Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-07
BY TEX RICHARD
TN collaboration with Bozeman Bulger)

"A get another big attraction when
4 4 you have put over the flrst one
successfully.
The concluding arrangements for the
Dempsey Carpenter fight were not
nearly so difficult as some Of the earlier
championship affairs. The main thing
required was patience. I felt reasonably
certain that I sooner or later would
have the famous Frenchman in Amer
lea. My patience was never exhausted,
and it was certainly well rewarded.
The mere fact of the long delay in
getting that fight gave it all the more
publicity.
In the minds of many, including my
self, there was doubt of Carpenter
being a good match for Dempsey. Just
the same. knew the people wanted to
pee that fight. The international flavor
overshadowed any possible unevenness
When it finally became possible for
Carpenter to leave France after the
war, the rest was easy. There was little
difficulty in arriving at terms. Demp-
sey signed to fight for 100000 and
Carpenter for 100000.
Can you imagine how such figures
would have startled old John L. Sullivan
in his palmy days! Two men fighting
for purse of half million dollars was
undreamed Of then.
Had to Build Arena.
The money to be paid the fighters
was a secondary consideration. The
only thing to cause me worry or anxiety
was the erection of an arena large
enough to hold the crowd. There was
no doubt In my mind that We had to
have an arena. To have held a fight
like that in an enclosed building would
have meant the loss of color, of flavor
There was no ball park or other out
side place properly arranged to hold
such fight. Obviously there was but
one thing to do.
I had to use all my experience in
building bigger and better arena and
at the same time, locate it in a spot
where the greatest number of people
could reach it without too much in
convenience. There was never a ques-
ton in my mind that the scene should
be somewhere in the vicinity of Greater
New York. New Jersey allowed fights
Of that nature. I turned my attention
that way.
These calculations and subsequent ex-,
nlorations led me to the spot in Jersey
City known as Boyle'S Thirty Acres.
Every move We made brought new spurtS
OF publicity. The fight market was
absolutely glutted with free advertising.
All this time, though, I WAS very
eaindful of the fact that every move I
made had to be worthy of the publicity.
In other words, there must be no slip.
1t was up to me to run this affair sue
eeSsfully and not disappoint the public
Our arrangements for handling the
vast crowd had to be perfect. We
worked on that problem for weeks The
police OF Jersey City regarded the
matter with deep interest and growing
pride. Their help was invaluable.
All Details Perfected.
doubt if the public to this day fully
realizes the perfection with which those
details were carried out. Every man on
his job seemed to take pride in his
work. The result was astonishing We
handled nearly 100000 excited people
that historic afternoon in Jersey City,
and there was not one accident. It was
not necessary to make an arrest. This
very remarkable state of affairs was
Cue mostly to the splendid policing and
handling of the crowds given by Mayor
Hague and his officials of Jersey City,
who planned and executed wonderfully.
The thing that caused me the great
est anxiety and apprehension was the
possibility of rain. You can readily Wis
ualize what might have happened had a
downpour of rain set in after that great
throng had bsen seated Of course, If it
had rained a few hours in advance we
could have postponed the fight. The
thing I wanted to avoid, and the thing
that I sometimes feared, was a panic
due to sudden weather change.
/ don't know If ! was born under a
lucky star, but the fact remains that
have had the greatest good fortune in
the world in my big ventures when it
comes to weather.
The details of all these arrange
ments were told over and over again
In the daily papers until I feel that
the average boxing fan as well as the
6tay-at-homes are thoroughly familiar
with them. Suffice it to say that when
the sun broke clear that morning OF
July Q many millstoneS were lifted from
my shoulders. Nobody ever got great
er thrill than I did out Of that day Of
good weather.
AS these arrangements went on-be-
fore they really got under way in fact
Carpenter and his encourage, in
Guiding DeScamps, his manager, ar
rived from Europe and went into train
ing at Manhasset, N. Y.
The Dempsey outfit went into train
ing at Atlantic City.
T. Plenty Press Copy.
w. These camps had to be watched, as
NC1 do b11C WOAA 6OAIlS OH dt 6OykG
Thirty Acres. No hands were ever
fuller than mine. The press work took
care of itself. Hundreds of newspaper
men were in New York eager to elab-
crate the slightest incident into read
able story.
AS I expected the arrival of Carpen-
tier added all the fuel We needed to fire
the publicity. Descamps was almost as
good for newspaper copy as the French
champion himself. DescampS was q
Snowman by profession, even before he
got into the fight game.
Writers were quick to start legends
about the fussy little manager and to
relate stories of the war records OF
Carpenter. Anything that smacked Of
romance was eagerly sought by readers
This 10-strike in publicity was greater
than all the gold strikes in Alaska put
together.
For instance, it was related how
Descamps, a wandering Snowman, deal.
ing in hypnotism and legerdemain. hac
given a performance around Lens, the
mining section whence Carpenter came
He took rabbits out of hats, hypnot1zec
subjects in the audience and so on
Finally he wound up with a boxing ex
11ibition, being a very clever boxer him
self. He had long been a trainer o.
athletes. The boy Carpenter saw
Descamps' show and wanted to box
He got his chance. DeScampS saw
future for him. The slender boy Tough
his way right to the top. through al
the different classes as he grew heav
Ter So successful was he that Descamp'
never took another rabbit out of hat
Now. wasn't that sort Of publicit.