The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-20
Dempsey And Fnpo Bout
 Real Thrill
Tex Rickard Says Fight Gave Him Greatest Thrill
 ,a of Lifetime.
By TEX RICHARD

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 , The greatest thrill I have had in my life was that round at the Polo Grounds fight when knockdowns be- l tween Dempsey and Firpo were so frequent that nobody was able to count them. And the greatest thrill of all--one that made men gulp in their throats-was when the big. , hairy chested South American actual , ly knocked the American champion out of the ring, clear of the ropes and into the laps of newspaper men who were endeavoring to describe over the wires what was going. on. This thrill was even greater than the sight of satisfaction when Demp- sey finally floored the Argentine giant and saved the championship.
 When the knockout came inten- sity of the excitement had slightly subsided. To this day I doubt if any body knows just how many knock downs were scored. For the news paper men-even the coolest and most expert--to give a clear account of that battle as it progressed was all most impossible.
 Jnrlu UT Lifetime
 Never yet have I found a boxing en- thusiast who did not say that was the greatest thrill of his life as fight fan.
 The whole thing burst on the fans before they were prepared for 1t. In stead of trying each other out, pro ceeding cautiously, these two men swinging stone axes. There was no fine art, no entertaining exhibition of skill. It was sock, sock, sock, and devil take the hindmost!
 I had exjected Firpo to put up a better fight than many others had predicted. I never dreamed of any thing like that, though.
 know very well that I completely lost my bearings. Thrills came so hard and fast that there was no time for analysis. Right near me sat a veteran fight reporter. For an hour he had been pecking away .on a small portable typewriter. The fighter got up and swinging from his shoestrings flattened his opponent. Again and again this was repeated.
 Too Many Knockdowns To Count
 Some say there were seven distinct knockdowns. Others say more and others say less. I am of the opinion that nobody knows.
 As if raised by some force beneath us the whole crowd was suddenly lifted to its feet Two men landed on the reporter had his typewriter. In a second the typewriter, bent and twist ed, was hurled across the benches and beneath the ring. Men were walk ing on each others heads and should CTS. The seconds were yelling and bowling. @
 In what is the regular press box of the Polo Grounds we had seated number of extra newspaper men writers for whom there was no space immediately at the ringside. I hap pened to glance over that way.
 Climbed Screen Wire
 There Is wire screen in front of this regular press box. Even in the wild excitement had to laugh. Dozens of newspaper men-fellows who seldom show excitemen-had climbed up this wire screen. By their scratching, trying to get better hold.
 One friend of mine, regular box ing enthusiast who is lame, sat in an expensive seat few, rows from the ringside. He had no chance at all.
 "It was a great affair."" he told me part of the fight. When the big ex- citement started people crawled all over me. With my lame leg I couldn't compete with them. I simply sat there, helping to hold up the boys who had gone cuckoo. I always will regret not having seen that fight"
 There are some who insist to this day that Dempsey was pushed out of the ring. Others declare he was hit a terrific blow that actually lifted him off his feet and over the ropes. I am inclined to lean to the latter opinion, especially after my talk with Jack Dempsey. There is no doubt about Dempsey having been hit.
 Lifelong Argument
 For years to come I suppose the ar Dempsey got back into the ring him. self or whether he was assisted by newspaper men into whose laps he had fallen. The Firpo adherents now claim that Dempsey should have been disqualified because he didn't get back it up. don't know. Whats more I don't think anybody else knows. I do know that Dempsey scrambled back and immediately started seeking again. Dempsey himself has no clear idea as to how he got back. To him the rest of the fight was a blur, perhaps even the victory.
 have not Dempseys word for it. that he did not know he had won the fight until told about it in the dress ing-room-but I understand that a :ewspaperman was present when one of Dempsey's seconds remarked, pat ting the champion on the back:
 Boy, that was a fight!"
 The dazed champion is said to have asked his second: "NVho won?' According to the story, Dempsey had a kind of half-conscious feeling that the championship was slipping away, as he took that header out of the ring. It is said that he fought in- stinctively, and that he was still un- certain about things when it was all over.
 Proves Dempsey's Supremacy This I regard as the best evidence in the world that Jack Dempsey is the greatest fighting man of his size his tory has ever known. Not only is he clever fighter, but he is an instinc tive fighter. Even with his mind ir a blur he goes right on through the mechanical motions. He is a fighter al heart. Dempsey knows no such thing as being licked as long as he can move
 his arms and legs. He is real cham i pion.
 Yes, the thrill of the Firpo-Dempsey fight will last me as long as I live They mey fight a second time, but never expect to see anything again like that scene at the Polo Grounds thai summers night.
 Tomorrow, (concluding): Firpo And The Future.
 PROBASCO WINS BELLEAIR HEIGHTS, Fla, Feb. 19 Scott Probasco of Chattanooga, Tenn E the medal winner in the annual Wash. \ tngtonS birthday gold tournament here