Evening star., 1924-01-28
Good Pitchers No1v Most Needed in Base Ball. Dempsey Firm Has
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CHAPTER X.-Gan's-NeIson:
My First Venture.
BY TEX RICHARD.

7 WAS sitting in my office at Gold
field reading newspaper when
my eye came across an item about
fight between Joe Cans and Bat
ting Nelson and the chances OF find
ing place to hold it.
Always i have been Il reader OF
newspapers, and have made a point
OF reading them all the way through
Up to the moment my eye fell on
that item | had never SO much as
thought OF even seeing prizefght
"a big one, | mean.
All OF us had a great pride in
Goldtield as town and had tried
numerous means OF getting outsiders
interested.
ON the spur of the moment ] threw
the paper aside. walked over to the
telegraph office and sent a message
TO Nolan. the manager of Battling
Nelson.
How much would YOU want to
hold the Gans-Nelson fight in Gold
field?' | wired.
IL never had occurred to me to COM
suit others up TO that time. My
training in Alaska had taught me to
act on my own and do it quietly.
dnub, if Nolan ever had heard
of Goldfeld, but he replied. saying
that 10000 would he the price. In
to that time nobody ever had heard
of that much money being guaranteed
for fight. I had no idea what one
had cost or would cost. The moment
| got Nolan's telegram, though, it
struck me that it would he worth
that much to have people all over the
country talking about GoldGeld.
| had a vague idea. of course. but |
never dreamed Of just how much at
tention the affair really would attract
With the telegram in my hand
ran into Al Mayer UP the street. He
was IN business in our town.
S3O.00O Safe In an Hour.
I'll take five thousand of this. Al"
| said to him. smiling. You want
any of it,
''ru take five thousand" he said.
That's a big idea
Farther down the street / ran intD
Graham Rice.
It's a great notion" he exclaimed.
''Fll take five thousand or any part Of
it. II you don't see anybody else I'll
take all of it
walked around talking about my
scheme and | did not find a single
man unwilling to put up some part
Of the guarantee. In less than an
hour j could have guaranteed S3o.0o0.
Inat AFTERNOON L ttl"sraphcd Nolan
accepting his proposition.
In another twenty-four hours my
name was known all over the coun-
try. Goldtield was famous in less
than Il week.
At first the sporting men We're i'll
clined to give our little town the
laugh. Every time any cracks We're
made about us being able to stage q
hight. though, I would offer to put up
ths money in gold. That was never
necessary. To tell you the truth. not
one Of those men ever had to put up
u cent.
A man. who did much to establish
me with the sporting world. inClud
ing the newspaper men, was Eat Mas
terSon. now dead. Bat had known me
in Texas when he was 4 sheriff and a
dead shot. Later he became a writer
and a fight authority.
II don't know much about Cold
do know that if Tex Rickard says he
will guarantee $4,000 the fighters
can bank on getting paid. Richards
word is as good Is gold
I always appreciated that more
that / ever could make Masterson un-
derstand. My standing was good
enough in the mining regions, but in
the east somebody had come out and
youChed for me.
Cans Dickers for Himself.
OF course. had had a vague notion
that holding a championship fight in
a little -the-way place would
appeal to some people as a novelty,
but, honestly. l hadR't the slightest
idea of just how far that would go.
my life, dealing with things that |
knew nothing about. Until a man
gets mixed up with a thing like that
he hasn't the slightest notion of how