Evening star., 1934-04-18
D. c. BOXING OK.
DUE, TALK FLOWS
Sports Garden, Promotion
Sites, Governing Board
All Are Discussed.
BY FRANCIS E. STAN.


N local boxing front today
L y as Washlngtons prize
ring supporters momentarily ex-
pected approval by the Senate
of the amended Fred A. Hartley
bill, designed to legalize amateur
and professional boxing in the
District.
1t is likely, according to close polit-
ical observers, that the measure will
come before the Senate cnd be ap-
proved some time this afternoon. 1t
already has the okay of the House.
Erection of a sports garden for the
Capital, promotion sites and licenses
and the linking of several prominent
local sportsmen as candidates for
commission posts provided the chief
topics fer a jubilant District ring
colony.
Rumors of an ultra modem garden
for downtown Washington. equipped
for boxing. wrestling, ice hockey, baS-
ket ball. dog shows, etc, as well as for
business offices and garages, pervaded
the air, but there was no verifcation
of this
Chief promotion gossip centered
around Joe Turner, who has been
Washington's leading wrestling pro-
moter and matchmaker for the last
Tour years. Turner is reported to
have the inside track on the Washing
ton Auditorium and Griffith Stadium
as a result of his mat promotions. At
the present time, the Auditorium is the
only logical site for indoor boxing.
while the local American League ball
park can accommodate and offer bet
ter facilities than any other outdoor
plant.
VXIHAT the personnel of the Dis
w trict Boxing Commission will
be perhaps is the most dis
cussed subject, as the three-man COM
mission, to be appointed by the Com
missloners Of the District, would have
complete control of both professional
and amateur boxing and possibly
wrestling, although the Hartley meas
ure does not mention the mat sport.
Chief among the names prominently
mentioned is that of Henri de Sibour.
long Well-known sportsman here
and ever an interested spectator at the
weekly mat shows and nearby fistic
entertainments.
The boxing bill provides that each
member of the commission would serve
two years without compensation and
that one of the trio must be selected
from the Police Department. Names
of prospective candidates from the
Police Department have been COM
paratively scarce, but another promi-
nent candidate for one of the two
civilian posts is Edward Rosenbloom.
chairman of the District A A. U. Box
ing Committee.
Neither De Sibour nor Rosenbloom
needs recommendation. as both long
have been regarded as foremost au-
thorities on boxing. Rosenbloom spe-
cializing in the amateur field and De
Sibour in the professional.
dorm in Paris, de Sibour. a resi-
u dent of Washington since he was
S years old. was one of the most
versatile athletes ever produced here
At Yale, from which he was gradu-
ated in '96, he starred in track and
was president of the first Yale navy"
ever to stroke at Henley. At St Pauls.
IN Concord, where he prepped, De
Sibour played foot ball, but was too
light for college play.
De Sibour also played semi-pro base
ball, boxed as an amateur, and is an
expert shot maker on the golf course,
establishing the first record score at
the Chevy Chase Club, where the De
Sibour- -Reyburn trophy still is COM
peted for annually. He also is a
member and former president of the
Racquet Club.
Stanley Ketchell. in the opinion of
De Sibour, was the greatest fighter
who ever lived, with Jack Dempsey
second. The Ketchell-Jack O'Brien
scrap was the best witnessed by De
Sibour. beating out the Dempsey
Firpo battle by narrow margin.
With prospects so bright for pass
age of the boxing bill, plans we're
laid last night by the District A. A. U.
fW both senior and Junior golden
gloves tournaments this Spring. For
the last two years the golden gloves
Journeys have been abandoned be-
cause the financial drain was too
great for the A. A. U. to bear. AL
though amateur bouts have been al
lowed in the District, no admission
could be charged.
According to rumors anent the
sports garden, it would be erected by
a group of local sportsmen at cost
of more than s3OO0,000, but names
of prospective hackers are withheld.
1t would accommodate 5000 for box
ing and wrestling, 4,500 for basket
halI and 2 500 for ice hockey