JUNE XCVII 1929 Munsey's Magazine SuS 1 by Underwood LURID Levantine sun The " plaster of Paris punch " isn't to beat down upon the Plains be found in any manual of boxing of Troy. Not far from blows, but it has decided many a prize where Agamemnon's fight. transport galleys were But on the shimmering sands that tethered in batches — even afternoon some twenty-five hundred as the Shipping Board's discarded years ago, knuckle thongs of bull's freighters now lie like a shepherdless hide, reenforced Avith iron studs, were flock off Jones's Point on the Hudson Avhat the well-dressed boxer was ex­ River—plumed warriors had seated pected to wear. themselves in a ring on the sand. Your Athenian and your Roman They had gathered here, these bat­ didn't mean maybe when from the tle-weary besiegers of Troy, for a re­ sanctuary of a ringside seat thev bel­ freshing afternoon of sports by way lowed: "Knock his block off!"' The of honoring the death of Patroclus. cestus could come close to it. Two cestus-armed gladiators were to Don't be too quick to condemn the fight, and the cestus was the forerun­ ancients. Drop in at Madison Square ner of the gangster's brass knuckles. Garden some night when the amateurs Those rawhide strips, incasing the are pummeling each other, presumably knuckles, could make a shambles of the for gold watches and glory, listen to human face. To-day plaster-stififened the eager yelp of the pack when it bandages, used surreptitiously by un­ smells blood, and ask yourself whether scrupulous boxers, lacerate the flesh. we moderns aren't brothers under the 1 1 PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED MUNSEY'S MAGAZINE JAMES J. TUNNEY JACK DEMPSEY " Gene," the retired champion The Manassa Mauler skin to the plebeians for whom Nero It is Diomedes who buckles the cinc­ gave his gladiatorial shows. ture around the waist of his man. But let us return to the Plains of One may presume that the purpose Troy. There in the front row sits of the belt was the same then as it is Homer, first of an endless chain of to-day—to mark the line below which prize fight reporters. When he smote it wasn't deemed sportsmanlike to his " bloomin' lyre" in praise of the strike an adversary. No hitting be­ rib-roasting half arm punch, he started low the belt must have been a cardinal something which now gives pleasure to rule of classical ring battles, for we many an American reading the story read of no foul blows struck by the of a championship glove tight. Greek or Roman gladiators. Scanning the " Iliad," you can vis­ Those old timers got along very ualize Epeus and Euryalus as they nicely without a referee. The ringside square off within that armor-girt ring, crowd enforced such rules of fair play see their long, smooth muscles writhe as were considered essential by raising and twist in the dazzling sunlight. a vocal clamor. Diomedes himself, second only to Without any hand-shaking prelimi­ the moody Achilles at plying the spear naries, Epeus and Euryalus come to in battle, occupies Euryalus's corner. grips. Homer employs the familiar PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED THE GREATEST PRIZE FIGHTER OF ALL TIME s PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED MUNSEY'S MAGAZINE is cast up on the beach, so the blow stretched Euryalus helpless on the ground." The victor helps his fallen foe to his feet. The vanquished warrior, feet dragging, head lolling, mouth spurting blood, is supported to his tent. Homer doesn't record what Diome- des said. Perhaps, after the manner of modern seconds, he urged his punch drunk fighter to " go back in there, you big stiff, he can't hurt us I" In our search for the greatest prize fighter of all time we must eliminate those mighty warriors of the cestus. JOHN L. SULLIVAN The Boston Strong Boy phrase " put up their hands "—an ex­ pression that has come down through the ages. These Greek pugiUsts rush to close c[uarters, and there ensues " such a crashing of jawbones as to cause shudders among the faint-heart­ ed." The hard-bitten spectators of an­ tiquity would not tolerate long-range sparring. Their resentment one sus­ pects would have taken a more vigor­ ous form than the whistling of the " Merry Widow " wahz. Wherefore, Epeus and Euryalus stand toe to toe — Dempsey-Firpo fashion—and belabor each other with damaging half arm blows. Blood flows whenever the terrible cesti thud to the mark. Violating a boxing fundamental, gladiators always led with their right hands. It is a right lead by Epeus which finishes off the luckless Eury­ alus. The cestus catches him on the cheek bone. Cudgeling his brains for a worthy simile. Homer writes: " As when by JAMES J. CORBETT the ripples of a sharp northeaster a fish " Gentleman Jim," boxing master PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED THE GREATEST PRIZE FIGHTER OE ALL TIME • •*• f " -.