Evening star., 1954-12-15

Giants. I recall, Tunney later
volunteered that he was % years
old. I couldn't help thinking
that this fortnight young fell
low would make fine insurance
salesman but certainly had no
business having his features and
brains scrambled by Dempsey's
steel fists.
In January of 1922. Tunney
defeated Battling Levinsky for
the ight-heavyweight crown but
lost it the following May to
Harry Greb in perhaps the blood
lest fight I ever covered. A
great fighter-or brawler-Greb
handled Tunney like a butcher
hammering a Swiss steak. Less
than a year later. they fought
again and Tunney won the de-
cision in Is rounds. After knock
ing out Carpenter in Is rounds
in "a and dispatching Tom Glib
bons in IL rounds in '25-along
with a string of other tough
babies like Jimmy Delaney. Mar
tin Burke. Chuck Virgins,
Tommy Loughran and Johnny
Risko-Tunney again camped on
Dempsey'S trail.
Amazed by COrbett.
In 1925 Tunney fought another
fight that has never been re-
corded. I was the matchmaker
and promoter.
Jim Corbett, the old champion
and the worlds greatest boxer,
had written a book called THE
Roar of the Crowd" I was in
the business of making sport
pictures for the Spotlight, and
I finally sold Corbett the idea
of boxing three rounds, for pic
lures, with Gene Tunney.
Tunney arrived at the ap-
pointed hour, ready to go and
attired in trunks. Corbett took
one look at them and said, I'D
like to wear long white trou-
sers. ! had pair of good look
ing legs in the old days, but
they don't look so good now.
I'm So years old and they are
kinda shriveled.
They boxed 3 two-minute
rounds. Tunney was ON the de-
fensive. Corbett was brilliant. He
tented with his left - then
punched with his left. A left feiut
:. a left hook; a right feint
a left jab; a right feint:: right
cross He still had bewildering
speed at So! He mixed up his
punches better than practically
any fighter I've seen since with
the possible exception OF Ray
/ Robinson.
After the exhibition, Tunney
turned to me, II honestly think
he is better than Benny Leonard.
1t was the greatest thing I've
ever seen in the ring. I learned
plenty" he said.
That winter in Florida I played
golf with Tommy Armour and
Tunney. Gene would hit his
drive, toss aside his club and run
down the fairway throwing phan-
tom punches-left and right
hooks-and mWtering, 'Demp-
sey Dempsey Dempsey"
Hes obsessed." Armour OBJ
served" His brain knows nothing
but Dempsey
Camps Were Colorful.
Municipal Stadium, Philadel-
phia, was selected as the site
of the fight.
During those roaring twen-
ties. fight camps were colcrful,
with heavyweight'S camp hand
ling more daily paying customers
than the average TV fight of
today. The Tribune had Bill Nc
Geehan, Fred Hawthorne, Harry
Cross and Rice beating out copy.
stethoscoping Tunney's scholarly
breathing and blueprinting
Denipsey's primeval snorting.
Ring Lardner. writing a syn
dicated column, had two pas
sions, Notre Dame and Dempsey
Both represented the West. Ring
hailed from Niles, Mich, short
distance from South Bend
Dempsey came out of Manassa
Colo.-also West, by God!'
Lardner looked at Tunney, a
New Yorker, with cold contempt,
just as Mcclellan, a transplanted
New Yorker by way of San
FranciSco. viewed Dernnsey with