The Sunday Call SULLIVAN'S GREAT FIGHT WITH KILRAIN Championship Ba^Kmms'M'Vn^erCM, wrenched free just as Sullivan heaved and hopped him off with a rocking smash to the side of the head. Battle-for tvith challenger persisted, clinch, WtASZ away, with a stinging right hook to the jaw. The The bent upon a where to better chance. The champion champion ; he seemed have a XgL Kales.Was the Title Holder's Final Rim Triumoh #li® went after him hard and in several ex- refused as long as" possible and kept lashing out with changes got his left lightlyto the neck, pressing on in his right, Kilrain cleverly ducking the blows and a slashing attack until Kilrain went down to avoid pressing in until he succeeded in catching his hold. L. SULLIVANswept into the full of it with: safety. His splendid physique was appar- punishment. After a vain attempt to score a fall he broke unex- ently, by spread pectedly apd reaped a snappy left to the head, then untouched excesses. His tremendous \u25a0 tide of his popularity after his decisive SULLIVANINACTION closed again. They wrestled hard and went down of shoulder, the' phenomenal development of his Sullivan opened the fifth round, feinting left. Kil- JOHNdefeat of "Paddy" Ryan. For the next . together, Sullivan on top, with his^left arm locked arm, back and upper body muscles, his marvelous rain retreated hastily and when Sullivan followed five years he toured the country, meeting about his man's throat. biceps' and solid loins had the exact contour of missed go That aid to Sullivan's peculiar tactics, youngsters ostensibly a lunge at the head. Sullivan let one of invaluable ambitious for "exhibi- perfection, with?nothing added and nothing lost. A missed, his temper, was now at its customary long leash, tions" demolishing regularly his terrific right swings, but and Kilrain, bogyman and them with great shout went up; as the. crowd noted this visual countering lending verisimilitude to his makeup. He the terrible right hander which ranks his- lightly to the neck, went down to save opened the thirteenth by jamming through his right refutation of rumor -that would have had the cham- himself. In the- session after some sparring ribs, light jolt body. rally torically among such lethal instruments .as - next to the taking a to the In a pion advanced in fatty degeneration. It was still and chasing the part champion, Sullivan Kilrain spiked Sullivan on the foot. The sharp pain the battle ax of the Lion Heart and the on of *the the great John L. Sullivan they greeted, the invin- smashed his left swiftly to the jaw. They clinched set Sullivan raging, and he was all over Kilrain in sleeping potion of the Borgias, partaking of rush, hammering repeatedly to the chest and cible John L. The champion responded to, the ap- fell heavily, .top. a mad the nature of both. His offer of $1,000 to and Sullivan on Kilrain was car- with straight, driving smashes, Kilrainblocked plause with his .customary grin, already hardened seconds, ribs any one who would knock him out was the ried to his corner by. his but Sullivan re- fast and gave ground until, as Sullivan wrenched into the ferocious fighting grimace with which he had with the spent force of a swing, standing joke of time. fused assistance. around and over futile the struck terror into the hearts of so many opponents he sprang into the opening with his best blow Several fighters Kilrain's friends were now anxiously expectant of of promise and reputation before a blow had - been struck. Kilrain also re- of the fight thus far, a crashing right swing to the were also matched against him, some demonstration on his part, and the challenger staggered Sul- for if Sulli- ceived a generous welcome and at' the call of the neck. The check was determined and van met the contemporary sporting demand- waded into the seventh round ready to give it to livan for an instant. As he recovered and came on. referee the two men stepped to the .handclasp at them. After some play threw himself to a again Kilrain met him in a hot rally and went to as a hero he was not without enemies who he clinch the center.^ and then fought out of it with clever short arm work grass to save himself. «/ would like nothing quite so well as to see In fourteenth round pace. THE BATTLE IS to the ribs, drubbing stop- the Sullivan forced the him beaten. ON Sullivan two for one and Kilrain hitting him low on retreat and taking a hard The fight began a clumsy "Anything and anybody to whip Sullivan!" with rush. Whether Kilrain had ping Sullivan's returns prettily. Sidestepping smash to the neck. When Kilrain clinched Sullivan not yet conceded' the wisdom ."Charley" Mitchell's a- desperate drive, he swept back with ripping slipped down under the ropes. be- was the word in certain circles of the world of a and went Kilrain^ teachings or whether he was so enwrapped in the right to right