^-rV: '"sls-^r^' 'i^0^-.h- • *'••••; JTJ t'S *• .*• •:•• ..r*?ais /.t ^ •: T .1* PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED 8 MUNSEY'S MAGAZINE left the ring flat for more genteel pur- parison with a Brobdingnagian fellow suits, let us set down in cold type ex- such as Babe Ruth, actly what we mean by " the greatest Size counts for a lot on the gridiron, prize fighter," and name the conditions yet the greatest football player of all under which we shall make our choice, time was a scrawny, peaked-looking, JAMES J. JEFFRIES The California Grizzly Boxing differs from such sports as one hundred and forty-five pounder golf, tennis, football, baseball and the named Frank Hinkey. Football being like, in that it must necessarily be sub­ what it is, you could stack that little divided into various weight classes. gamecock up against such oak-like On the diamond, a little shaver, such chaps as Thorpe and Heffelfinger and as Willie Keeler, can stand direct corn- compare them on a man to man basis. PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED THE GREATEST PRIZE FIGHTER OF ALL TIME Pint-sized Cochet is to-day more phrase very literally. By that ambigu­ than a match for the gangUng William ous term we mean the man who, at the Tilden on the tennis court, while Hugh zenith of his form, could have beaten Doherty, England's " Little Do," has down any given rival at the corre­ had few equals among the strapping sponding stage of that adversary's ca­ giants of tennis history, but we don't reer, in a fight to a finish under the have to tell you how ridiculous it is to rules now existing. draw comparisons between a bantam- Naturally this interpretation slams boxer and a heavyweight. the door in the faces of all but a few It is an axiom of the prize ring that superfighters outside the heavyweight a fighter cannot go out of his class and class. Aside from Fitzsimmons, Mace, beat a genuine champion of the heavier Sayers, " Dutch Sam," Mendoza, and order. Like most adages, this one has possibly Walcott, all of whom scaled its glaring exceptions, but weight and at less than one hundred and sixty size are nevertheless the essence of the pounds, none of the other " good little contract in ring fighting. men " of ring history would have had Physical freaks, such as Bob Fitz- a Chinaman's chance against the cham­ simmons and Joe Walcott, with the pion heavyweights. chest, arms, and shoulders of a heavy­ You recall that Stanley Ketchell, weight superimposed on the waist, probably the greatest middleweight of flanks, and legs of a welterweight, the lot, excepting Fitzsimmons, went demonstrated that they could meet out of his class to meet Jack Johnson, giants on fairly equal terms; but, with disastrous results. Stung by a speaking generally, you can't dispute knockdown punch, the Galveston black the maxim that " a good big man can arose from the resin and fairly mur­ alwa}^s beat a good little man." dered " the Assassin." Pound for pound, there is no ques­ To pit a McGovern or a Gans tion but that Bob Fitzsimmons was against a second-rate heavyweight the finest piece of fighting mechanism would be courting manslaughter ever cast in the mold of man. We charges, although I confess to having shall describe his technique and quali­ seen some heavyweights who would ties later. Suffice it to say that " Ruby play the role of corpse instead of mur­ Robert" won the heavyweight title derer if Gans were turned loose in the while scaling one hundred and fifty- same ring with them. However, you six pounds—a natural middleweight if get the point. Most of the good little ever there was one! men are out of this reckoning before Judged on a poundage basis solely, it even starts. who shall say that England's " mighty Note also that we say " finish fight." atom," flyweight Jimmy Wilde, wasn't There is sound reason for this qualify­ the best fighter of the lot? Disregard­ ing phrase. In an eight-ounce glove ing size, and reckoning the greatest fight restricted to six rounds, for in­ fighter by what he actually did against stance, Jim Corbett would have out­ contemporaries of his own weight, or pointed any fighter past or present. by what he might have done against His boxing wizardry would prevail in previous and subsequent fighters of his a restricted encounter barring the al­ particular class, you could make out a ways possible " lucky punch." convincing case for either Stanley The ring saying—"may the best Ketchell, Terry McGovern, Joe Wal­ man win," implies a fight to a finish.