Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-02-03 | Page 32 | John L Sullivan Most Picturesque Figure of Arena

JOHN L. SULLIVAN MOST PICTURESQUE ' FIGURE OF ARENA John Laurence Sullivan was one of the most picturesque characters in the history of prize fighting. For more than ten years, from the time he defeated Paddy Ryan in 1SS2, in a bare knuckle fight under the London prize ring rules, until he was defeated by James J. Corbett, Cor-bett, in 1S92, his personality and. methods of fighting completely dominated sporting sport-ing circles -in the . United States. 1 n the annals of pugilism in this country two notable distinctions were his He was the last champion under the London prize ring rules and he was the first native born American to succeed suc-ceed to the w-orld's championship. It was largely through- his achievements that the championship title was made a prize of- great monetary value. In the early days of his career $1000 a. side was looked on as a great sum. He received re-ceived only $,")3 for the fight that made him a national character in fisticuffs and won him the right to challenge Paddy Ryan for the championship. His friends" ranged all the way from the ordinary "fight fan" to many men of social and financial distinction in the United States, and it is said he was on chumming terms with the late King Edward Ed-ward VII of England. He began his fighting career soon after he was 17, when as the "Boston Strong Boy" he took part in amateur boxing contests in several cities in Massachusetts, Mas-sachusetts, if Sullivan's customary procedure pro-cedure in his early youth could be called boxing. Tactics, strategy, plans of campaign were all swept away when John L. hammered his ruthless, undevi-ating undevi-ating way to the front. His style was atavistic, a return to the simple, primitive primi-tive principle of battering an opponent into insensibility. His success, coupled with his free manners, a certain social triumph and his subsequent position as a semi-public character proclaimed him a sort of dignitary in the sporting world. "Knockout" Invented. After his fight with Paddy Ryan, on the strip of greensward on the Gulf of Mexico, the word "knockout" was manufactured manu-factured by Billy Madden, Sullivan's jirainer, to describe . the effect of his blows when properly delivered. His hardest fight was with Jake Kilrain. Kil-rain. It was fought near New Orleans and lasted for seventy-five rounds. That was the last championship contest in the United States to be fought with bare knuckles, under the old rules. That fight practically decided the use-lessness use-lessness of trying to beat Suivan by combatting him in his own sledge hammer ham-mer style. A thirty-nine round fight with Charley Mitchell, a wary and skilful boxer, seemed to show fighting managers that the great John L. might be vulnerable vulner-able to a man who could box well and stay with him long enough to wear hi'm down. The opportunity to try this method meth-od on the champion -fell to James J. Corbett. Cor-bett. The purse was the largest ever put up in a ring battle up to that time. The purse was ?25.000 and the stakes ?20.000. The fight that was to end John L.'s championship was fought before the Olympic club of New Orleans. When the fight was over there was a new champion cham-pion of the world. Sullivan was 31 at the time of his defeat. Sullivan said himself that he made two millions in the fighting business and that he spent one million of it in buying buy-ing drinks for himself and his host of admirers. He had knocked out 200 men, of one sort or another in his fighting: career, and finally he said that in a saloon in Terre Haute, Intl.. in 19)15, he gave the "Black Bottle," his greatest enemy.' the knockout wallop. On the occasion of the decision with regard to the "Black Bottle," he said : ; "If I take another drink, I hope I choke," so help me God." He never took another, but kept up his fight for temperance tem-perance by lecturing occasionally on the evils of drink for those who have athletic ath-letic ambitions. He was born in ' Boston, October 15, 185S, and passed the later years of his life on a farm which he owned hear West Abington, Mass. He was twice married. His first wife was Annie Bates of Cen-terville, Cen-terville, R. I., whom lie married in 1NS2, but with whom he lived only a few nion ths and from whom he obtained a divorce on the ground of desertion after 'twenty-six years. At 51 years of nsre the former champion took as his second wife Kate Harkins of Roxbury, who was his sweetheart years before when he was "The Boston Strong Boy." Mrs. Sullivan died about four months ago.