Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-30
JEFFR|ESLEAD|NC
HEAVY, TEX HOLDS
Believes Jim Better Than Fitz
in Prime-Corbett Good
Business Man.
BY TEX RICHARD.


TN collaboration with BoZeman Bulger)
~ F all the former fighters-that
is, up to but not including
those Of today would select
~ them for the greatest in their
class like this:
Heavyweigh-Jim Jeffries.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Fitz-
simmons.
dleweight-Ketchel.
Lightweight-Joe Cans.
Observation-Disclosures Attell.
I never could keep up with the BAN
tamweights and paperweights, and so
on, long enough to have any personal
judgment on them.
It's very difficult to select a group
of the greatest fighters in their re-
spective classes, because many of them
fought in several classes. Take FitZ-
simmons for example. He was great
middleweight, a great lightheavy-
weight and great heavyweight. His
weight was practically the same in all
these classes, but that appeared to be
no handicap to him. He was a master
in them all
No greater fighter than Bob Fitz-
simmons ever lived. At the same time
don't believe he could have licked
Jeffries when both we're in their prime.
have purposely left Benny Leonard
out of my calculations. No man ever
held the lightweight crown with more
honor and pride than Leonard. He is
wonderful fellow personally I will
have to leave it to the fight fans to
decide whether they think Leonard
could have licked Cans when both
were in their prime.
All Of these men were great money
makers in their day, but, with the ex-
ception Of Jeffries, few were good bust
ness men.
Let me explain that there were other
great fighters of the old school, but /
cannot discuss them, because I never
saw them enough to be able to form
any opinion. l mention only those I
have seen fight.
have said that the champions I
have mentioned were not all good
business men. I often wonder If under
the present rate of pay they would
have been better.
Corbett Good Business Man.
Jim Corbett was one of the wise
boxers on finances. Corbett was very
quick to grasp the idea that fighters
money usually lasted a short while.
He therefore invested wisely, and in
addition drifted into the theatrical
business and did well.
In this connection it might be in
teresting to note from what sphere of
life most of the fighters came. In the
old days they came mostly from the
athletic clubs around Boston, New
York, New Orleans and San Francisco.
Beginning "a years ago. the United
States Navy took big hand in boxing.
I believe the battleshipS, gunboats, and
so on. have turned out a greater num-
Der OF fighters than any other source.
out real champions. Nearly every one
of them was just short of title caliber.
The first great fighter to graduate
from the Navy was Tom Sharkey, who
met such men as Corbett, Kid Mccoy
and Jeffries. Tom made lot of money.
The next was George La Blanche, who
knocked out the famous old Jack
Dempsey, the nonpareil. with his pivot
blow. Then came Sailor Burke, who,
by the way, was the first to knock out
Joe Grim. The name of Grim is still
used among fighters to denote man
who could take lot OF punishment.
The Navy also turned out two really
good lightweights in Paddy Ryan and
Tommy Downs. Then there were Lar
ny Prendergast and Billy Shevlin.
Probably the most famous of latter
day Navy fighters were Frank Moran
and Gunboat Smith. Moran was on
the Presidents yacht Mayfiower, from
which he was discharged to become
real professional. One could name a
dozen more mediocre Navy fighters.
Yes, guess Uncle Sans boats turned
out more fighters than any one source
Of supply,
I have Just mentioned Joe Grim.
There Is a good illustration of the
point I made early in this series of
articles that 1t Is more important to
select a fighter the public wants to see
than TO match them so the scrap will
be even. Joe Grim never could fight
much but he could stand more fight
ing than any man in the world.
Grim Took Punishment.
The very best of the fighters went
after Grim and hammered him all
around the ring, but they could not
knock him out. His presence in the
ring got to be joke among fight fans.
He became a favorite. They went to
see him regularly just to be present
when the first man knocked him out
He made considerable money by ap-
pearing solely as a punching bag.
I was at a billiard parlor and saw
two men playing and betting. One OF
tLl6Iu I1du IlO CIldLlCC dI oil, Dub dlOEI
every game he would insist on trying
again.
Huh" grunted a man next to me
ST don't know who that fellow is, but
I'd call him the Joe Grim of billiards
He is glutton for punishment"
In that way the words Joe Grim
have come to be a sort of synonym fol
persistency under punishment in any
sort of business.
At one time Leach Cross was un-
popular for some reason which nobody
ever seemed to understand. Crowds
would go to the fights just to see hin
knocked out But he wasn't knocked
out. So persistent and game were hi
efforts that Cross became just as popu
lar as he had formerly been unpopular
He became great drawing card. Leach
Gross really was very likable, sincer'
fellow. He made quite lot of money
1t was the followers of Leach Cros
who coined the famous phrase still
current in the fight game: BOX fight
ing is business"
In wandering into this discussion
have drifted from the story of my frs
appearance in New York as promoter
Copyright, 1929. by North American News
paper Alliance)
AExy I've