The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-09

1t was Batting Nelson taking,
the Durable Dane" with the cour-
age of a Spartan and the heart Of
fighting bull. He wasn't brag-
ging. Bat" doesn't have to brag.
1t is all down in the dusty records
:. this account of the lightweight
who followed the thudding gloves
down through the years from 1896
to 1923.
And he was great in an era of
great lightweights. There we're doz-
grand boys who fought till they
had to be carried out Joe Cans.
Jimmy Britt, Ad Wolgast, Spider
Welsh and Aurelo Herrera were
few of the topnotchers.
DAZZLING Nelson met those lads,
- not once, but several times, in
ring encounters that have been
classed among the most desperate
ever fought.
81 think about them most of the
time" he said. That is about all a
boxer of 81 has, is memories. II
makes me cold inside to realize that
now the past is deader than de-
serted village. Most of the fighters,
promoters, managers and gamblers
that I knew have been gone a long
time.
"And yet, even when I see in my
mind all the boxers that have
marched past, it still doesn't seem
like any time at all since I fought
Britt in 1905 and won the white
lightweight championship That was
one of my big breaks" he smiled.
When was a kid living on the
edge of South Chicago, I heard peo-
Pile cheering for Jim Corbett. He
was my hero then, and always has
been.
A FTER I beat Britt in Colma,
L "A Cal, there must have been
$4,000 standing on the San Fran
cisco water front cheering for me
when the ferry docked. They did
it again in 1908 when I knocked out
Joe Cans, the greatest lightweight
that ever laced on a glove"
The old gladiator, who was a
house guest here recently of Robert
M. Bowes, R. R. IS, Box 119, plainly
shows the marks of his trade. 1t
would be hard to picture "Bat"
though without a fiat nose.
Boxing had many dark chapters
in the days before commissions and
state regulations, Nelson pointed
out. 1t was next to impossible to
beat favorite on his home grounds.
Timers and referees saw to that.
After Spider Welsh had thumped
everybody on the West Coast, he
came East looking for more OPP
ponents. Thinking to pick up some
change on the way, he stopped at
Salt Lake City to meet Nelson,
whom he figured for a round heel"
What surprise party he had.
The Dane hit him so hard in the
10th round, the customers thought
Spider was going to Gle At that,
he wasn't able to tell time until the
next day.
TN the same year, 1904, Nelson
l. knocked out Martin Candle in
San Francisco. He really scored four
kayoes, but the first three didn't
count.
According to Nelson, every time
Candle hit the floor the timer hit
the bell. His seconds dragged the
tired Martin back to the corner. but
would just get him propped up,
when the jittery timer would bang
the gong again.
Instead of saving him, that Swiss
bell ringing act almost murdered
him." Nelson said as he swung a
few practice punches through the
air.
Then the Dane chilled Eddy Han
Ion in 10 rounds few months later.
and the San Francisco crowd made
him favorite. His bouts always
drew capacity houses.
After Jimmy Britt had run ont
on one match, bat" finally got him
in the ring in 1905 and punched
him limp in the 18th period. Boxing
precedent was established that night
when Eddy Graney refereed the
match in a tuxedo.
Later Jimmy's brother Willis
Britt, former bare knuckle fighter.
became Nelson's manager and served
the "Battler" well until 1909.
THREE fights with Cans climaxed
a Nelson's career. The first
was on Labor Day of 1906 in Gold
field, New, and marked the late Tex
Richards initial venture as a pro-
moter.
Nelson got $4,000 for this en-