Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-25

~ 49, Al NiasF'E AaAa 49, NAN
greatest of their champions. He has
taken Carpenters place in popular
ity.
If Kilbane makes the featherweight
limit for Criqui, it's very likely that
he'll be knocked out.
Is Expert Shaw Kidding Us?
Mr.. G. Z. Shaw. the English boxing
expert who picked Carpenter, q year
and a half ago, to knock u Jack
Dempsey in a couple of rounds, is u
again.
Perhaps G.. p. is only being funny
when he says hat when any champion
takes part in q faxed bout he isn't
responsible, because he doesn't know
anything about it and it's his manager
who does the framing: and that taking
is all right. anyhow, because the only
people defrauded are the gamblers,
while the spectators are given d show
that is probably more satisfactory as a
spectacle than a real fight would have
been.
But If George is kidding. and any
other Interpretation Of his remarks
wouldn't be creditable to his intelli-
gence, it is no less likely to give many
people an impression that will injure
boxing. 1t is not a fact, as he init
mates. that ring contests are often
framed and the results prearranged.
Common Practice Once
This sort of thing was more COM
mon a few years ago than it is now.
We have had clever boxers who got
along for years, fixing and framing
and cheating in the ring.
Those who were caught at it were
occasionally able to abb their actions.
and in some cases even reformed and
fought honestly afterward.
But there always has been a rea-
sonable suspicion that 'once a crook
always Il crook" applies to taking box
ers as well as to pickpockets, sneak
thieves. fake oil sellers and others of
that 1lk. Takers never have been pop
ular in America, no matter how they
may be regarded in England
Fortunately, public opinion has set
strongly against dishonesty and Chi
canery in sports, and boxing commits
sions have made taking exceedingly
rare of late years. Today a boxer
caught in q frame-up or a fake is
barred for life. which is exactly right.
Could He Pick This Winner?
Mr.. Shaw's alibi that framing is all
right because only the gamblers are
hurt and the spectators lose nothing as
long as they don't know n bout is faxed.
won't receive much support in Amer
lea. Where a match is framed up in
advance the people who pay to see it
are d%efrauded. cheated, swindled from
the moment they pay their money at
the gate. They pay to see a genuine
contest. They wouldn't 20 around the
corner to see n hippodrome.
Rut marianne Mr. Show, would IT,
would probably even try to pick the
winner.
The midwinter football season on the
Pacific coast has produced complica-
tons. Stanford has a splendid new
stadium seating $4,000 people and ar
ranged q good game there with Pitts
burgh. Penn State was invited to play
some California team in the annual
game at Pasadena, New Years day, in
a great new concrete stadium built this
year especially for these events. The
University of Southern California, O
home team, was selected to meet the
fasteners.
Playing Today in San Diego.
Down in San Diego there is an
other fine big concrete stadium. But
San Diego has no home college with a
football team. San Diego arranged
to bring out the unbeaten West Vir-
ginia team to play some Pacific coast
outfit, whereupon it was found impos-
sible to induce any of the coast col
leges with football teams of any repu-
tation to play.
Last year San Diego invited Centre,
and at the last moment was forced to
bring out O light team from Arizona