Evening star., 1954-12-15
By Grontlond Rice

RlckarQ'S property, dempsey
was pressed into service as Rick
ards stand-in.
AS a fight promoter. however.
Bill Carey knew as much as an
elephant knows about contract
bridge. He began spending
money so fast and with such a
lavish hand that Dempsey soon
saw there would be nothing left
for him. So-Jack agreed to
work for nothing. II was afraid
/ would have to pick up the
check" he remarked.
Four Hotels for Newsmen.
All correspondents, plus droves
who didn't know a typewriter
from a milk can, were admitted
-free-to the day and night
revels. Carey had leased Carl
Fishers mansion right on the
beach at the head of Lincoln
road and, as I recall, several
writer's were wounded in the
rush for rooms overlooking the
Atlantic Ocean. Four hotels. in
cluding the Drake as base OF
operations, were utilized to
handle 435 newsmen from all
over the world. For nearly seven
solid weeks it resembled New
Years eve in Babylon-and I
don't mean Long Island.
Everybody within so miles OF
The Beach became one OF
Carey's freeloaders. Headquar-
tiers for the press gang became
headquarters for everything
with the beach itself serving as
the front lawn. How many cases
of champagne, gin. bourbon and
Scotch were consumed I don't
know. But I do know that Nat
Fleischer. in charge of auditing.
signed a check for $32,100 for
booze alone. That was one OF the
thirstiest mobs ever. There must
have been two drunks to every
square yard of beach. And the
majority of the crowd had no
connection whatsoever with the
fight.
Boss Stopped Cold.
Back in New York. Bill Nc
Geehan, the Tribune sports edi-
tor-and one of the best ever
decided to come down and in
vestigate. Bill had been roasting
Carey daily in his column. When
he arrived, Bill expected Carey
to have him tossed out. I intro
duced them. "Mr. Carey, Mr..
Mcclellan"
Carey beamed his welcome
through his lk-bottle lenses.
"And by the way, Mr.. McGee-
ham," he said, what business
are you in?" That was the only
time I ever saw Mcclellan
stopped cold. He fled the camp.
He refused to write word.
The actual fight should have
made big money-$200.000 any,
way. It lost. Sharkey won when
he might we'll have lost. Later
Jack told me, "Stribling hit me
with a full right over the heart.
1t hurt a lot. I fell in to grab
him. He beat me to it by grab
bing me first and holding on
until I was ready to go on. Had
our positions been reversed, I
could, in fact, I would have mur-
dered him."
Stribling could have been a
great fighter. He was dead game
out of the ring. He was seldom
as game in the ring during a
tough fight. Yet he would drive
a shaky aircraft in front of a
hurricane or a motorcycle
through a heavy wall. I have
seen him do it. He was killed
on that motorcycle.
X II y
A Study i'm Concentration.
The Giants were playing at
home and Haywood Broun, COW
ering for the World, and ! were
in the press box at the Polo
Grounds when Walter Trumbull,
sports editor of the old New York
Post, appeared in our midst with
a young fellow in tow. Trumbull
introduced his guest. Gene Tun-
ney. I recall that Broun made
quite a fuss over the handsome
youngster.
What are your plans?"
asked.
My plans are all Dempsey, -
he replied.
Very interesting" / said. "But
why not sharpen your artillery
on Harry Greb. Carpenter or
Tom Gibbons before you start
hollering for Dempsey"
II suppose I'll have to beat
them on the way up," Tunney
said. "but Dempsey is the one I
want"
said no more and turned my