ear, laying it open and drawing gan his sprinting again in the fifteenth, and Sullivan of sport. His failure to stop "Tug" Wilson the again The challenger notion of his own superiority that he believed them first before he called him to come and fight. in four rounds was a ray of light to this con- crimson went down to avoid trouble. came up, missed a pass at the stomach and took a superfluous, he had round, tingent. It expected great things of Her- clearly decided to attempt a lead It was a minute and a 'half Kilrain's all the thumper to the ribs. As Sullivan tried again, driving: from the signal. They faced.each other an instant way, and his supporters greatly encouraged. right, dodged and, rushing low,.forced bert A. Slade, the Maori. Its hopes were were a hard Kilrain watchfully, the next Kilrain leaped forward, feinting The- champion bore his most fearsome ogre grin the champion against the ropes, without jdamage. pinned again to "Paddy" Ryan in 1886, but Sullivan, regaining balance, with right with left at the head,- then diving, in under Sul- as he rushed for the eighth round/ Streaked with red his whirled Sullivan simply crushed his old antagonist. his' and left at his man, backing him into his corner and Its persistent assertions that the champion's around again, while Kilrain continued to duck and day had passed found some ground fol- run away. "Why can't you fight like a man?" was the Sullivan's reiterated complaint, until Kilrain came lowing year, when Sullivan broke his left back with a plucky rush, meeting left and right tG"T| arm in the fight with "Patsy" Cardiff. Final- ribs and jaw and 'fighting into a short arm melee, ly,in 1888, it took heart from the draw with where Sullivan so decisively mastered him that he "Charley" Mitchell. fell to escape. Kilrain opened the next session by leading neatly Sullivan's prestige undoubtedly suffered a to the ribs and skipping away, which moved Sulli- decided, if temporary, setback from this af- van to remark, "You fight just like Mitchell." After fair. Mitchell was a skillful and a wary some slow sparring Kilrain slammed a snappy one to they half arm wildly. Kilrain boxer. He met the champion for $5,000 and the body and mixed at broke away and retreated, Sullivan rushing to a the title at Chantilly, France, and dodged clinch and winning the fall. When the champion himself through thirty-nine rounds in safety, opened the seventeenth with a feint Kilrain showed following "Tug" Wilson's tactics. The event his respect by skipping clear across the ring.Z Sulli- to grips. Kilrain was was hailed as "Sullivan's Waterloo." It was van followed and they came able to lay Sullivan's right cheek open with a clever declared that he had always been greatly uppercut before they fell together. overestimated and that he must fall before In the next round Kilrain hurriedly slipped down the next first class fighter to face him. Here before a blow was struck, but a claim of foul was dis- He threw to close quarters at at was great L.brought low. allowed. himself last the John opening the nineteenth and hugged desperately, Itneeded but one more trial to remove him which led the champion to taunt him again. "You're from the honor. no fighter, you're a wrestler," snarled Sullivan, "Jake" Kilrain was chosen to do the re- whereat Kilrainbroke and sent in a crashing right to flailed at him with the right, but moving. He had been importunate with his the ribs. Sullivan "Jake" was not there, and the champion, in a flare challenges since the Cardiff fight, and Sulli- of anger, charged after him, driving him around the van at length accepted him. ring. Kilrain went down under a grazing swing to - * save himself. was a great day for such as love to count them- THE END NEARER selves wise beyond the run. For the next six rounds Kilrain was busy hopping around the ringr and seeking grass at the first oppor- It was this way, they figured: Sullivan never tunity, perfectly legitimate tactics under the rules had the courage to fight a mouse more rounds after a blow had been struck, but not at all to the lik- ing of Sullivan, who thundered scorn ITthan he could count upon his fingers and would of the crowd or was terribly oppressive and be worthless any and defiance. The heat if carried distance. Kilrain was the men blistered in the sun, but the champion fast, clever and sure to prolong the interview, being showed no slackening. Beyond some distress of wind best at the fag end of a long battle. Ergo, Kilrain he had not suffered, while Kilrain was considerably must win, greatly to the profit and satisfaction of the battered and appeared to lack his earlier spring. In sapient. the twenty-sixth round he made a sudden spurt, checking his usual retreat with a flashing parry and But other points of wisdom were eagerly whispered right drive that smacked hard to the^ body. The about