Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-12
ODDS ON AMERICAN
SHORTEN TO I TO )
rs, 900 Crowd and $4,000
Gate Forecast for Title
Contest Tonight.
BY ALAN GOULD,
Associated Press Sports Editor.

n EW YORK, June 1Z-Llttle
OF New York was again
the big fight town today
with its rush and roar as
the background for a world
heavyweight championship match
between the youthful German
from Hamburg and the hope OF
the homebredS, a Lithuanian
American from Boston.
Tonight, some AS minutes from
Broadway, where the old-timers bel
lowed defiance at each other, Jack
Sharkey and Max Schmeling swap
punches for Is rounds or less, each seek
ing the same object-recognition as the
heavyweight king and successor to the
retired ruler, Gene Tunney.
At the ringside, perhaps in evening
clothes, Gentleman Gene was expected
to see the new Monarch OF Maui
crowned to restore once again the line
that has seldom been broken since John
L. Sullivan became the first world-rec-
ognized king of glove-1ghters.
Throng to View Battle.
With fair weather assured, close tc
$4,000 spectators, featuring a notable
ringside assembly are figured to pay
something like $750,000 in the interests
of charity and for the privilege of see
ing a fresh chapter unfold in heavy
weight history.
The scenes, the times and the glad
iators in this fistic extravaganza, pro-
NOTED by q corporation whose directors
are millionaires, and whose stock is sole
in Wall street, represent far cry from
the June night at Coney Island, 81
years ago, when James j. Jeffries wor
the heavyweight title from freckled Boz
FitzsimmonS before crowd of 10000.
On that memorable occasion, the chic
of police was at the ringSide to stop tint
bout after the first hard blow but hi
said everything was AL right" aftel
JeffrieS then a 22-year-old kid, knocked
| out the veteran FitzsimmonS in the
eleventh round.
In the spacious American League
ball park tonight seven times as many
people as witnessed the Jeffries-Fitz-
simmons encounter hope to see many
a hard blow" struck in return for theil
devotion to the box ONCE to the extent
of paying from $2.10 to $26.25 or more
at the SPECTATORS price, for a seat.
Nothing New for Gotham.
Little OF New York has seen, ap'
praised cheered and even booed the
| heavyweight champions from ancient Il
modern ring times. FitZsimmonS, JET
fries, Corbett, Willard, Dempsey anc
Tunney all have fought in the big towr
for the most priced of all fiStic titles.
Tonight'S was the eighth heavy
weight championship affair brought x
some corner of the metropolitan acreage
It was the first, however, to involve two
contenders for the title, vacated TIVE
years ago by Tunney. Its only parable
in ring history since Sullivan's era wa!
the fight in Sydney. Australia, In 1913
when Jack johnson whipped Tommy
Burns for the crown cast aside by JEFF
| fries.
Sharkey ruled the favorite to beat
| back the challenge of his youthful Ger
man antagonist, keep the line Of title
| succession in the United States anc
| climax his own eTratic f1stic career witt
a. victory. The .ex-sailor fumbled hi:
| two previous chances, in 1927 and 1923
| to battle his way into the championship
spotlight Temperamental and uncer'
tain though he has been, the ma1orit!
of experts pick Sharkey to win. The
gamblers backed him at odds prunee
! from to down to z to 5.
Jack Has Big Assets.
Boxing skill and experience were OF
Sharkey's side, with a vicious punch Il
support them. Courage, ambition and al
| equally dangerous WdllOp were JIlc AldAA
assets of Schmeling. Both possessed
the stamina for a hard fight, II neceS
sary, to the limit of is rounds, with 1
referee and two judges to cast the fna
verdict.
The Sharkey Of four or five years ago
when he was Scrapping courageous!
for heavyweight recognition against an!
and all foemen, would have gone int
the big test an even bigger favorite thar
he has been. Sharkey fought then fol
his living-for i'm and 'er and 1t" a:
| Kipling phrased the situation. To-day
Sharkey was spurred on by ambition t.
reach the goal previously denied him
| but with wealth and even social posi-
ton already in his possession, it seemed
that some of the old vital urge wa
missing.
Youth and its compelling forces wer'
on Something's side this time. In tina
reversal of the situation, in the door
| bust spirit Of the under dog, many o.
the experts foresaw the Germans beS
chance Of triumph. They envisioned MAJ
| in the same position as Dempsey a.
Toledo, as Tunney at Philadelphia
| fighting against odds, but also with ar
excellent fighting chance.
Represents New Germany.
Moreover, Schmeling represents the
| new Germany. he Is the IlTSC 1euCOl
| to challenge for the heavyweight cham
pionship and typical of the youthful
generation that has figured in Germany:
athletic come back. one of the most re-
markable in history. They have labeled
him the German Dempsey" largely
upon physical resemblance. But he
needed the old ManasSa Mauler's ag.
gressive courage and punch tonight II
gain a fiStic footing on the heights oc.
cupied for so long by Dempsey
Fight fans, to whom a heavyweight
title affair is ritual not to be missed
have fiocked to New York from all parts
of the land as we'll as from overseas.
The eyewitnesses were numbered In
| thousands, but the "earwitnesSes" fig
ured to run we'll up into the millions
with a national newtork broadcastine
the blow-by blow details from the ring
side. On short wave lengths the ring
side story also was to be broadcast to
Europe and South America, with The
chances that Australia and the Orient
might be able to tune in. More than
500 newspaper men were assembled to
peer intently at the proceedings and
contribute a few million words to the
descriptive output.
| The fight preliminaries were billed to
begin around pm. eastern standard
time) and the main bout at 8 pm.