Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-02-03 | Page 31 | John L Sullivan, Greatest Pugilist of all Time, Dies Suddenly of Heart Disease

John L Sullivan, Greatest Pugilist of All Time, ' Dies Suddenly 'of Heart Disease ABIXGTOX. Mass.. Feb. 2. .luhn i Ij. Sullivan, one of the most interesting inures of rize riii.y renown, died suddeulv of heart disease at his farm in West At'SitjItim today. As. was his vih, he died -vvitli his shoes on. Alt'inm-h stricken with heart trouble thre weeks aL'O, he had quickly inini'oved a:!d wa.--in no sense an invalid. He was about ;n leave his hou.-e today to ay a vf-it to Boston to see his fritni, ( aj tain .jellies P. Sullivan, of the Bnston police dopart::i,'nt. when he received his final Ills I'licnd and conMiairon. Georeo M. Bush, rushed to his side as the old gladiator sank to the floor r.ncoascious. ami revived him with eold -atel applications appli-cations to the head. John L.. respond-lii.i; respond-lii.i; quickly to this treatment, as in his palmy .lays iu the prize rim:. strngirl.M . his f.et and refused to take the decision de-cision of Time. He reluctautiv consented con-sented to have a ph.i,ian called, but alter rt.ceiin.. medical treatment, anno;, an-no;, need that he would have a bath and keep his appointment. Kven as lie ex-prested ex-prested his determination, he became iincon-scious and died apparently witii-otit witii-otit farther 'iiiji. The bod- will be taken to ;!ie home of his sister in Boston, where funeral services will be held Wednesday moraine,- A Popular Idol. Hardly had the news uf the passing of America's e,-eatest fistic champion been flashed broadcast, than messages of sympathv began pouring into town from men in all walks of life. Sullivan, in his prime, w-as a popular idol and he (Continued on Page Two.) JOHN L SULLIVAN, MOST RENOWNED FIGHTER, DEAD (Continued from Page One.) never entirely lost li is hold on the pub-lie. pub-lie. This was due not only to the success suc-cess of his prize f itthtiai.u; days, but to his ruirfiod battle later against his old easy oin; habits. John Ij. always attributed his loss of the American championship to -lames J. (,'orbett, by a knockout in Xcw Orleans. September 7, J8!2, to liquor, lie had made a fortune in the prize rin and had spent it when his friends tendered hint a benefit coneert in ISoston to put him on his feet again. The money obtained ob-tained from this venture went also according ac-cording to his ruling habit, and then Sullivan's old fighting spirit reasserted itself and he announced that he had entered en-tered the list against John Barleycorn for a finht to the finish. ' Battle With Booze. The public regarded this challenge with interest. John L. battled with John Barleycorn as he had with all his opponents. Ue forced the fighting, as it were. lie proeltiimed his defiance of drink from platforms throughout the country and held himself up to the youth as ti horrible example of what drink would do. Ue. never let up in his aggressive ag-gressive fight, against liquor, and frequently fre-quently left his farm here for long temperaneo sneaking tours. His advent on the temperance lecture .stage brought about a famous incident in which Oeneral Nelson A. Miles refused re-fused to appear with him as a speaker at the same meeting. Sullivan met the rebuff with good-natured bantering, and the remark that, the only difference being Miles anil himself as a fighter was that he started as a plumber while the general began life as a ribbon clerk, ami that ho (Sullivan) was far more familiar with the declaration of independence. y A Gentleman Farmer. A few years ago. after a long time spent, partly upon the stage, partly in writing various editions of his memoirs, partly us "sporting editor" of various log newspapers, he retired to North ! Abington and begun farming on a " scientific basis'" that is, he became a L'ontleman. farmer, gathered a few J friends about him, and could be found in the summer sitting on a wide veranda, ver-anda, placidly recounting stories of hi:-hmg hi:-hmg eventful life and dispersing sermons ser-mons to any ami all who might feci in need ot' a spiritual reviving. I Stillivaus '' gruf i'ness, hts brusque manner and his towering figure made him trie center ot' attraction wlfrever he went. Wis philosophy was straight and to tiie point, and his mariner of speaking wa- as devoid of eamouf lage as his fighting style had been. Did His Bit. lie was oil 'ears old when he died. He had often expressed relict that he was too old to go with the boys over seas, but he was not too old to do his bit. He" never declined an invitation to speak at a flag raising or recruiting recruit-ing rally or in behalf of the Liberty loan. Sullivan was never taught how to box. He took to fightiog naturally. His first appearance in the ring was at a variety performance in Boston when he was in his "teens," a magnificently mag-nificently built young man weighing nearly 200 pounds. A husky boxer who was one of the performers, challenged chal-lenged anyone in the audience to enter the ring with him. It was a summons Sullivan could not refuse, although he had had no ring experience. Peeling off his coat, he leaped upon the stage, took a blow to the bead and then knocked out his "opponent with one clean punch straight from the shoulder. Tt was a method of fighting he never dropped. i