the crannies of , where the fight blow stopped Sullivan's advance and Kilrain ran to loving had gathered on July 7, 1889. champion grips, throwing Sullivan for a heavy fall, while his The backers, long silent, again. had been living well, altogether well, appeared. who had been cheered too it Kilrain opened the next session well, jamming an- In training he had seemed actually to be swathed in other jarring drive to the rib3and clinching. The fiabbiness. Moreover, that broken left arm had never champion fought him off and launched a half circle properly been tried out since the accident two years that caught Kilrain at the back of the neck as the challenger away. swept a before. Again, time and place gave promise twisted Sullivan then of in- reaper to the ribs, took a light tap to the head and tense heat, which could not fail to be irksome to the cross countered heavily to the neck, knocking Kilrain heavy Sullivan and sapping to his strength. Still down. again, Kilrainhad been trained by "Charley" Mitchell, For the next three rounds Kilrain got down as Tvho had big soon as possible, and in the following four he was stalled off the fellow so successfully. And putting great fight last, knocked down. He was up a and Sullivan never did amount to much anyway. So a clever one, landing shrewdly and freely. But no there you were. blow he could land seemed to bother Sullivan in the Of the reasons so laboriously collected by the least, and the champion forced consistently, boring thirty-fifth knowing ones, the most attractive had to do with the and flailing without remission. In -the round Sullivan threw him, and in the nexf knocked brevity of all of Sullivan's fights. It was an indis- him down again. '. putable fact that up to the Mitchell sprinting at thirty-seventh sent light tap to race Dodged Away Delivercd—SulHvan/Grip'nlng WratJtoly, Him, In the Kilrain a the Chantilly no one had ever stayed more than nine Kilrain from the ScratcTi Before a !3!ow Was Shouted. After head and ran away to the ropes. Instead of pursuing waited, rounds with the champion. And it was quite possi- VpBnd Fight lik*aJfepV <: Sullivan folded his arms at the scratch and *\^ while the crowd jeered and hissed Kilrain.This was ble that if an opponent could manage to keep clear challenger, Two special trains filled with fight followers left livan's guard to a close clinch. The champion was from the last blow, his bristling black hair on end rather unfair to the who was proving him- of that clubbed right until Sullivan was blown and gamest, courageous skillful oppo- New Orleans on the •morning of July 8. Elaborate taken a trifle by surprise and the challenger won his lips drawn back savagely, presented self the most and weary the greatest hitting fighter the ring has ever a and he a nent Sullivan had ever faced. He came back under preparations had been made by the authorities to favorable hold, hurling Sullivan heavily to the ground terrifying spectacle, an effect of which he was fully jabbed again again skipped away. *cen might henceforth be powerless. It was pos- the taunt3. and prevent the meeting, and the militia were stationed 15 seconds from the call of The quick and aware. He came like,a mad bull, Sullivan at the scratch, calling to him, • sible because no one was in a position to prove time. at Kilrain delivered still waited along the route of the Queen and Crescent system at clever move stirred great enthusiasm among Kilrain's his pounding left like a sledge' hammer upon the until Kilrain jumped into a clinch, drubbed John's the contrary. ribs and was overborne in his own corner. every station. Even after crossing the backers, and the champion was visibly chagrined as other's guard, broke it and drove him merry dance. •.: Meanwhile the great majority of enthu- a In the thirty-eighth session, which lasted four and . troops were found in readiness, until the hamlet of he sought his corner. Kilrain,was hard put to it to avoid the raging danger •;. siasts throughout the country, including most of those a half minutes, Kilrain continued to retreat until the Richburg was reached, where the coast was conven- Both were up promptly the second round, and and tripped a heart breaking measure as Sullivan referee, r.cting on repeated appeals from Sullivan, told fortunate enough to be on hand at New Orleans, for iently clear. This point had been secretly selected Sullivan, irritated by the sudden check, slammed in came on, whirling out repeatedly with his left. the challenger that he must stand up and fight. He held fast by their faith in John L. Sullivan. They did authority some time before. A twenty foot ring, with stakes hard with a thumping left swing to the ribs, chaTging Kilrain finally made a plucky attempt to stand and had no to issue this command under the rot believe that the man to succeed him had "yet rule?, and Kilrain was