Evening star., 1927-12-04
The Fam Gus
Kid LaUigne's
Memoirs Of
a Savage =
Ring
Ry GEORGE (KID, IAyIGNE.

Former lightweight champion OF the word
whose Victories included :%S fs
nous champion. Dick Burge.
CAS- told to z. P. Rucker)
(Copyright 1927 in all countries by North
American Newspaper Alliance
~ HIRTY years after Frank Erne
and Old Man Booze two-timed
me out Of the world light
weight championship, J.,
George (kid) Lavigne. night
watchman at the Ford plant. Detroit,
find myself wondering what's the
matter with the lightweight division
today.
since Benny Leonard took the air,
what man in his class can he named
along with the little men OF gen.
Grafton ago?
Already hear snoans OF there
goes another hss-b@sn batting about
the days of real fighters.
Well. I've got a lot on my chest'
and I'm bound 10 work 1t OF.
Often as go my rounds, nashhght
I'M hand, l recall the savage Dattles
and the crafty two-fisted warriors OF
my day, and i say TO myself, hlu'
you lived too soon. What II you u
had Sammy Mandell Or Rocky Nan
co. cid Terris or Ruby Goldstein to
hght?' 49,. eah+
came Doubt that something is wrong
with the lightweight class today! .
Then let him try to picture any OF
+besa two -steppers in the same ring
with Jack McAuliffe or Joe Waicot.'
"Cocknev Jimmy" Carroll or Mys-
terious Billy" Smith.
A Draw In 73 Rounds.
Consider Jim Carney for mo-
ment: I mention him particularly De
cause he is the least known toosy'
Ia and lack McAuliffe fought des-
nerate battle for 73 rounds to draw
Carney was a ring marvel, ana theis
isn't a lightweight today VINO coulo
warm him to a sweat. .1,-
Sometimes try to imagine Coch
new Jimmy" Carroll, wonderiul rIns
ster of those times, pelhs oosN
|. a against one of our present-oay ten
round lads. Carroll came over - -
London and fought all tne LEI, ns
weights in this country. 5e ''ndS ]
,nst tn McAuliffe in forty-odd fouhus'
what dog fight that was. ana
+ha way. il was the first ring
.cr.n DS in which fighter DISCARDED
i"rp trunks. UP to then they had az
wavs fought in full-length tights; NC
AuI;ffe was finding the going marc
carroll had everything-speed' Skill
nunch stamina, cool head ana
p,,icI eve. McAuliffes legs were dy'
no under him. Jack Dempsey, the
original Nonpariel, was McAuhne =. 3 >
chief second. About the twenty,nI,n
round Dempsey whipped out knle
and cut off McAuliffe's tights just pe-
low the hips. ,... ;,,'
short time later Jim Corbett IN
troduced the short trunks nsh'ers
now wear in the ring.
But I'm getting of my supJect'
Wolgast Had Everything.
A later date saw other great
| ,jp phtweights. Joe Cans, Battling Mel
, son and Ad Wolgast. Wolgast prop
ably was the best of these three. re
was q trifie hot-headed, but otherwise
| he had everything for true greatness
Nelson was tough fellow, but no'
the hitter Wolgast was.
in the days when 1 was nghtlns
there were lightweights of champion
| shin class scattered all over the coun
try. Almost any large city ana some
small ones boasted fast and tough III
{ tie men dangerous to any tltle'noioer
/ New Orleans had Jack Everhardt aho
Andy Bowen. Either would be cham
pion today
My own road to the top was long
and painful. From the days or my
| first glove experience with my elder
brother Billy. to the time became
133-pound champion the lightweight
limit then was 1873 pounds) l did more
actual fighting, gave and took more
punishment than q dozen champions
of the present would in the same
time.
was born So years ago at Bay
City. Mich. of French Cen madam par
ents. My father was John Baptiste
Lavigne. My mother was born Agnes
Duford. They were both natives OF
d small place near Montreal.
At Bay City / attended the old Sec
ond Ward School until l was 10. when
| my parents moved to suburb OF
Saginaw and my mother opened q
boarding house.