Evening star., 1933-02-14
END COMES AFTER
BRAIN OPERATION
Ring Fatality Held Likely to
Prove a Serious Blow
to Boxing.
By the Associated Press.

1 country today were stun
ned by the death of Ernie
Schaaf, heavyweight champion
ship contender, as a consequence
of the beating he received from
the giant Primo Carnera in Mad
ison Square Garden Friday night
before capacity crowd of fans
whose derisive yelling indicated
they were convinced he had
''taken a dive"
The immediate cause of the death Of
the 24year-old blond Boston battlel
was an operation for intra- -cranial
hemorrhage performed last night ano
from the effects of which he failed tc
rally, the end coming shortly after 4
o'clock this morning.
Jimmy Johnston, matchmaker at the
Garden, voiced the view of the entire
0stic world upon learning of Schaaf's
death when he said
''It is the most terrible thing that
ever happened in boxing"
Schaaf's death was in many respects
q parallel to that of Frankie Jerome
bantamWeight, In January, 1924. jerome
was knocked out in the twelfth round
of garden fight by Bud Taylor, Terrt
Haute boxer, and died two days later
after an operation similar to that which
Schaaf underwent yesterday.
Three hours were required for the
operation on Schaaf. 1t was per-
formed, a bulletin by the doctors said
ITO relieve intra-cranial pressure"
The bulletin added:
"The patient stood the operation vel
and afterward moved his left arm
which had been paralyzed. The
patients condition, however, is still
critical"
At midnight Johnny Buckley, Schaaf's
manager, was told that all hope OF
saving the former sailor had been
abandoned.
DR. BYRON STOOKEY, brain spe-
II cialist, who was in charge of the
operation, said that Schaaf must
have been knocked out on his feet"
and that there was no doubt that the
injury had been suffered in the Car
nera fight.
Throughout the 13 rounds between
the 207-pound Boston fighter and the
250-pound Italian the crowd of 10000
fight fans who jammed the Garden to
capacity Friday night shouted repeat
edly for "acticn" and raised the con-
stant cry CT fake"
Spectators were struck with the fact
that during most of the fight Schaaf
offered only a desultory defense to the
numbering attack of the huge Camera.
At times he walked into Cameras
swinging gloves with his arms almost
1t his side.
BY the thirteenth round Schaaf was
Ia distress and plainly showed it. Car
xera numbered into him with renewed
energy. He shot left jab to Schaaf's
head, and the Boston man dropped.
The cries of fake echoed through
the Garden. It did not seem that a
Jab as lightly landed as that could
have caused knockout. The crowd
did not know what is known today that
any blow, or as one doctor later put it,
ssNo blow at ALL might cause his final
collapse under the 10times sweep of
the referees count.
Jack Sharkey, heavyweight champion
of the world, who was in Schaafs cor
ner, rushed into the ring and helped
drag the fighter back to his stool. The
cries Of the crowd continued, ebbing
only when Schaaf, still unconscious,
was carried from the ring.
Charley was part owner with
~ Johnny Buckley CT Schaaf's cen
tract. The fight between Camera
and Schaaf was originally made with
the intention of having the winner
meet Sharkey later this year for the
heavyweight championship. There was
such public protest however (because
Of Sharkey's part ownership of Schaaf's
contract, that the Garden manage
nlent announced that only if Camera
won would a championship bout be ar
ranged.
rs result, Schaaf entered the fight
with nothing to gain SO far as the title
was concerned and everything to lose
Experts at the ringside scored most
OF the rounds in favor of Camera, but
most of them were struck by Schaaf's
seeming difidence and failure to make
o fight of it.
After the fight it became known that
6chaaf only fortnight ago had re-
covered from an illness of influenza,
and this was advanced by his sup
porters as accounting for his unfa-
vorable showing.
CCHAAF came under the joint owner
~ ship management of Buckley and
Sharkey about three years ago, his
contract being purchased from Phil
Schlossberg of New York for S7,500
For time he was regarded as a strong
sideration, but several disappointing
showings last year dimmed his star.
Sharkey and Schaaf served in the
Navy at the same time, part of the
time aboard the WarShip Denver.
During the fight with Camera Schaaf
landed only few powerful punches
end even these lacked the effectiveness
which he had demonstrated in other
lights. Carnera was not much more
effective, but his greater weight ia
vored him as the fight, scheduled fol-
Is rounds, went along.
Buckley disclosed yesterday that
6chaaf had trained only 10 days fol
the Garden fight. Doctors at the ring
side commented that Schaaf had showr
signs OF distress as early as the fifth
bound.
Sharkey. who left for Miami Satur-
day said Schaaf had appeared all right
Fhen he left his corner at the start
" the thirteenth round.
MEMBERS of the boxing commits
A'4 sion had not indicated early to-
DAY what action might be taker
consequence Of the tragedy. There
ivas no word that Camera was held tc
blame in any way.
In the case of frankie Jerome II
1924, the medical examiner held tha
death was purely accidental. But Tay-
aor was questioned and exonerated.
The police homicide squad summoned
everybody concerned in the Camera
Schaaf fight to appear at Madison
Square Garden today for an investi
CATION Of the fatal injuries to Schaaf
Police said Carnera would be taken int,
custody shortly at his hotel.
Meanwhile Schaaf's relatives wer
planning funeral arrangements. Friend
said the funeral probably would be hel,
Friday at the little town of Sheldon
vile, Mass.
B0ATMEN PLAY FRATERS.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. Februarv IA