The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1928-11-20
JACK Tells
ABOUT HIS
NAME
By Jack Dempsey

+ y 54st
FORMER HsavyweisIst CKlaunpion - I'M
Nv older brother, Bernard,
was ) ringman before my
time. But Bernie didn't have
an awfuIly solid whisker de-
partment, the boys kept on
banging him there and Bernie
finally decided to quit. Just
about the time I was making
what they call % debut.
NV act 81 stepping into Berniesa
boots Just when did enabled 1eW
Fellows 6 make betting ssclean-
I1pD Of around $1,000 which - just
chewing gum money THESE days
but It was large cash in that
particular era.
Bernie took the name Of Jack
Dempsey when he started doing
fIfs ffe1ft STUFF in and around Salt
Lake. Al few years later BE-
gan doing some fighting, too, but
most Of e In mining camps where
the crowd either called me VIII
lie" Dempsey, or Harry Dempsey
because my real name Is William
Harrison Dempsey.
when Bernie felt he had
about MI the ring stuff ne
cared about, and told me he
was going 70 quit the racket,
he said. Go ahead and use the
name Of Jack Dempsey. TIN
give Won prestige"
+ 80
s.AIl right / said. And that's
how / became Jack Dempsey.
Not 30 long after that was Of
fered q chance to fight In Cripple
Creek, Col. against q fellow named
George CopeIin. Bernie went along
with me- to act as my Sc ma
What little training ! had-a haircut
and two shaves-was done in Vic.
tor, Col. As I've said, Bernie
wasn't so good at standing up when
he was c1outed with vim, gusto and
q pair OF huge fists. The boys
around Cripple Creek knew that.
They knew also that CopeIir was
q considerable person when It came
to lathering with q fast and vicious
attack. So when they heard Jack
Dempsey viii meet Copelin" they
LAO4kIALs W6d 0CA1A4G sNAA0 yNeA0 50
ing to be in there against CopeIin.
Therefore. they offered to / that
ttCopelin win knock out Dempsey"
The insiders took the short end.
Not until fight time did the out
siders know that ] was the Jack
Dempsey who was to do the fight.
ing. They saw Bernie working out
with me one day, they knew that
he had fought under Jack Demp-
sey'' name and figured, OF course,
he was to be the athlete,
When climbed into the ring In
fighting toys and was introduced
as Jack Dempsey" and when Ber-
ME Jumped in after me wearing q
seconds regalia-well, the boys
knew something had gone wrong
The crowd looked on IN
puzzlement, trying to make heads
or tails out of 1t, and / finally got
to wondering what all this straight
attitude Of theirs was about.
II didn't occur TO me then
that the crowd was i'm ignorance
up to that moment that / was
Jack Dempsey of that pArticu.
lar evening: 4 didn't know they
thought that Bernie was to be
the gladiator until Bernie
smarted me up as 1 set in my
corner and asked him the why's
and wherefOres.
The fellows who had bet on Cope
lin thinking they were betting
against Bernie were sort OF
trapped" But the point was they
didn't worry bit about it. / was
an unknown kid to them, Copelin
weighed about ITS to my 155 and
they decided the fellows who had
bet on Jack Dempsey were the real
boobs.
So they rushed around, while the
referee was issuing instructions and
also during the entire first round
trying to double their bets against
me. They concluded Copelin had
a softer job with me than he would
have had against the more expert.
enced Bernard Dempsey.
Now, here's the funnier angle.
The insiders" who had bet on me
before they saw me, folded up" as
soon as they got look at me in
that ring. They expected I'd be
some rugged powerful fellow, meas
uring up to Copelin in size. But
in those days l was quite thin, in
comparison with my height, and I
can't say I looked as If l. could
take the kind of hammering that
Copelin was used to dealing out.
So the boys who bet on me with:
out seeing me, just stopped betting
on me when they did see me and
the odds were 3 to 1 that Copelin
would win-and there twere no TAX
ers-as the second round began.
1 used to try to flatten the ath-
letes with one punch, in those days.
1 tried it for six rounds with Cope
lin, but didn't have much luck. He
was a smart fighter to the extent
that he managed to keep out of my
way most of the time for six rounds:
But in the seventh / popped him
and that was the end Of the fight.
Also it was my first real intrcduc-
ton to the fighting crowds as Jack
Dempsey" although for long time
the natives in Colorado.
Nevada and Utah kept confusing
me with Bernard.
Copyright 1928, by King Features
Syndicate, Inc)
VRE0-n "a PRmH0