NOVEMBER 21'. 1951

Ring Reminiscences

-- Fights and Fighters -

(By JAMES PENDIBGASTI

THE GENESIS OI" BOXING

Men is I fighting animal. From the teeth and claws of the cave- man to the poison gas of modern warfare. fighting has been one of me principal preoccupation: of what is termed the highest type of animal. Basically it was the doctrine of the "survival of the fittest", promulgated by Heigel and other German philosophers. which doctrine by the way. put Germany in the unenvlable posi- tion which she now stands.

The lure of the prize ring un- doubtedly has its roots deep in this primeval human instinct.

No othtr thrill in the world can equal that which comes from watching two men engage in combat with no other weapons of offence or defence. than those which mother nature has provid- ed them. in the days when the Romans held sway over the then known world. it was a compara- tively gentle sport to encase the hands of their warriors in lead gloves and then gloat over the rcsults of the ensuing contests.

Before Rome rose to its pre- dominant power and prestige. there was a writer and chronicler called Virgil, who vexed many people's college days with his im- mortal AEneid, described at con- siderable length a boxing contest .-is it was conducted in those days. He describes with considerable relish the hollow thumps of the leadeh mitts as they struck home on the panting chests of the gladiators. Homer chronicled the boxing match held by the Greeks as a part of the celebration of the hill of Troy.

Of course. in the days when fat-ding slaves to the eels was mnsldercd a more overflow of

Roman high spirits. boxing with leaden gloves was lookcd upon as in r.1il.llf.'l' effeminate branch of

"Open air” elevator service would amaze most folks, but at Alcan's British Columbia projcct it's just part of the job. At Kc;-iano heli- copters are the elevators which lift men to work each day to perches atop 1000 foot cliffs. Men. tents, drill rigs, cigarettes. llaundry and all the many items of (amp life are tlelivcrctl in a matter of minutes to ledges lwhich could not be reached in hours. even days. of climbing. ' Already 86,000 helicopter miles -- mostly vertical e have been flown. That's just one of the answers to a construction problem that will eventually Ilep up Canada's aluminum output by a billion fiatmds a year. Aluminum Company of Canada, Ltd. (Alcan).

lhiiiiicic

..&

sports-much as we now look upon croquet. For many centur- ies after the fall of the Roman EMPITG. boxing appears to have languished. There is no written or traditional record of fighting with the fists during the dark ages. The Medieval inlnd rather ran to poison and ponlard than knuckles and gloves. It was not until the beginning of the Eight. eenth Century that boxing occu. pied a place in the field of sports. Even then it rather sneaked in by the back door.

Boxing was first called to the attention of the general public as a. sort of hanger-on of tire aristg. cratic art of "fencing" and the more homely art of "singlcstick." The first definite appearance of bare-knuckle fighting on record was in the year 1716. In that year a certain John Figg issued an announcement card to the effect that he "teached fencing, boxing and singlestick" to the no- bility and gentry of the British

Empire. Mr. Figg also announced that he was the champion at boxing. Ho modestly challenged

all. any and sundry to try con- clusions with him for a stake to be mutually agreed upon.

Some years after Mr. Figg's de- parture from this "vale of tears", there followed as champion. John Broughton, who did a great deal for the art of boxing. in addition to being a first class champion himself.

Broughtoh's patron was the Duke of Cumberland. who backed him in all his big matches-an indica- tion that boxing had already risen from its humble estate as the amusement of the lowest stratum of society. Broughton was the first to set forth a set of boxing rules. These very simple and elas- tic ruics lasted till'the British Piigilists' Benevolent Association supplanted them with a more de- finite and effective code in 1838. It is interesting to note the evo- lution of the rules as time passed.

in one of the London newspap- ers of 1747. there is the following notice:

”Mr. John Broughton proposes. with proper assistance, to open an academy at his house in the Hay- market for the instruction of those who are willing to be instructed in the mystery of boxing, whe:e the whole theory and practice of that truly British art, with all the numerous stops. blows. cross- buttocks. c-tc.. incident to combat- ants will be taught and explained -and that persons of quality and distinction may not be debarred from entering a course of these lectures. they will be given with the utmost tenderness and regard for the delicacy of the frame and constitution of the pupilig for which reason mufflers are provid- ed that will effectually secure them from the inconvenience of eyes, broken jaws ond bloody noscs."

This is the first record we have of the use of gloves. and even so Professor Broughtons lecture must have been a trifle strenuous for some of his pupils. Furthermore. if Professor Broughtnn's wind in the ring equalled the length 0 some of his sentences. it is no wonder that he was one of Enz- land's bare-knuckle champions.

