The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-07-30

SITUATION is CndG
when Mr.. Rickard has bang-up
attraction the fact that it is to be
broadcast does not curtail enthu-
siasm at the box Office. The broad
cast did not hurt the Chicago tight
last year where the gate was ap-
proximately $2,9o0000, nor did II
hurt the fight the year before al
Philadelphia, where the gate missed
the two million total by a scant
margin.
These items would seem to lnd1-
cate that the important consid-
Grafton in respect to the box OIL
fee is not the broadcast so much
as the public interest in the attrac-
ton.
There was no doubt about the
pubIic interest in the Chicago and
philadelphia fights, and these
were sells outs. From the start
there was very little public in
terest in the Tunney-Heeney
fight and it was colossal flop.
r MEAN to say it was colossal
flop in comparison to the last
two championships. The gross was
$691 900. Those who are expert IN
such matters tell me the fight did
not figure to draw any more and
that instead of being tagged as
aon n should be viewed as nor
NAL success.
The trouble was that the over
head including a $525,00O guarantee
to the champion was all out OF
proportion to the financial posi-
bilities of the card Previously,
Tunney, unsupported by Dempsey,
had never drawn gate higher than
$4,000. This might have been IN
dicative of something.
Then there was Heeney, a chal-
lenger in whom the public had no
great faith as a possible victor, on
paper there was not even the prom
mise of hard or exciting fight.
The gambling boys in the street tell
me there was less betting on this
fight than on the Sharkey-Delaney
fight. Sordid as it may be, the bet
ting angle nevertheless has its pur-
pose. Usually it's a pretty accur-
ate gauge as to public interest In
this case the gauge registered zero.
Mr.. Richard appears to have
been guilty of Over-OptimiSm of
bad business judgment. But even
so, his wiZardy as promoter and
a ballyhoO artist was not dimmed
by the box office deficits. He got
almost 100000 for a fight no
other promoter could have sold to
the public for half as much.
TUNNEY was betrayed into a
Il false optimism also. He was
sure all along the fight would draw
much more than a million. / see
now that he blames the failure on
Richards lack of attention to the
promotional details.
It is no easier to agree with Tun-
ney in his analysis of the mystery
of the missing customers than with
the Rickard theory. 1t was my OBJ
servation that Mr.. Richard devoted
more energy and enterprise to the
business of steaming up interest in
this fight than in any other fight
he has held in years. He established
press agents at both camps, he took
train load of millionaires tc
Spectator and a boat load Of then
to Fair Haven.
In some strange, mysterious man
ner he contrived to create mount
ing impression that Tunney wa:
slipping and that Heeney would be
there at the end of the trail tt
catch him when he landed. Mr.
Rickard realizes of course that one
way to lure the customers is on the
promise that an old champion viii
be flattened.
No, Tunney is wrong when he
says Mr.. Richard did not throw
his whole heart and soul into the
promotion of this fight. He went
further. He threw in a special
train, a steam yacht and an air
plane. The public interest, to re-
peat, just wasn't there whether
Tunney or Mr.. Richard care to
admit it or not.
HODGES WINS SWIM