The Washington times., 1929-01-24

r. i Il L
a character and a mental ca
ordinary pngilist, be he palook
The point Il that Tnnney lacked.
in personal appeal. he WAS too cold,
too alo0f, too seIf-centered to tit into
the Ttickard scheme OF baliyho@ And
since il was Impossible 10 make
Tunney over. Tex had TO revive his
entire scheme of baIlyhoo. And he
did IT. which perhaps Is another
tribute to the ability Of the'man who
all through his life faced new prob.
lens and met them successfully.
Two things Tunney had in his
favor One was his war record. The
Fighting Marine was an alluring
nom de guerre. savOring Of burning
powder and the crashing Of big guns.
Rickard was prompt to take adyan.
tage Of 1t.
The other point IN Tunney's
favor was the very alOOfness
which Rickagl resented. Here
was something new IN pugiiistie
character, and boxing writer's,
themselves puzzled over the
enigma which was Gene Tnnney,
were prompt To convey their ian
pressiOns to tile public mind.
Tunney wasn't popular. His air Of
superiority chafed. even as II aston.
iahed, His apparent desire to avoid
contact with the fight mob was re-
senbed But Il was all grist for the
mill Of ballyhoo.
In this story, which deals not so
much with the pugilistic details as
with the influences and events which
welded the character of the man
Richard, ii Is interesting to note. too,
that Tunney, by his very aloofness.
whetted the interest and attracted
the attention OF the mice people
whom Rickard hoped to draw. Into
the ring TuHney brought some OF
that air OF "weII-bred being" which
Tex had hoped to instili into the
ringside seats alongside.
And the very fact that these two
men, Dempsey and Tunney, so oppo-
site In thought, in action. in outlook
and in manner, were to battle for the
greatest plum in pugilisIn had its
effect, too.
Tex Rickard never figured, that
Tunney would depose Dempsey and
grab the championship Somehow
his usual far-seel1ing mind failed to
grasp the fact that Dempsey, the
fighter, couldn't so on forever.
Dempsey meant so much to him that
he refused to see the handwriting on
the wall. As the plans for the battle
OF the Sesuui-C Centennial went on
apace, Rickard was almost childish
in his Dempsey confidence.
And then Fate gave him slap In
the face.
Perhaps Rickard got his first
forenoding Of disaster when heavy
gray clouds gathered over the arena
the day before the fight. Rickard
luck that had lasted through SO
many years suddenly seemed TO de
sert him.
Added 10 that was the anxiety oi
the moment when announcement
was made that Tunney was fiyins
to the scene of battle. A fooIhardy
risky stunt, and Rickard knew Ii
For the first time in his long series
of promotions Rickard was nervous
and distranght. For the first tins
he permitted nerves to get the bet
ter of will.power as he waited
anxiously for the first sign of tht
plane that would bring the chal
lenger to the scene.
That &c arrived safely was
only Incidental. The point was
that there ia philadelphia, watt
ing In the drixxliIIg rain for the
advent OF tlle championships
Richard had his first real fore
b0ding az disaster. For the first
time Richard luck had turned.
The biggest crowd in. pugulistit
history to date crowded the great
stadium at Plliladelphia that night
Into the pouring rain came the
thousands on thousands yapins
their tribute at the altar OF ballyhoo
| And there in the anti-climax OF :
sodden rain spattered man who was
Dempsey. passed from the cham
| pionship into the rank and file oi
| also rams.
| The impossible had come to pass
the unexpected had happened. a
new character and new force has
stepped into pugulistic dominance
The old order had gone,
Tex RickRrd that night was 9
| disappointed nan--suffering more
keenly. perhaps, than ever before Ii
a life time frought with disappoint
ments Opportunist that he was
he was quick to congratulate this
winner and equally quick to las
! plans for a mutual future-but hts
heart wasn't in the congratulations
His real heart was there in tht
hotel room with Dempsey, the
beaten.
Deep in his heart Tex Rickard be
lieved that the Tunney victory was
a fluke. Deep in his heart he cher
ished the belief that Jack Dempses
was still the real champion--anI
that another test would bring bacI
the Dempsey banner to the ascend
ancy for which he hoped. And hC
held fast to the belief to the finish
Continued Tomorrow
/ nAWNp0ET G0T ri ENTITY,