Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-11-22
WIN, LOSE OR
DkAW By FRANCIS srAhN
About Tommy Gibbons

THERE ARE SOME men whose destiny it is to possess
shining skils exploit them long span of years. and
yet be remembered chiefly for of adversely
The late Tommy Gibbons of this cult Gibbons and
Ernie Lombardi and Roy Rege Fred Merke and Fred
SnodgraSs, to few.
Riegels ran the wrong way in the Rose Bowl Lombard
great catcher and National League batting champion
is remembered for his celebrated snooze" home plate
in the 1889 World Series Merke Snodgrass earned
dubious Immortality Merke for failing to touch second
base and costing the Giants the pennant and Snod-
grass for mung easy fly that opened gates for
the Red Sox in the 1912 series against same Giants
Tommy Gibbons fought over 100 times and lost
only four bouts He was acknowledged to be of the
great BOXERS yet when he died the other day he was
the fellow who lost to Dempsey at Shelby"
All during his later life it if Tommy had
fought anybody else except Jack Dempsey He find
that July 1929 at Shelby Mont his legacy boxing
history.
AND YET IN SENSE it tribute that was being
paid to Gibbons because that hot renetc afternoon in
1928 the nceguy Irishman out Of ST. Paul Mimi lasted
te 1u 10 rounds with the most savage heavyweight
spawned in the ring Gibbons outweighed by nearly 10
pounds "a old and fighting for nothing became
sort of national idol.
Everything stacked Dempsey's way" the late Bill
Corum used to reflect He not only got all the money
an edge in weight and YOUTH but he had his
as we'll"
The referee Jimmy Dougherty the Baron" of
Leipervle, Pa, who the sole judge of the fight The
intimacy between Dougherty and the Kearns
axis was such that George Godfrey very good Negro
heavyweight managed by Dougherty, was DempSeys No.
sparrng partner Corum later wrote, Jack couldn't have
been safer II his own father Hiram Dempsey, had judged
the fight"
After Tommys death the AP sent wirephoto showing
piece of the action that July Fourth Gibbons foot-9a
and weighing ITS, looked wan and fral as he lodged
punch thrown by Dempsey who weighed 1873 and stood
over 6 feet. And with dynamite in both fists
GIBBONS WAS THE popular favorte in the little
Montana town because Dempsey got all the money Che
guaranteed virtually the
OF Shelby and because Kearns called off" the fight seven
times pending final collection Gibbons would have BEEN
anyway so lightly armed was he against the tiger who had
slaughtered the 26O-pound Willard blown the 16O
pound Carpenter and all but murdered Fpo but the fact
that Tom was fighting for not red cent cinched his role
Grantand Rice, who there along with Corum
Haywood Broun, w. o. Mcclellan. Jim Dawson, Elmer
DAVIS Hugh Fullerton George Barton and other sports
writing giants of the day. told in his autobiography he
Tumut and the ShoutingD how it all started.
Seems man named Johnson, the Mayor of Shelby who
also owned the bank thought put the on the map
with heavyweight title fight. Eddie Kane Gibbons
manager, was contacted in ST. Paul. A colorfu figure
Kane Sad you get Dempsey there and Gibbons will
night him for nothing All you got to do pay Dempsey"
kearns thus was offered 100000 for his champion
The trst 100000 raised easily enough The next
100000 came hard and the final one-hird not at ALL It
was this shortage that caused Kearns threaten
but he finally gambed on the gate.
DEMPSEY HAD BROKEN two of Godfrey's ribs in
training and broken the jaw of another sparrng partner
a 7-foot-2-inch cowboy" named Big Ben Wray The
champion trained in the metropolis of Great Falls but
Gibbons was on the scene of little Shelby.
He was training hard and looking forward to what
thought was certain annihaton Rice wrote His wife
ana TWO children were with him all there in stark
little house on the crest of barren little hill with not SO
uch as shrub as far as the naked eye could see thought
about Tom. More, thought of his sweet wife Her man
FAMILY man "a years old, was about to face Dempsey
the Killer, and for nary thin dime"
GIBBONS never deluded himself about the decision
Late In the fight he faded before the mighty fists of
dempsey STILL Fullerton described it as zone of the
greatest heavyweight battles in history" and gave Gibbons
the nt 18th and possibly the 18th rounds And he called
Two ROUNDS eVen Tom the first man in two wears to
60 the distance with Dempsey .,o
Dempsey and Gibbons went is rounds like two
teatherweightS" Rice commented 1--WE never witnessed
as much sheer speed in heavyweight bout. Dempsey
resorted to every boxing trick knew and as the bout
un!oioed ne knew plenty But he couldn't nail scowing
Stabbing Gibbons, who fought the fight of his life for
nothing" 0t