JOHN MORRISSEY's FIGHT His' Lack of and Speed They Joined Point
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The San Francisco Sunday Call he had shown he must Morrissey's eye now beyond all hope toTegain the early superiority left /was closed for Morrissey m of aid from.the: lance, but he ,was as fresh as in the do it now. He was again too swift heavy right and Iclt ;minute.', InVhis tactics, aside Tfrom.his careless thV'twenty-fqurth planted* first shoving through a rib searcher guard, .snap ; was the weakest hariders to the face, JOHN MORRISSEY'S FIGHT his' lack of and speed They joined point. He came on -slowly,.. delivering:ponderously as John plodded steadily on after him. of the Yan- and seemed not to.know thatthere were such maneu- for a hot exchange -in the middle ring,^ the head and Mor- WITH "YANKEE" SULLIVAN vers as dodging, shifting and retreating. His "single kee" deliveringslash'after slash to with an slam purpose was to hit solidly.'That the adversary should rissey countering to the body occasional al so hit him was quite; a minorv consideration. Proba- that drove Sullivan away wincing. part ma?, bly no other man who-ever a ring fought with It was a gaUant rallyon the of the older entered always ther^ Adventurer, Politician, Began W superb andsimplicity of Mor- but:brought him nothing. John was TER; the recklessness John blows, waiting P RIZEFIGH risscy. - ready, impervious to "Yankee's"- best . drive, evading fought through the seventh-round without his chance tolanda snapping never attf Sullivan afterward, Morrissey fouglrt taking a hit, landing twice to the face and once to the clash.' As Sullivan said .and fur- Congress; Defied Tweed body, before he fell..Morrissey, irritated by the other's asifhewere; wound up for a year s going. After toet^/dnJf^si 5 rorra£ slippery into the next session with ther mutual compliments* Sullivan .ended the BeateriUrtla-Fait \^ipf^H^^^f^MM method/hammered shaking his 2§P* Never ' a fullhead of steam, forced Sullivan literally to take by,dropping, Morrissey browning and head . indignant any man should wish to / '*oi§M^&Mß \u25a0' him all around-the ring, seek- at him, highly, that Ground. f. to his heels/and. drove abruptly. ing- in- vain' to land a blow. "Yankee," who would end such a pleasant argument so In the twenty-fifth.round Sullivan swept into his the firstperiod in the history of the prize \u25a0stride quickly and ipened with a flush hit to the face. Johnson, ring ends with "Tom" and the It was. the only blow seemed to promise any- ASsecond with "Tom" Spring, so the third thing. -He could' make no impression upon Morris- hope lay in blindtng closes with the brief championship of "Tom" sey's body and hiVnatural Jchn's swept through his left, and King. From the 60's on the ring became less and sound eye. Again he again., Morrissey returned heavily to the side of the exclusively British institution, the influence less ah head and ."Yankee,"'! jerked.off his feet by a futile of America, and later Australasia, changing condi- right swing, took to the grass. ; tions and traditions. After the retirement of •It was'stilUSullivan and his left banders in the enough King, his old opponent, "Jem" Mace, who is still twenty-sixth. As •long aslie could foot it fast of reaching him, and "Yankee' living in London, a hale, hearty and well liked John had. small chance tried,hard to work the hit and getaway at the neces- old man, resumed the world's title, which had Morrissey's sary speed He lashed two wicked ones to been wrested from him. A retrospect at this point raw face and dropped when John took after him with is necessary to trace the course of the American heavy drives. championship before it became merged with the championship of the world. TAUNTS AND BLOWS The first recorded championship fight in this •Sullivan now sought to intersperse his tactics with country was between Jacob Hyer and Thomas some gentle badinage on the. chance that he might Beasley, in 1816, won by the former. The next incite the big fellow to a display of temper. He wiped hopped American boxer of note was "Tom" Hyer, who John's face .with a stinging left swing and beat John McCluster in101 rounds in1841. Hyer out laughing. retained the national title by defeating "Yankee" "Now, who's champion?" he taunted. But if Mor- Sullivan in1849. rissey was expected to read In this that he could never A few years later John Morrissey appeared as overcome s^ch a skillfuland active opponent the at- claimant, \u25a0 made, • a and a match was but Hyer tempt was a failure. i forfeited. This left Sullivan and Morrissey to de- "l "That's to