Cross, who
made splurge two years ago by
winning over $4,000 in the stock
market and quit his job as a prop
erty man or stage carpenter or
something with a moving picture
company, Even with tips from "a
friend on the inside" the stock mar
ket trims you times out OF 10.
II Benny has dropped a million
his earnings In the ring, in movies
and on the stage, and in business
he has only followed the example
OF other boxers who tried to get
something without working-and
lost their kale.
Kid Mccoy cleverest boxer OF his
time. was a boob for the ponies,
The keen and tricky kid often
, dropped his ring money on the race
track, where he always had "in-
side Information" from his friends
| Inc tuuOy part or tniS Is that any
fighter who cleans up big money in
the ring is a shining mark for all
. kinds of gO-getters,
Tom ShRrkey Lost His Roll.
Bob FitzsimmOns, when he was
worlds champion and thought ey-
cry man who slapped him on his
back was MS friend, entertained a
famous finanCier az his house, and
on this gentiemen's advice. invested
his entire fortune--oyer 100000
in a stock deal lie neger got a
cent back. Bob was often hard up
In his old age, and he died poor.
Leach Cross fought great mum
ber OF battles ana was one OF the
biggest money makers IN the rinS
IN his day, He lost every cent hs
had--near the end OF his career, I'm
the stock market. He fought a H.
tie more ana got enough money tO
go 10 California, where he held
down movie Job, SIN speculatinR
he ran a tire stock deal up to abou'
!, $4,000, quit. and made a little more
! in an attempted "come back in the
ring. He's back on the movie Job
Tom sharkey was once fairly