The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-14
Tex Rickard
 Gives Tips
 On Finances
Great Promoter Tells How To Make a Million
 Dollars

Since taking over Madison Square Garden and turning it into sort of boxing mecca, I have promoted. in round numbers, 130 fights. To see those fights the boxing fans have paid into the box office $97O9 ,SS7 IS. anything any one man has ever at tempted in sport. That, however. was not as much profit to me- as you might think. simply have handled an enormus amount of money.
 For those 1SO fights I paid in fed eral and state taxes $1,312,659.22 In addition to the federal tax on amuse- ments, you know, the state of New York levies a tax on boxing as it does does not tax baseball and football.
 The tax on boxing was a part of the Walker law when 1t was adopted to legalize boxing. Among other things a boxing commission has to be serves without salary.
 Out of these fights I have paid the boxers little more than $4,6O0.000
 Apparently that would leave prof it of two or three million dollars, but that it not true. The casual spec enormus expense incurred in opera ting a place like the Garden. In the first place WG have to sacrifice inter- est on the money invested before we start. By merely leaving 1t in bank we could get four per cent without risk. ..
 To make it as simple as possible let me explain that in round numbers it costs $500 a day to operate the Gar den. That expense goes roght on whether we have any fights or not. We use it for boxing about six or seven months only. So; you can see that I must make profit of at least nf to prevent a loss. And we must keep up supply of attr tions. That is not so easy.
 Between times we run in such things as the six-day bicycle race. the rodeo, the circus and many varieties of shows. It is hard pulling.
 It's Hard To Sign Elm Up
 Our main support, of course, is box ing. Right now the situation looks gloomy. Our greatest difficulty is in getting the champions to fight.
 There are many who seem to be- money than he does about his title. I only wish that they are quite willing to sit back fin snug satisfaction. Many of them would rather lose money than risk the loss of their, titles.
 As one of the sporting writers ex- pressed 1t few weeks ago. they are like the old negro who was met on the streets of Louisville by white man friend.
 Say Sam, want to make a quar- ter?" the white man suggested.
 No. sir. not me-" replied the dark ey. T already got a quarter"
 Through my efforts at staging fights for them l have made some of these boxers as rich as some of the smaller bankers. They areI quite content to sit back with what they've got and take it easy. They don't want to risk those titles.
 But to get back to the finances of estimate of what fighters cost is fifty per cent. That is, the fighters will re- ceive about fifty per cent of the gate receipts. Out of the remaining fifty l must pay all the expenses of at- tendants. rent, advertising and the general machinery. This also takes in tho cost of the preliminary bouts and the federal and state taxes. Even if thirty percent. Is left, other expenses eat up most of it.
 Champs Glue Themselves To Titles
 The odd thing about the present situation is that money no longer serves as lure. Occasionally criti- champion out and make him defend his title but even then it is usually necessary for the contender to sacri- Q practically all of his claim to a re of the gate receipts. Harry eb, for instance, had to do that to win the middleweight championship from Johnny Wilson. Mickey Walker was in a. similar. fix when he defeated Jack Britton
 Looking the field over it seems that Jack Dempsey is the only one at whose title anybody can have a shot. It takes a lot of money for that though.
 Unless the champions show more desire to defend their titles the box ing game is sure to take a bad slump. It may be that our method of making money for the boxers has spoiled them.
 Everybody wants to see a champion in the ring. They are willing to look at others but unless the biggest men in sport show themselves often the interest Is bound to dwindle. After all 1t is the opportunity of seeing a worlds championship change hands that draws people into the Garden or any other place.
 Last December a young man. a writing friend of mine, dropped in to see me with the request that I give him the recipe for making a million dollars. He assumed that l had made a million. In a half joking way, and 1 hait serious, too, l told him:
 Making a million is easy if you sit down and think things out right. Folks want amusement, and they've got the money to pay for it. They love lighting. Give them tho right kind of fights and they will pay high for them"
 or course, the catch is that few people can think things out right, , and some times it is impossible to furnish the right kind of fights. At my friends request then wrote down the following recipe, which really thtnk wo1iU Fors; ia, -ay ktnd o4 aus. | ness: