The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1927-09-13
RICHARDS RISE
IS ASTOUNDING;
FORTUNE
Terry McGovern Once Re-
fused 10 Fight Under Man
agement Of Fistic Gear
STARTED IN NEVADA
First Fight Melted Only Few
1hOusand-NOw Tex Is
Worth Millions
BY JIMMY POWERS

ID wv ENS
New York. Sept. 13.-Twcnty years
ago this fall two men sat across from
each other in the back room of a
saloon and laughed their heads off at
little slip of yellow paper that day
before them.
One man had = red face, bright
blue eyes and a diamond horseshoe
stickpin. The other was small with
an angular jaw and burning black
eyes. He looked like tough guy. He
was.
Pretty soon they stopped laughing
and began to dip their no:es into two
rather large schooncrs Of blue rib
bon beer.
That ended that.
Didn't Get Answer
Out in the mining town Of Gold
field, Nevada. George Richard waited
and waited for an answer to the tele-
gram he had sent to Joe HUMPHREYS,
the gentleman with the red face. and
Terrible Terry McGovcrn, the gentle
man who looked like a rather tough
guy.
He offered them $4,000 win. lose
or draw. That's what caused all the
laughter. They thought it was silly
They had never heard Of $4,000 for
a bout. They had never heard Of
George Richard. They had never
even heard Of Goldficld, Nevada.
Failing to get an answer, Richard
signed up Joe Cans and Battling
Nelson. piled their entire purse in
gold coins in his saloon window--and
boxing history began.
% uross over s2,5OO.OO0
On the I'D night of this month
Tex (they don't call him George
any more) Richard will stage a box
ing bout that is expected to gross
more than $2,5OO,OO
It will be the largest boxing bout
ever held. 1t will sell countless ex-
tras on Americas street corners
revcrberatc out of million loud
speakers, and, taken BY and large
considerably hog the nations spot
light for the moment.
Goldfield, as you may have guessed
has Skinned back some since 1906. But
Richard has come on.
"How much money have you taken
in from fans in the course Of your
life?' we asked him.
"Closc to 20 Million" he said. flick
ing the ashes from his cigar-rathel
proudly, we thought.
"Othcr interests? Valve got
about $1,O0O,OOO stock ~ the Garden
Che never gives it the formal title
Madison Square). | guess I'm prcsi
dent Of the Richard Oil Co. And
still got hankcring to. NEEDLE
around with CATTLE"
Tex came by his nickname honestly
He has no cabaret tan.
Knows Cattle Business
He came out of Kansas City il
1890 to 60 to Texas, where he learned
cattle from the bottom up. His frs
year was failure. Before he left il
1895 he was mild but mot roar
in" success"
He never forgot how to ride or US,
lariat. He went from Texas Il
Point Barrow and Nome in Alask;
during the gold rush in 1896. Their,
he ran the Great Northern Hotel;
hangout for miners. gamblers an,
those lads who liked snort or tw,
Of good whisky.
Tex tried to do an Atlantic & Pa
cific tea store business with hi
1Iedt NVICuGIH gin WlIIS 0H'
branched out, of all places, in Gold
field. Nevada.
Then came the idea Of shakin
down the miners who were lousy wit
pay dirt. He staged the Johnson
Jctfries fight and refereed it him
self because there was such battl
royal about all Of the other cand
dates"
He went to the Argentine. The wa
helped him make profit on his cat
| tie business there. He came bac
and staged the Moran w lizard bou
then the Dempsey Willard bout an
from then on his career is mostly a
open book.
"What do you think Of this one
We asked him.
Il never" he said, his decp-s'
eyes widening in wonder, Il new.
seed anything like it. Why. we sol
81 100000 worth of seats before II
fans even knew where they were L
Gated. It's great racket, my boy
a great racket"