However. Jack .Broughton was a man of personality and charac- ter. His portraits show a man with 8 strong face, unmarked DY the usual scars of devotees of the profession-with A. good forehead. indicative of ability to do real thinking.

lit was unquestionably Brough- toh's personality that attracted to the ring a class of persons never before interested in such pleibmn

matters as fllzhtins W”

VVVVVQ4WVbVVbVV9VSVV

Swcct Caporal Cigarcttcs

and enjoy-the p'urc5tjivrm- in which tobacco can be smokcd - mllcd in the . worlds purcstptyicn” I

HORNE MOTORS, ,

J1. -. Hi. I," '3' l

.i1','?pl H t.'s.?? (I13 ii I .-

Basketliall Fixer Bots Long Terinln Prison

3! Alrruun Evznarr

NEW YORK. Nov. 20 - (AP) .. A basketball fixer has been sent- enced to a long prison term by n Judge who called college basket- ball and football in the United states a sordid big businem. Five former college players also drew Jail terms. and nine others receiv- ed A d an fences.

"commercialism and over-emph- asis in intercollegiate football and basketball are rampant through- out the country." said Judge Sam. uel S. strait, and U.s. schools are gtgtllrting an "atomic athletic scan-

He sentenced gambler Salvatore Sollazzo to eight to 16 years in prison for spending :22 000 to bribe basketball stars of big-time Mad- ison Bquare Garden games.

Streit called Sollazzo "9. cool. calculating and cunning weasel, who preys on the gullible and un- suspecting."

Five former players drew jail terms as conspirators in the big- gest scandal in the the history of U. S. intercollegiate sports.

one of them, Edward Gard, a Sollazzo lieutenant from Long Is- land University, got an indeterm- inate sentence up to three years.

Other former players and their sentences. were Sherman White of L.I.U.. one year; Edward Warner and Alvin Roth of City College of New York. and liarvey (Connie) Schaff of New York University, six months each.

Streit called the players "mature W118 men. all over 22 years of age, who should have known the iniquity of their conduct."

The court suspended sentence on Adolph Biggs. Richard Feurtado, Nathan Miller, and Leroy Smith, all of L. I.U.; and Norman Mager. Irwin Dambrot. Herbert Cohen. Floyd Layne and Edward Roman. all of City College.

Cases against 16 other players are pending in the big cage scan- dal. in which players rigged points in games for the benefit of gamb- lers.

Judge Strait saw the scandal as evidence of widespread corruption in the American college athletic setup.

As examples of over-emphasis in

Broughton's patron being I scion of royalty, his bouts natur- ally attracted thc patronage of the nobility. and the man's friends were found among the upper classes of England of that day. instead of in the submerged mil- lions who had previously patron- ized ring contests.

Broughton won his title of Champion of England in 1740 and held it for ten years. During this "time he brought boxing from I yokel sport of the country fairs to a recognized athletic amuse- ment of the nobility and gentry. He built a new arena in London. where boxing was held under his direction.

In one fell swoop Broughton's life work was apparently undone. In 1760 he was matched to fight a butcher by the name of Jack Slack. who was supposed to be an easy mark. The Duke of Cum- berland wagered many thousands of pounds on his protege, and all the nobility of the Kingdom were down heavily on Broughton. Scarcely had the fight started be- fore Slack smashed Broughton I terrific blow right between the eyes. Within a few minutes this caused such I swelling that

ed. The man before him was hitting him at will.

The Duke. who was watching the contest. with his heavy bets on his mind, called out: "What's the matter with you Brougliitonf You canlt fightl You're beaten!"

Back oame Bi-oughtonks and re- ply: ”I'm blind, Your Grace; only let me see my man and he'll not beat me yet."

Nevertheless Slack beat him. and the result was disastrous to boxing for many years. The noble Duke gave a bad exhibition of sportsmanship. and bellowed from one end of England that he had been sold out and robbed.

From being I patron of the ring he became its arch enemy, finally getting Parliament to pass laws against prize fighting. which be- came an outlawed sport practiced cllndcetinely and under threat: of law for both prlnclplls and spectators. Broughton's arena was closed.

Notwithstanding the embargo, 'A certain ,number of the noble and gentle patrons of the sport clung to the 'rough and manly sport that they loved. Boxing lived through this low period simply because of the inherent interest

and men. when the American John C. "oenan fought Sayers for the

worlds championship in IE0. Lord Palmerston. the Prime Minister. half of the House of Commons. land some of the Bishops were In- cognito spectators.

Broughvton was completely blind- .

in physical contests between man

THE GUARDIAN.

