The Washington times., 1934-08-06

ulu Luau uS ever was VI Gue Ud'
him in the rain at Philadelphia
Any disappointment that Jack
might have suffered in the sex OF
his little heiresS must as asSuaged
by the sweetness Of her smile.
Dempsey wanted a son. He
wanted his son to be a fighter, to
follow the trail to the top that
Jack himself had followed. The
trail would not be so rock-Strewn
for the younger Dempsey. Jack
would see to that. And with such
a daddy to teach him the cunning
of the ring, how could the young.
ster fail?
How could he fail? Well, let
the writer answer that question
with another. What great fighter
ever had a fighting son?
A dozen boys have attempted to
follow the footsteps of their fight
ing fathers. Just the other day
news came to this country that the
son of Ted CKid'D Lewis had
started boxing in London. He has
been taught the tricks of the ring
by his father. They say he is
fast and strong.
The handicap of a fathers rep
utation mas been more than any
young fighter has yet been able
to carry. Perhaps the outStand-
ing failure of the ring was Bob
Fitzsimmons, jr., son of the i'm.
mortal Ruby Robert, the man
hailed as the greatest fighter in
all time. Young Bob fought his
way out of the preliminary ranks,
He was a good boxer, thoroughly
urageouS and he could whip
more men than ever could whip
him. But as a fighter he just
couldn't carry the water bucket
for his daddy.
What's become Of him? The last
I heard, he was working in Dunel'
len, N. j., where his dad built a
home years ago.
Fitz's FOndeSt Hope
The fondest hope of the immor.
tai Fitzsimmons was that Young
Bob would rise to the top Of the
heavyweight division, win the
championship and perpetuate the
fame of his name. Young Bob
was taught all of the moves of
the ring. He was initiated in the
intricacies of the deadly left shift,
the move that sent Jim Corbett
grovelling in the dust at Carson
City on st. Patrick's Day in 1897.
One day the elder Fitz thought
the time had come to unveil his
protege with a gallery of Metro
politan boxing critics attending.
Young Fitz was about 16 at the
time, as tall as his daddy, and real
good boxer. The two put on fine
display of scientific boxing, but
at last old Fftz shuffled inside of
a right and shifted his left into
the boys solar plexuS. Bob, jr.,
took the punch and finished the
round. Then he tore the gloves
from his hands and left the ring.
He could take it, but he didn't like
it. He didn't want to be a fighter
the reaching, misdirected ambi-
ton of his father forced a career
on young Fitz for which he was
unsuited by temperament. That
he had all the other qualifications,
except the deadly punch of his
father, mattered little.
Old Timers Came
Old timers who had seen the
elder FitzsimmonS rush Ed Dunk
hort, the 270-pound human
freight car" in two rounds. beat
Gus Rubin in five rounds and
Tom Sharkey in two rounds, came
to see the boy carry on. Young
Fitz boxed prettily, hit accurately,
but his Sunday punch landed
smack on the button and nothing
happened.
The old timers who went first
to cheer, remained to recall the
glories of the elder Fitzsimmons
Finally they read that young
Bob was to box, said:
"What the hell of it,"
And remained home.
The glory that was Jack Demp-
sey's never will fade. Maybe he
was the greatest fighter the world
ever saw, maybe not. There's no
argument on the fact that he was
the greatest dynamic force the
ring ever knew. There's no argu-
ment that he drew the greatest
gates that boxing ever knew. No
man ever ruled the affections Of
the public as he ruled them so
long. 1t is just as we'll that this
sweet little mite, cooling at her
mothers side in New York. look.
ing with wonderment at the man
of might who is her father, never
will be a pugiliSt.
Full of Aches
The prize ring is full Of aches;
heartaches and bruises. The men
inside the ropes suffer an animal
sort Of pain as punches thud
home. But I imagine the most
excruciating suffering that human