The Washington herald., 1922-12-20

Morrlssey, IN my ESTIMATION, was
the nearest approach to the fighter
who now graces the ring. There
was none Of the bulldog about him.
He was well read, had a kindly
manner. and never made himself
unbearable to his acquaintances.
Fighting was q business to him. as
1t Ia to the battler of today. And
when he wasn't fighting he was
head over heels In politics. for that
was his passion. He liked nothing
better than to argue. and seldom
failed to win his point. Persistency
was another of his virtues, so all
in all Morrissey was above the
average man Of his period.
AHEAD OF HIS TINE.
You couldn't call Morrissey a
fighter of the real old type. There
was a vast difference. The bruiser
Of the olden period would rush I'm
and try to bowl over his man with
bull-like rushes. Morrissey would
wait his chance and then get In all
the damage possible. There was
none Of the foolish NY off the
handle" in his makeup. He never
lost his GOODNESS and his brain was
always working, which. as we said
yesterday. enabled him to get the
decision over Yankee" Sullivan
The fighter OF today is far above
his prototype in that respect. When
he enters the ring his mind 10 alert,
for he knows one proper move will
counterbalance all the rough tactics
imaginable.
Morrissey was In many q rough
fight. His day was the one of bare
fists. and when It was permissible
to do everything one could to beat
down a rival. He didn't compare
favorably with many Of the former
stars SO far az height and weight
were concerned. But John Norris
sey possessed a brain that brought
his big rivals below his level. They
could hit harder. but he always
won. An unanswerable argument
In the steady battle of brains VS..
Drawn.
HOW STRATEGY WON.
An instance Of how his strategy
| won him the honors in his battle
with Heenan: Morrissey was con-
fident he stood no chance with
Heenan in a regular stand up bat.
tie. but accepted the match on ac-
| count Of his courage. He figured a
fighter should fight when required.
something a few of our champions
seem to forget.
Morrissey entered the ring that
day keyed up to the highest pitch,
| for he realized he was up against
1t. In the first round Heenan
rushed at Morrissey and swung
vicionsly. Morrissey stepped aside
and Heenan collided with the rough
post. That made Heenan helpless.
and eventually Morrissey got the
decision.
Heenan was of the old school.
A big, heavy fighting machine, he
knew little Of the finer points and
paid less attention to them. Nor.
rissey used the skill that the pres
ent day fighter brings into play.
No fighter nowadays could break
his knuckles by hitting them
against a ring stake. as present
day rings are built without posts,
Morrissey had always to tight ItS. for
side bets, as there were never
enough spectators to make # worth
while for the fighters. Today a
fighter would laugh IL you asked
him to bet.
If Morrissey had continued his
fighting career he might have
wound up with. say. $4,000. To
earn that sum he would have been
compelled to take some terrible
beatings and to have fought for
years. Nowadays it isn't the least
bit extraordinary to hear Of some
practically unknown fighter making
s60.000 year in and year out.
| They don't fight now for the
pleasure of fighting. It is strictly
a business. Many lad who
wouldn't be able to earn enough to
live decently II he were in 90.
called legitimate business, retires
with q comfortable Competence
when he quits the ring. That
strikes mo a. quite an improve.