The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-03-05
TALKING
ITOvER
NEW YORK, March 5. - Tel
v ieYn what done IN phila-
BY Joe WILLIAMS

NEW YORK, March 5. - Tell
IN EN- what I done to Phila-
delphia Jack O'Brien--"
The origin of this gag line is not
wholly clear Harry Watson, a
vaudeville performer, used to use it
in his act, prize fight skit.
The WOW came when Mr.. Watson
added: But don't tell EN- what he
done to me"
Apparently It was simple trick to WOW
'em N those days.
back 70 BroaoVay the other night. He
came back as most 70 bunch OF his old
TRENDS; ! didn't catch lgst what inspired
~ felt ike stepping out again.
he Is one OF those amazingly young
looking OLD timers. Wen along IN the
and eager eyed. Another Jim Corbett,
both IN appearances ano vanity for con-
some fighters pay as much attention to
couQition after leaving the ring as they
oid during their active days. Mr.. O'Brien
IS one Oh them. Others promptly go to
sed. and in a short time become gro
Benny Leonard went from 1875 pounds to
heavier than he was when he was
bouncing left .iabs of the beaks Of oppos-
Ing hgntweights. Tommy Burns was a
contemporary Of Mr.. OBrien. To look at
the two today you would never believe
they once we're ring rivals. Burns has
taken on the comfortable corpuiency Of a
rocking chair athlete.
MIR. OBRIEN is something of a
1Vl fanatic on slender waist lines
and supple sinews anyhow, so it is
not surprising to hear that he still
does little boxing every day and
that it takes near champion to
beat him at handball
Fighting gives you well-condi-
toned body" says Mr.. O'Brien, land
fellow is foolish not to try to keep
it. Personally I find it easier to
subscribe to Burns philosophy.
Why should I keep on training?
I'm not going to fight anybody
Mr.. O'Brien was a great nghter of
great fighting generation, but somehow the
luster OF his accomplishments does not
seem 10 have endured through the years.
I mean when the great old timers are
mentioned you don't hear much about
Philadelphia Jack
in more than 200 battles and that he was
beaten only five OF, six times: Moreover,
he faced some OF the greatest battlers IN
productive Of blazing dramaticS, verify
epics Of the ring.
for instance. that Mr. o Brien was at one
and the same time a logical challenger for
the middleweight, light heavyweight and
heavyweight Championships OF the world.
Which is TO say that his weight was such
that he could legitimately qualify for all
three divisions. In this respect he was
almost as bewildering freak as Bob
INDEED, if the art of ballyhoo
a had been as highly developed in
the old days as it is now, Mr..
OBrien might have fought for the
three titles on the same night. This
was when he met Fftzsimmons. All
three titles were ownerless. JEFF
fries had retired, the middleweight
title was in dispute and If there
was a light heavyweight king, Fitz-
simmons was the ruler.
Fitzsmmons could have scaled down to
ii Ike i's Mr.. o'Brien, though the ordeal
might have demanded much added train
ing When the bout was arranged, Fitz,,
three titles, but there was no Tex Rickard
or Jack Curley around with sufficient
Imagination to appreciate the uniqueness
G dc tee f%s' light 'hSeavyweisht.
Mr.. .o'Brien won the fight by a snocko
Tina bseS bv hour sass
Fit ts 1 E'' to that time-Jeiries-an the
Philadelphian who had been looked upon
more as a fencer than heavy bomber