be seen," he answered calmlyand jammed cide between them the question of the American in a right' drive that sent "Yankee" to the ground in championship. a hurry. For the next two sessions Sullivan hit and > WjCht down without ceremony. were "gang" fights in Troy during In the thirtieth round John led off, brushing the 1849, the kind that used to rage in the streets other's guard aside and planting a rattling swing to of American cities as fiercely as any factional the left cheek. Sullivan whirled back with three THERErow of middle age Italy. Few persons were rapid rocking smashes to the face and dropped. He interested save the good citizens of Troy, who peppered Morrissey. in the next two rounds and es- thought dolefully upon their shattered windows, but caped unscathed. In the thirty-third they stood up out of the flurry of clubs and brickbats came a man. for a moment and exchanged counter hits to head and It was John Morrissej'. body, but "Yankee" was exhausted and could make John Morrissey never cared much for cudgels and nothing count. He had done everything possible, flying trick in his repertoire, apparently beaten missiles. Nature had endowed him with a tried every • frame of iron, two gigantic fists, the qualities of hon- his man to a pulp. And still John was with him, esty, shrewdness and the force of the leader. Instead steady as a rock, whollyunconscious of the fact that of marshaling his cohorts of the "uptown gang" in the by all precedents -he ought to consider himself .de- »ieaving of rocks upon the "downtown gang," he took feated. ":} a cleaner, a more effective and a more congenial way It was only a matter of time from this point on. of impressing his immediate views upon his oppo- Sullivan's strength declined, though he continued to nents. Within a year, having then attained the age exert himself to the utmost and he- had lost heart. of 18, he called out and conquered in single combat, He got to the face in the thirty-fourth round and fell. one after another, nine of the enemy. The thing was In. the- thirty-fifth John reached him again with a done quite casually and withno other reason than be- wide, stunning swing to the cheek that sent him to cause he preferred a standup fight to his breakfast the turf. The next was a wild session, Morrissey and the arbitrament of fists to that of rocks. When meeting Sullivan's ;desperate charge with battering is was over the "downtowners" were crushed, if that swings to face and body and sending his man down. meant anything, was thirty-seventh and John Morrissey a great name 'The big? fellow stood a minute weaving and '\u25a0.waving his arms, then fell' In the round even Sullivan's friend 3 in what sporting circles of the country could boast of. could -see- that' the- tide had turned strongly against Tipperary was the county of birth, they grew restless, swarming his and while he van stood up at about 156 pounds. He was a/stbeky vicious swing. .*.Then, ;as Sullivan sought to back have been slow and sluggish for a fast, scientific boxer, him and clost.about the was engaged in his vanquishing of the nine he ropes, yelling at Morrissey and threatening disturb- worked man, much shorter than Morrissey, -but hard ;bitten away from his position, Morrissey pressed after him was stillas elusive as a moth at dusk for the willing, firtt in a paper mill and later in > paid attention and when led an iron foundry, and solid as a stone pillar. Veteran 'of many battles, and slashed out a-terrific right hander that"caught straightforward. The chase lasted until Sulli- ance.: John no. Sullivan where one of his fellow employes Heenan, John. weakly- the rushed, bearing was John C. he was 40 years old, but'fresh 'arid;active, depending Sullivan fairly upon the left cheek', covering him with van went down. to face he "Yankee" back pugil- neck, who afterward made such an ambitious bid for not onlyupon his superior knowledge of the game, but crimson aridwhirlinghim across the ring. The spec- The ninth round was more spectacular. Sullivan irresistibly. Hugging his man about the he fame. In 1850 he found himself ground, \u25a0*• istic stranded inNew upon a strength and endurance as yet unsapped by tators caught sharp breaths for,ajnoment, but "Yan- had discarded some of his caution and went after lifted htm clear of the preparing for a heavy York, with $5 in his jeans, ready fight John to anything age. Whatever advantage in science lay between the kee"; was not knocked down. He^staggered back, sent viciously. Morrissey's aim seemed to be defective fall that hardly could have failed to end the battle. that stood on two feet.