plainly within his rights. five feet nine inches in height, had been pitched on a right on into a They stamped and tore about Sullivan was on him a cyclone, snapping his appeared. If he had they were confident that he clinch. like Sullivan l:ad no just grievance. Ifhe could not catch bit of hard, level turf. A second ring sixty feet the ring for a, brief struggle, then went down, with guard again with the terrific chopping left and hurt- his the burden was him. But Kilrain did not exist in the person of the present claimant. man on showed square had been roped off for the privileged specta- Sullivan on top. It was the turn of the champion's ling through with one of his irresistible right drives his spirit again by acting as best he could on the "Jake" Kilrain was born at Greenpoint, L. 1., Feb- tors, and bej-ond this, on three sides, tiers of scats friends to cheer, and the volume of sound indicated that caught Kifrain full on the mouth and sent him order, in spite of the discouraging hostility of the ruary 9, 1859. He was of Irish parentage and his He fought into a clinch and went down. The had been erected. three thousand persons were how the sympathy of the spectators lay. The weaving and staggering to fall near the ropes. crowd. was Joseph Some most of " It tide continued Sullivan's way for the next five rounds, . real name John Killion. Having begun • present, including many of the best known sporting session had lasted but 30 seconds. \u25a0 was the first knockdown blow of the battle, after being ignored. Ins* muscular training in a rolling mill, he iyr two minutes of fighting, and was duly claims of fouls on both sides men of the country. Kilrain was eager at the opening of the third recorded to Sullivan's stomach, his one weak spot, failed him first fcecame known to the sporting public as a crack his credit, while the crowd went wild with yelling. forty-fifth At 10 o'clock fighters and their round and rushed immediately through a rapid whirl This see; in the round as the result of the heat and j amateur oarsman. In 1883 he won the junior single th*e attendants was what most of them had come to this terrific strain and Kilrain would have spared him, as approached the ring, "shying their" of fists, closing and catching Sullivan about the neck. was Sullivan at his best, a terror of the ring, an of- scull championship of America and soon afterward castors" inside he appeared to be helpless. Kilrain even offered to the ropes in traditional style: Among those Kil- With a heave and a plunge of his driving right,' Sul- fensive hitter such as the game never knew before. call the ;battle draw. Sullivan's turned to new worlds to conquer. He had always . in The severe was not lost on Kilrain, and a answer was an in- rain's corner away, short,' chopping lesson dex to his ruthless,' unyielding nature. He sprang been handy with his fists began to were "Mike". Donovan and "Charley" livan twisted hammering a from this point on, except for rare flashes of aggres- at and attract at- Mitchell, Kilrain'as they stood near the scratch and knocked tention when by while Sullivan's advisers included "Billy"blow to the neck. Kilrain-held after him and in a sion, he fought- the shiftiest way he knew, avoiding he made a serious bid for fame exchange right him doAvn with a tremendous drive to the body. In defeating Lannon, fighter Muldoon and "Mike" Cleary. "Bat" Masterson and fast shot through a low left drive.. To that terrific as he would destruction. Ir^ the the session Kilrain heavily "Joe" a of some note, for next _session, which lasted only thirty seconds, he next led to. the neck and "Tom" Costello were the time keepers. After the many of the watchers the blow looked like.a foul and went down under a searcher. A a rather vague title, the championship of the east. did little but run around the ring, dropping to "es- rib determined claim usual wrangling (^aptain John Fitzgerald was named a storm of hisses arose, but the referee shook his charge. of foul wa? made here by Kilrain's attendants, who By the time Kilrain was ready to issue his series cape another He came up for the tenth with Kilrain, as referee. "n~~;''. head and the men mixed it fiercely. In the bustling a very serious face and jimmediately dodged away declared that Sullivan had jumped on as he of challenges to Sullivan in 1887 he was "known as a lay helpless. Many in the crowd backed asser- Kilrain won the toss and chose the east corner, mill that followed they swung and lunged rather from the scratch before a blow was delivered. Sul- this hardy, courageous and really first class boxer. But livan, grinning him, tion, but the referee ordered the men to proceed. giving Sullivan the sun. This was no small consid- wildly without damage until Kilrain went down wrathfully, shouted after "Stand before the defiance bore fruit he gained still further