The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-01-10
TALKING
IT OVER
WITH JOE WILLIAMS

Il Il ~ V I'm
WITH JOE WILLIAMS
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RTEw YORK, Jan. 1O.-As Tel
IN Richards body moved into The
grave the spotlight of public stten'
ton. which in life he manipulated
So smoothly and adroitly, picked
out one Of his fighting men anc
held him up against a new anc
strange background. 1t showed
Dempsey the savage as Dempsey the
sentimentalist.
To his intimates this was not
rev picture. But TO the out
side world il was. The Killer
the man Mauler 80. . The Jungle
Beast These lurid lines have
built up such an atmosphere OF
professional cruelty around the
former champion that it is not
easy TO associate the qualities OF
tenderness and sorrow with him.
II II
THERE IS THE MEMORY OF HIM IN
HIS FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT AT
TOLEDO. NO TIGER EVER WENT AFTER
HIS PREY WITH MORE MURDER IN HIS
HEART THAN DEMPSEY DID AFTER
THE wADDLING WILLARD.
n r
THERE is the memory of him
L over in Jersey City in the fight
against the understood Carpenter
Richard had asked him to 60 easy
and carry the Frenchman along for
a couple of rounds to give the
customers a show In the second
round Carpenter hit Dempsey and
It shook him up a little. Fire came
into Dempsey's eyes and thunder
clouds rolled across his swarthy
face. six minutes later they we're
scraping the Frenchman'S PROSTATE
form of the canvas.
II
There is the memory of the
Firpo fight, the most dramatic
aght Richard ever staged and the
NEST dramatic fight Dempsey ever
fought. The champion had been
knocked out Of the ring in the
first round. In the next round he
came back and battered Firpo to
the floor.
BY THE RULES OF THE RING AND OF
FAIR PLAY DEMPSEY SHOULD HAVE
sTEpPED BACK AND GIVEN HIS
STRICKEN FOE A CHANCE TO RISE.
BUT HF DIDN'T WHAT DO ANIMAL
MEN KNOW OF RULES AND ETHICS?
THE hot breath of battle scared
i his lungs. He stood immedi-
ately over Firpo, both hands poised,
like spears. for the kill. and the in
slant Firpo lifted his knee and
hands from the canvas, both OF
Dempsey's gloves exploded in his
face. And so goes the history Of his
whole ring career. The raw ele-
ments of drama completely fill the
stage. There is no contrast to the
picture, no touch of softness or
sentiment.
Wait. Yes, there is one. That
night in Philadelphia. The gong
sounds ending the tenth and last
round. Tunney has bea1-7 him
and won the heavyweight cham
pionship. Dempsey is in severe
physical distress. One eye is
closed tight. The other is little
more than a slit.
DEMPSEY GROPEs HIS WAY TO HIS
CORNER. GENE NORMILE. JERRY THE
GREEK AND JACK O'BRIEN. HIS HAN
oilers, MEET HIM HALF WAY. TO
NORMmE. DEMPSEY SAYS: LEAD Me
OVER THERE TO HIM. GENE, 1 WANT
10 SHAKE HIS HAND
=
HAS the ring ever known more
H graceful gesture? 1 doubt it
But this was an incident that
stressed more the mans capacity fol
losing without a whine or whimpel
than any possession of any great
amount of tenderness. To the moi
he still remained the killer. the
man mauler. e.. the jungle beast
Conceivably a man could be one Oh
all three and still be a good loser
1t remained for the death Of
Richard to bring to public nOtict
the other side of the fighting
man, his deep emotions and ire
mendOus sympathies.
n
II HAD GROWN TO LOVE TEX LIKE
A DAD" WHEN DEMPSEY SAID THAT
lie WAS NOT A HARDENED VETERAN
OF COUNTLESS FIGHTS TALKING: He
WAS A GRIEF STRICKEN BOY WHO
HAD LOST SOMETHING THAT HAL
GROWN INTO A PRICELESS POSSES
SION AND THAT HE HAD LOST THIS
SOMETHING WITH SUCH sUDDENNESs
AND MYSTERY LEFT HIM BEWILDERED
DAzED, WONDERING.
60 AS Richards body is handed
- back to the gods and the sports
world bows its head, new note Of
admiration is sounded for Demp-
sey.
HARRY RUBENS WINS
Harry Rubens defeated Lei
OtCApppl- IN m AG in a,, avciti,,s