The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-01-22
WILLIE R|TCH|E REMEMBERED BY
 LOSS TO WELSH
Famous Lightweight De- CIared Loser By 1 Point
 in 20 Rounds
By JOE WILLIAMS

olu prize nghter, these days. Proudly he basks in the reflected glory of his son, Geary Steffen, Jr., who Is Sonia Henie's skating part ner. Steffen is the family name. We saw Ritchie only once-and that was on the stage. As we recall it, it was dance number in vaude- vile. Thus 1t is that his youngster comes by the theatrical urge natur- ally. We hasten to add, however, Ricthie will be remembered more as fighter than as an actor. He was that kind of flghter-or that kind of actor, if you prefer.
 Those who saw Tsitchie in the ring and have the capacity to judge do not rank him with the innmor- talS of the game. You seldom hear his name mentioned along with that of Cans or Leonard. Yet he func- toned in the days when the calibre of fighting men was high and the composition was numerous. He must have been pretty good, at that.
 Ritchie took the title from Ad Wolgast, probably the roughtest, toughest and foulest lightweight ever to hold the title, strictly a back alley fighter. But in this fight, Ritchie took all the little hoodlum could give and finally made him foul out in characteristic style.
 There may have been eXtenuating circumstances. Wolgast had an op- eration for appendicitis a few months before he engaged Ritchie. It seems altogether likely he wash t at his best. But that was Wolgast all over. A litle thing like an op- eration meant nothing to him. If he was strong enough to climb through the ropes, he was strong enough to fight.
 Lost to Welsh
 Ironically, Ritchie is remembered more for a fight he lost than any he won. This was when he went to London to defend his championship against Freddy Welsh and was beaten. We can recall few title holders who went across the Att lantic to catch up with defeat. Aside from the money which is al- ways more attractive on this side, our champions are adverse to risk ing a prejudiced audience and a referee who might be too easily swayed by ringside clamor.
 But Ritchie was generously er- dowed with the basic qualities of champion. There was nothing wrong with his self-reliance. It didn t make any difference to him where he fought Welsh; in his heart he knew he could beat. the Welshman. There was one thing he didn take into consideration, and that was manner in which boxing points are credited on the other side. There is, or was, a difference. Style" Is important. Stress is placed on slip ping punches and getting away"
 Now what might be style" In one mans book would be a long drawn out yawn in another's. Welsh had experience. in both American and English rings. He knew all about style" and its influence on the meticulous English officials. An other thing: he was gifted in slip- ping punches and getting away" Thus he had important advantages riding with him from the start.
 On the other hand, Ritchie was typically American in his manner of operation, a crowder who never ! took a backward step. His technique was to fight his way through the 1 other fellows guard, get in close and give him the works to body and head. But this wasn't "style" and 1t certainly did not exploit the delicate nuances of slipping and "getting away" Considering the set-up and its implications, Ritchie was beaten before he started.
 And vet, as 1t turned out, the Californian was beaten by the slightest shade on which a cham pionship ever changed hands, a piece of mathematical computation, if that's the phrase, that is historic in the annals of the beak-busting business. He became an ex-cham- pion by the margin of a single point after 20 rounds of battling.
 It seems that perfection for a round under the National Sporting club rules in those days was five points. Thus in a twenty round fight it was possible for one man to score 100 points. That would have meant a clean sweep Of every round. No such superiority existed. In the end Welsh was credited with 861s points, Ritchie with S5A.
 The victory was popular with the Londoners. It wasn't popular over here when the details became known. Yet the referee, Eugene Sorri, was the most respected ofh- cial of his time and it is significant he was not without high esteem in America. Even Ritchie, on his re- turn, gracefully conceded, MT. Corri called 1t as he saw it."
 Bookkeeping
 Corri's score card has since be- come a collectors item among the more ardent followers of the cauli- flower art. We still have copy of 1t. After each round. Corri would pencil in his credits. Welsh, for instance, won the firzt round, s to 3. At the end of the tenth, Corri paused to tabulate. At this point Welsh had e big lead. 4e to 90. Then Ritchie inust have started to de- velop style" At any rate he began to pile up @6s."
 CorFl did some more tabulating at the end of the sixteenth. By this time tho score was: Weish J2. Ritchle ogh. Ritchie continued to come and Corr, between the nine- teenth and twentieth rounds. went oyer hls credits again. and C turned out beth men were exactly even, each having ofh points. The final