.5 .

campaign. in defence Of his title.

worn. LIGHTWEIGCHAION I

cHA"n7Lb7”'fi:r'owN

ruruni To Go

Lightweight boxing champion Jimmy Carter (left) of New York. covers up as Art Aragon. of Los Angeies. CEIIL. presses his attack dur- ing an early round of their 15-round championship bout in Los Angeles. Carter. who floored Aragon twice, once in the sixth and again in the 15th, won a unanimous decision. to retain his title. The champ plans to return to New York shortly to open n "tight anybody, any time"

football, Strait singled out Okla- homa. Texas, Texas A.&:M, southern Methodist. Pennsylvan- ia. Tennessee, Maryland and Ken- tucky. Only Kentucky has been Iinilxed up in the basketball scan- a. ' The University of

Kcntuc ky

um-i vo"Tho Ford Thuln" Every Friday Night -

grossed more than 31.200 00, he said, and Tennessee gro d sl,- 34'l,000 while spending 8250.000 I year on its football program - s!00,000 for scholarships.

Of Tennessee, one of the coun-

-t1y's top grid powers. Strelt said:

"No big league baseball club has

W -" Ptww l.l...”I1'De.l.l...

V Stewart Motors Ltd.

' pY0llB MERCURY-MIJTEOB Dli'.ALliB 224 Great Georg St. Charlottetown

Defends Athletic Scholarships .

DALLAS. 'Ilex.. Nov. 10 -(AP) ..Mntty Bell. athletic direcwr of Southern lvfefhodist University. asked today what was wrong with his school granting 154 ath- letic scholarships.

Commenting on the scathing statement of Judge Paul S. Streit of New York. at the sentencing of I basketball fixer to prison. dur- ing which the judge said South- ern Methodist awarded 154 athle- tic scholarships, Bell said:

”Well it isn't any of the judge's business in the first place and in the second piece these scholar- ships cover all sports. not just football. Only about 90 are for football. . ."

"These are given to boys who. in the main. would be unable to attend college without the u- sistance. In other words, athle- tics are giving boys on educa- tion . . ." - t

AiM.BE.RGA'I'E. England -(CP)- Girl workers at a nylon factor? here will be provided with free manicures, in the hope of re- ducing damage to stockings by rough hands and broken finger- nails.

a superior scouting and recruiting system."

The basketball scandal involved 3 number or gamblers, who operat- ed openly. trevelled with the

.. r .45

teams and passed out ig bundles of money to rig games to their satisfaction.

Givolnl Mud Mil vhf: GI imb- Ial Mu optional ll ulrl cod.

PAGE SEVEN

ii 9". . .. , . ”sIAllTER, SERVICE?” isflor, peoplexvvhoi don't;likeito;beii 'PU5l1e,cKa I10 und!

. - L L ggs men SEW” at 4 STAR STA ineceslgfr

at wirins "N! "P.

-k IMP buttery..." ' -.3-:;:.;:g :,?::s.po!'k.Pl"99 'k .

-pr Tune-I-IP "'9'":

Ilatt & Macllae ltd. Repair Shop. 93 Euston St. Parts and Office, 99 Queen It

MI: uwoilfoiiainairzasrvnam

I l

RUSSIAN PART DIVERSE PRODUCTS

The Russian zone of Germany Palm oil and peanuts, cocoa and has a population of 17,300,000, out ivory are principal exports of mg of the total German population of French Cameroon: in West Af-

67.600,000. rica.

' Meteor": youthful, dramatic beauty simply cornpels attention! Long. flowing body lines, new colourful nnishes, exciting interior harmonies -all serve to make Meteor a ain miles ahead in the law-price eldl

Come in and see Meteor : : : the car that pa Canadaie low-price field! Take a good look inside, outside, and under the

ood. Mefeor's exciting. colour- harmonized "Decoramic'3 interiors: Listen to the smooth purr of Mefeorb responsive, road-proven 100 Hp., V-8 engine. Then . . . take your demon-. ntration drivel

Drive Meteor with. More-O-Matic Drive! Here is simplicity itself! All you doisatepon the gas to go. .. step on the brake to stop! It's it brand new . ' . drivin thrill...anewdnv1ngeasefor -3;; youin eteor.Fornewswee uigpower, V. for the smoothest, quietest vie in the .

low-price field . . see your Meteor Dealer.

THREE-WAY OPTION Now. . . Meteorolfa-ayou a choice of three transmissions! Smooth. rynchronized Standard i Transmission -economical Touch-O-Mntic Overdrive- -lfortlue Men:-O-Mutic Drive! Touch-O-Motic and Mcrr-O- afic Drives are optional at i uh-u wot. i

mitt-s9 ahead 3.

Seq gourzlkteorbeqler!

titelm-pIiceI7eIJ '

Earle McDonald Ltd.

METEOR-MERCURY DEALER