The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-01-07
- .
TALKING
1T OVER
wfTH ZOE WILLIAMS

ATEW IOfShy Jan. f.SP oAS-4
the Garden and in the roaring
forties where the man was king 1t
was hard to realize today that Tex
Rickard was dead, that all that re-
manned OF the most dominant inquire
boxing ever knew lay cold ard hie-
less in a darkened Pullman car
laundering eastward through the
FLORIDA palmlands, that the man,
whose promotional genius and dar-
ing made millionaires of dock hands,
had taken the fatal count.
q
There was a strange, hushed air ABOUT
the places where the fight mob-the
beady eyed managers. the spongy e@'eo
veterans and the wax-faced parasites
circulated. On the sidewalks, in Forty
ninth street. hard by the S6,oOO,OOo
byIidInr this tall. erect. picturesque
man from the Nevada gambling sheds
had constructed and which VIII steno
49, pubiic monument to his spectacular
activity in the sport, these members OF
n, mob stood In little knots, some In
puzzled tranee-like silence others
talking in low, sympathetic tones
"You can say what you want to
about him, but Tex wasn't a bad
guy" Dumb Dan Morgan said tnat.
Dumb Dan is one of the old line
fight managers. He operated back
in the days of Nelson and Wolgast
and was a little ahead Of RlckaroS
time in the east.
mo. old Tex wasn't bad guy at
all" repeated Dumb Dan and SOME
Thing that looked like faint spread
of early morning dew settled unoer
Dumb Dams eyes.
HIS COMMENT SEEMED TO REPRE-
SENT THE HONEST SENTIMENT or
MOST OF HIS FELLOW WORKERS in
The VINEYARDS OF THE RIGHT CROSS
AND THE LEFT HOOK.
n
TITO the men who write on the
subject Of prize fights for the
metropolitan dailies the promoters
death was confirmed in the eerie
quiet that hung over that part OF
the fourth floor in the GARDEN
building where from inside a spa
cious ONCE Rickard ruled the fight
world from Hells Gate to the Bat
terry.
Nav In and day out the newspaper
men would gather in this Office iaLe N
the afternoDs and talk with kieEara;
Tf was lined with chairs. Richard hkea
nponIe around him. This was one EVIL
denoe Of 1t.
TIE ROUTINE VERY SELDOM
VARIED. RICHARD SAT IN A SWIVEL
CHAIR WITH HIS BACK TO HIS DESK.
ALWAYS THERE WAS A PERFECTO
cTnIcgED BETWEEN HIS TEETH. ONLY
TWO OTHER MEN IN SPORTS EVER
SMOKED AS sTEADILY-PoP GEERS.
THE HARNESS HORSE DRIVER. AND
BARNEY oLDFIELD.
q - .
COMETIMES he would have nus
hat on and his cane in hand
With his cane he would trace the
uattern in the Office carpet as he
retold the romantic stories OF his
Younger days - when he banked
gambling games in the Yukon OF
the nights he spent behind dog
teams bounding over Alaska SHOWS,
Of his early days in New York, when
nerve was more abundant than
greenbacks, and he maintained a
suite at the Astor and ate at a
cheap beanery.
Richard liked to talk Of the old times.
Most maturing men do. But / always
though Richard was moved by differ
emit emotion He was essentially a SOL
der of fortune, and III always believe
that his greatest moments came to him
In those DAYS when he was an unknown
figure in the outIands of adventure and
drama.
NOT ALL OF THESE SESSIONS WITH
THE NEWSPAPER MEN WOULD BE DE-
VOTED TO DISCUSSIONS OF THE
SUBTLE SCIENCE OF BEAK BUSTING.
ONE OF THE LAST I DROPPED IN ON
FOUND RICHARD NAMING THE MEN
WHO HAD CONTRIBUTED THE MOST TO
CIVILIZATION IN HIS TIME; HE NONdI-
MATED EDISON BECAUSE OF THE
ELECTRIC LIGHT AND THE MOVIES
AND FORD BECAUSE OF THE MoDER-
ATE PRICED MOTOR CAR.
q
"THOSE sort of men are really
L great, because they make life
worth living" he philosophical.
Richard had just begun to live
when he died. For the first time in
his life he had arrived simultaneous
ly at a state Of mental contentment
and material riches. He was ready
10 quit. Only the promise from
Dempsey that he would fight again