The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-06-03
c. ay Haired Veteran Is Ren- dered Helpless After Six Rounds Of Fighting With Dramatic QuiCkneSs
By wEsTBROoK PEGLER


 RINGSIDE, POLO GROUNDS, \. Yo June "A stray right hand wan G ring through the gloom of late aft ernoon clipped Johnny Kilbane . luare on his jaw and sent his curly k ay head bobbing to the floor in the sixth round of his fight here Satur- uay with Eugene Crtqui, the war scared challenger from France. It was clean. stunning knockout which sent the featherweight cham ionship across the water in a fair exchange for Georges Carpenters s i0st honors.
 The crowd was as badly dazed by the smash as Kilbane hmiself, for he went down so lightly and rolled to | half squatting position so quickly that 1t seemed as though he would pe able to get up and go on for | short while at least. Kilbane's tights hit the dusty floor; the Impetus his fall sent his gray thatcn in 10 the rosin and carried his skinny little legs high in the air. Then he rolled on his side and tried to get up but the count found him still alutching at the rug and his seconds eaped through the ropes to bear him away in sorrow.
 Kilbane, who had held the title for years and had grown old as the world chmapion, refused to make tragedy of one of the games in evitable misfortunes. He stepped to his corner without the aid of crutch UT supporting arm and then Strode across to Criqui to exchange a clasp of bandage hands and wish him "a lotta luck" Criqui got a quick little cheer from the crowd and after strutting from corner to corner, joy ously waving recognition, he took his way down the aisle to the dressing room close after the disappearing vet Rrap he had WhiDDed.
 kilbane was smiling as he came down the steps from his corner, whatever the feelings may have been beneath his quick-heaving chest, breathless from the unaceustomed ex- ertion of a prize fight, for he had been a non-combatant for the last few years of his reign.
 Johnny Kilbane made his face as gay as the skirl of the Irish reel which a partisan from Cleveland had been piping on a flute In his corner between the rounds.
 Wishes Conqueror Well.
 Hey" he yelled to his friend Joe Brannigan of Brannigan's Place, in Hells Kitchen, who had followed Kilbane up from his preliminary bat ties and was there to see him so down. Hey, you Joe," said Johnny, Gut out that crying. It's all right. [ hope he holds 1t as long as l did and that's what 1 told him just now. No more beer for Johnny, eh, Joe?"
 When Johnny Kilbane disappeared down the aisle and into the cata- combs under the Giants stand, where his dressing room was pitched, he disappeared also from the calling in which he had been one of the few to reach the tipmost top.
 It was a small crowd as attend ance goes now at championship bat ties. The capacity of the Pol( Grounds had been exaggerated t' 60.000 for this occasion by the eX tension of the new stands and the in stallation of pine benches on the field. These benches were the s27-5C seats and they were less than hall sold out. But it wasn't the price that curtailed the attendance, because there were thousands of empty S3.3l places in the upper stands and the s2 spaces were almost total loss
 Something apparently was wrong with the exploitation, but kilbane probably will not be the loser for hat, because it was understood that he was receiving 75 per cent Of siOO,0O0 pool, which was excellen business for him, if true, because hil percentage of the receipts would bt much lower.
 Couldn't Put It over.
 From the moment he stepped ou against Criqui, dancing warily ant holding his hands low and wide II the phantom style that made him fol years one of the "untouchables," i was very plain that Kilbane ha' learned something in training. H wasn't in this fight to win the de cision, but to measure the style O the Frenchman, make note of th' openings and shoot through one vital blow in hope of stopping Crlqu win single punch.
 The first round was one of those minuet numbers, with Criqui doing the leading and Kilbane dancing a the end of Eugene's punches, which only grazed him at best. Johnny guard was held low for the very goo' reason that an old man feels nor his teeth. Kilbane blocked a fev leads for the body in the opener ant stepped beyond the range of tn others.
 In the second the old champion asked the referee, Jack Apple, t tell Criqui his body blows were land ing low. That official turned t' Criqui, who speaks no English, ant understands less, with Hey, you keep 'em up" Johnny stepped in ther with a left hook to the jaw, one O his hardest. It failed to register CrfQut belted kilbane back with on of his own and Johnny was badl. jolted. Kilbane began to chatter a Criqui. Eugene's expression didn' flicker. He had been told that Xii bane was great monologist an, likely to be insultingly personal, bu what's an insult in a foreign Ian Euage? Kilbane began to sweat, al though he had done almost no worl up topnow and the afternoon was get ting along toward the cool of eh evening. Criquis hide was dry a. chalk.
 The boxing commisosion sent 2 deputy to Kilbane's corner after the second round to ask that Johnny re- frain from smiling over the rones al