Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-22

ductive business while Jack
johnson held the heavyweight
championship. The Negro be-
came a fugitive from justice or-as
somebody put it-from injustice. He
was wandering around through France
and Spain and the heavyweight title
was bringing neither johnson nor any
body else any income whatever.
It was not Tex Rickard who solved
this problem, but a theatrical producer,
who hired Jack Curley, the wrestling pro-
moter, as his front man. The treatrt-
cal man formed q little syndicate and
induced Jack johnson to fight Jess Will
lard, a Kansas farmer, at Havana,
johnson afterward confessed that he
laid down to Willard after being given
practically all of the gate receipts and
promise that his case would be
squared" Willard got the title and
no money. In addition the new cham
pion owned only about rs per cent OF
himself. He had to buy himself loose
from the syndicate.
Tex Rickard then started to come to
the front. He staged the Willard
Moran bout, the most expensive show
that was ever seen at Madison Square
sey. who lost to second-rate Negro
fighter on his first appearance In New
York, started to come into his own.
All of this time Rickard was con-
WINGED that Jess Willard was unbeat-
able. The dull-witted Willard was Of
the same opinion. When Rickarc
signed Willard and Dempsey for the
bout at Toledo on July 4, 1919, he wal
sure that it would turn out much after
the manner Of the Willard-Moran bout
Only One Dramatic Success.
1.-THE Dempsey Willard bout was &
i dramatic, but not a financial sue
cess. The gate receipts exceeded
any ever taken in before in the couli'
flower business, but have a notion tina
the gross was eaten into by political ex'
penSes. But it was the start OF tint
highly exaggerated purses.
While we were hanging around Toledo
during the training period Joe Null
vihill, called the Mad Halter OF Dan.
bury, Conn, spoke up on the porch o.
the Secor Hotel and observed, "One o.
these days there is going to be a million
dollar gate for priZefight." But no
body paid much attention to this pre-
diction. The experts felt that JOE
Mulvihill merely was trifle maddei
than most Of the matters OF Danbury
Conn.
But the prediction came to pass yer!
shortly. Rickard signed George Car
pentier of France to fight Dempsey. b
this time the promoter had hit hi
stride. 1t is time to look over th'
manner Of his financing Of these ven
| lures.
The moment Rickard signed this card
the advance orders started to pour In
He would take nothing but cash or GER
tined checks and the customers wer'
thrusting their money upon him. With
out advancing one cent Tex Rickard re
ceived enough to pay for the conStruc'
ton Of his arena at Boyles Thirty Acres
in Jersey City. and to pay his princi
pals their guarantees at least a weel
before the date set for the tight.
OF course If anything had happened
to either of the fighters before the bout
the promoter would have been forced
take the first boat to South America
But he took that chance and nothing a
all happened. The thing went on OF
schedule and the gate receipts were NOR
than 81 SOC, 0o0.
A FTER that the caulihower boon
| "A was on. Richard annexed Lui
Angel Firpo, called the Wild Bul
of the Pampas. With Firpo and Demp
| sey what turned out to be the mos
melodramic heavyweight championship
| fight of all time was staged at the Poll
| Grounds in New York. The result
| financially were just bit disappointing
The gate receipts were only tribe NOR
than a million dollars.
In the meantime, Richard, backed b.
group Of financiers, had built tn
| New Madison Square Garden. Madison
Square Garden stock was listed on tn
big exchange and Rickard could no
converse without talking in millions.
Gene Tunney, a clerk, who had com
back from the A. E. F. to find no job
started to take up prizefghting witt
the set intention Of making a FORUM
out Of this new and lucrative cauli
flower industry. He set about 1t cold
| bloodedly and in determined fashion
His destiny pointed the way.
BY this time Dempsey and RickarC
we're partners in fact, If not by law
! Opposition to a Dempsey Tunney hgh
/ drove this one to Philadelphia. Thi
! turned out to be a break for Richard
! for the bout drew close to $4,000 900.
But to the establishment of Richard
Gene T1lnney won. Richard though
that he had no more chanc'
than Carpenter. He told me so. Tht
was awkward. Richard had. in Tunney
a different type of prizehghter will
which to deal, young man who wa
level-headed, good business man ant
with no illusions whatever concerning
the fight racket. This was somewhat
diSconcerting to the frenzied financiel
of the Gilded Age of Prizehghting.
The Climax Is Reached.
TT seems strange now to recall tina
i the result of the first Tunney-Demp
sey fight caused nothing but in
credulity. These thousands had seer
Tunney outgeneral and Outright Demp
sey, beating him thoroughly. But the!