The Washington times., 1936-02-18
Tow BeSts
OMArm
Injury
n nHnAnA AnR nRM
By KIRK MILLER
Times Sports Editor

Al HAY VA G14AS4 Va SSA0HSbAbANS ~
sport as perseverance.
I fell to reflecting on such
. trite observation in connec-
tion with the recent rise to COM
parative prominence Of Heavy
weight Bobby Tow, who is
somewhat Of a WsshingtOnian,
If only for the fact he claims
Alexandria as his abode.
Bob has climbed up two i'm
portant steps Of the pugilistic lad
der in the last ten days. In Nate
Lewis and Jack Kearns' heavy.
weight elimination tournament
In Chicago, Tow won two fights
on successive Fridays.
On the 7th Of this month he
decisioned Harry Thomas, Of De-
troit, in their five-round fight.
Last week he knocked out Frank
WotanSki, Of Detroit, in the Sec
ond round Of q scheduled six
Tounder. WotanSki eutweighed
Tow. This happened on q bill
which carried considerable ma.
tional Importance in that ia C k
Dempsey's m n, Reds Burman,
won from Jack KearnS' H ank
Bath, on the same card.
Offers PilinG In
News Of Tow'S knockout Of Wo-
tanSki had hardly been read in
Washington and New York the
following morning before Man.
ager Beverley May had offers for
Tow to light both here and in
New York.
The heavyweight industry has
been looking for knockout artist
for q long, long time. It has only
developed one such Of recent years
and that man happens to be Joe
Louis. Meanwhile both Kearns
and Dempsey are trying to de-
Velop q white hope.
Now I am no one to tell you
that Bobby Tow is the object Of
this intensive search, and such Is
not the purport of this discourse.
What I would emphasize, how
ever, is the fact that Tow Is finally
gaining the attention, not only Of
washington, but Of New York and
Chicago, and only after an up
hill battle against an ailing right
shoulder, which would have
noored many a fighter with less
perseverance and tenacity.
Bug-a-BoO to Bob
This bad shoulder, for which
Tow underwent an operation at
Johns Hopkins Hospital last sum-
mer. has made it very difficult for
him to get matches here at home,
where his ailment was common
gossip. That, together with the fact
that the man who has financed
Bob, receiving very little In return
so far. Bob May, Alexandria trac-
tion magnate, seems to have made
a mistake when he underworld
Rob's first major showing here
against Tony Galento-just to
prove to the world that Bob Tow
was a good, stand-up boxer who
could hit and who was AFRAID OF
nothing on two feet.
Bob won that fight, but local
promoters were ever cagey there
after, figuring that they didn't
have to gamble on the drawing
powers Of a fighter whose backer
was financially able to guarantee
his gates. So it has been difficult
for Tow to be particularly active
here unless Bob May bought" the
house. Bob'S outstanding fights
here have been a victory over BUCK
everett at the Auditorium and q
win over Terry Mitchell at the ball
park, last August, as well as MS
unexpected defeat Of Galento.
Right Arm POwerless
It was in a return fight with
~ony Galento in Newark q year
ago last December that Tow
locked his right arm so that he
could not strike q blow with 1t.
Galento won that decision, even
ing the score for Tow's Washing
ton victory. but Tow fought the
last five rounds in Newark with
that arm locked in what may best
be described in q cooked position.
However, he could not let it go?
It was stuck in a raised position,
looking threatening. but absolutely
harmless.
Then came the operation and b
summers rest. The Mitchell fight
last August saw that arm again
buckle on Tow. From the second
round on he could not use it, so
he punched out a one-handed de-
cision over Terry" From that
point on Tow exercised the arm
and confined his punching to gym.
nasium workouts until he entered
the Chicago tournament early this
month.
In his first fight in the Windy
City his arm behaved perfectly.
He told Trainer Harry Groves at
forwards that there wasn't the
slightest recurrence Of his old trou-
BILE. That he knocked Wotanskl
down twice before planting the
finishing blow in the second round
last Friday, indicates that per
severance and patience on the
parts Of Tow, Trainer Groves and
Handlers Bob and Beverley May
have put the former in the ma
tional spotlight and incidentally
put him in demand in the city
that heretofore has offered him
little Work.-WaShingt