The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1937-07-13
Farr Appears
Tool 10 Lure
Schn1eing
By KIRK MILLER
Times Sports Editor

weather has me a little
thicker than custom
arily, but I am simply
unable to beat into my
brain the fact that
Tommy Farr, heavyweight
champion Of Great Britain
and all her possessions beyond
the seas, will meet Joe Louis
the fourth Thursday Of Au-
gust-as advertised.
'Thsy are signsd!" you may
toss back into my teeth. To
which I remind you that Max
Schmeling was signed to meet
Jimmy Braddock in New
York on June 8, which I do
not recollect having happened.
To me the whole rumpuS Is
strongly suggestive Of . game
which . year back took this coun-
try BY storm. I think they called
it Commodities" or some such.
II I'm wrong, correct me.
Man in the Middle
In the first place, Tommy
FAR happened to be the man in
the middle Of Q return fight
between Joe Louis and Max
Schmeling.
In the second place, the only
fight on the horizon right now,
and since June az when Louis won
the title from Braddock as q
matter Of fact, Is another scrap
between Joe and Max to determine
definitely who is champion.
Such q phrase may sound Q bit
inconsruous In view OF the fact
that Louis won from Braddock,
but previous to that, you will
recall, Schmeling dropped Louis,
which many people, particularly
in Germany, are holding makes
Schmeling champion.
of course that is perfectly
silly, for Louis didn't happen to
be champion when schmeling
flattened him In the twelfth
round, and besides at no time
has our worlds championships
operated retroactively.
Wise Old Mike
But Mike Jacobs. who has
Louis to . fiveyear contract,
doesn't want any flies on Joe's
title, and the first thing he pro-
poses to do is clear up any queS'
ton of doubt, even II he must
make q mint Of money staging
Joe vs.. Max, the only fight which
means anything now.
yes, the current heavyweight
rame seems to be purely one OF
commodities.
schmeling wanted Louis to 60
to Berlin and fight him "for the
title" even before Louis was
champion. But Mike Jacobs, who
controls Louis every move, would
not walk into the trap. Mike, in
nearly 50 years Of shifting Tor
himself, has learned to be wary OF
many people.
unable to lure Louis abroad.
schmeling and Tommy Farr then
commenced to talk about o Eu-
rouean fight "for the worlds
title" At least SO we are led to
believe, although I don't believe
this one quite reached the con.
tractual stage.
Schn1eling on Limb
Their meeting, regardless Of the
outcome, would only serve to clut-
ter I'D the heavyweight situation,
80 Michael Strauss Jacobs moved
to sign Farr to fight Louis here
next month, knowing Louis can
whip him.
This shrewd gesture puts
Schmeling on the limb.
The German claimant has sew
eral alternatives. I'll
he can sit back and wait until
Louis beats Farr, provided, as I
saw, this pair are really intended
to meet within the near future,
and then the dark SfadoW Of Louis
is still in front Of Schmeling.
or he can quit his Sore-head role
and come over here in September
Ind have it out with Louis for the
actual or mythical championship,
however you happen to view his
claims. incidentally, Max has q
right to be sore, but what has 1t
availed him?
Another reason I think the Farr-
Louis fight is a phoney Is that it
won't draw a dime. It looks on
the surface to be q freeze-out
aimed at Schmeling, who isn't get
ting any younger and who every
day is getting that much further
away from the shellacking he gave
Louis in the best fight Of the Ger.
mans career, when he reached his
peak.
The only heavyweight fight on
the horizon then, my friends, that
will mean a thing financially, is
a Louis-Schmeling fight!
And don't kid yourself that Mike
Jacobs doesn't know that!