Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-29

But he is a gate-craSher no longer.
After 81 years of riding the bump
ers. cumming my meals and clothes,
pOstponing some meals and missing
plenty of others, / have quit the game
and got myself a real, honest togood-
ness and permanent job said Con-
molly today. TIN through with gate
crashing and hoboing.
Orphan at Nine.
Connolly is 80 years of age, the son
OF Irish born parents. He was born at
Lowell. Mass. and was an orphan at
9 years Of age.
/ II have been hustling for myself
since | was g." says Connolly. Il SOLD
paperS and ran errandS until | was 10,
sind then decided to become a prize
fighter I fought in the ring for TOUR
years and won most of my $50 battles
] was going along nicely toward a
championship when / lost my eye. The
, lace of a glove loosened during a
fight. and 1t snapped back and de-
stroved nv left eye. / had to quit
then. but I had the boxing bug, so l
started to hang around training
Annns. and as / was broke L COM
inenced gate-crashing.'
Connolly'S first big venture IN the
gate crashing line was at the Jim
Corbett- Bob Fitzsimmons fight at
Carson City 20 years ago.
Went i'm Behind Brick.
4 big sign at the entrance read,
spree list entirely suspended. CON
molly heaved in a brick to which was
attached note to 'Parson' Dawes
the promoter.
Let him in" said Davies to the
n
the next brick and come in over your
senseless body"
Here are some of Connolly'S more
famous gate crashing stunts:
The first Jack Dempsey-Jim Flynn
Gght at Murray. Utah-Connolly.
bearing pail and towel, came in i'm
personating a Flynn second.
In the second fight at Pueblo,
Colo, when Dempsey knocked Flynn
kicking with the first punch, Con-
molly came in as a guest.
The Abe Attell-Johnny Kilbane
fight at Vernon, Calif.-rushed in
with handful of ''phoney" tele-
grams bearing names of we'll known
sporting writer's at the ringside.
Went in Going Out.
Johnny Coulon-Kid Williams ban
tam championship fight at Vernon,
Calif-backed in during a crush at
the gates and allowed himself to be
rushed inside while yelling, "let me
out: mother is dying" and apparent
ly fighting to get out.
DempSey-FirpO fight at New York
walked by the gate carrying steam
er trunk which, he said, contained
extra tickets from Madison Square
Gardens Cshers grabbed the trunk
to carry it to the office, while Con-
molly raced for the ringside.
Dempsey Gibbons fight at Shelby,
Mont.-drove up in an expensive car,
hoisted out a block of ice, yelled,
"gangway," and raced Importantly to
the gate. ''Ice for the newspaper
boys" he shouted, gave the ice slide
down the aisle and rode it down the
aisle to the ringside. Then he made
a cushion of his coat and had the only
cool seat in the place.
Dempsey Carpenter fight at Boyle'S
Thirty Acres. Jersey CitV-SnOtted and
thrown out IL times. Finally made 1t
bearing sandwiches and pie. Tor the
newspaper men," Once by the gate.
he ate the lunch.
Connolly proudly wears ring which
"Red" Grange. the foot ball star, gave
him for crashing his gate at Miami
last Winter.
THAT was the last gate l crashed,
said Connolly.
The next | crash | hope will be the
pearly gates where st. Peter takes the
ducats. But I'll have to pull good
one to get by st. Peter. He's used To
phoneyS."