Show BA FAS AN GET SOLIDLY BEH BEHIND ENTRIES FOR STATE TITLE 1 Promoter h loss ai-loss t L to to t Explain Financial Flu e In Incident ident of the te Broken Gong Controversy I Is Explained by Rickard By Tex Rickard TO To TillS THIS IlS IlSa a day I am unable to understand just ju why th the tho 1 Willard Viard Willard Dempsey fight at Toledo on Jul July 4 1919 was isag not a n bigg bigger r financial success I figured it ont carefully ou beforehand and I have tried tred to figure it it out imp impersonally ron Uy small smal since attendance As yet I see no definite reason for the he comparatively In staging the fight m my mind Ud was waa d definitely tely set se on a big arena arnia and the next step was waa to to- to locate t tile e right spot pot in which to erect it It We W. hid had hd all aU torts sorts of ot offers offer In my own on mind I bad had bad J that tha th the hold bold proper place to a b bg 1 ship fight flicht was wal the le center of ot population r c Ih the UI d Stat States s or as all near to 10 It as s we could I got the he gover government ment census report and the railroad map I gave th these e much study I still mal had in mind the Jeffries Johnson o fi fight held at Reno r I Al At- te that time I nr had insisted on getting nearer Hearer to the center of ot population The map end and Ild the th gov government statistics static statis tics showed Tol Toledo do 0 O to be n nearest nt the center More people could go there with le less lees s distance to cov cover r than any ny place In Inthe Inthe inthe the United States State The actual population of ot Toledo was not a a big factor In our calculations The big majority of ot people peo peo- pie we felt sure lure would come from Outside outside outside out out- side places place It I was c certainly more ac accessible so- so to New ew York tans fans for tor Instance than San Ean Francisco or Reno would have b bee on 1 It I was wa also Just a few tew hours hours' hours rids rid Middle West Vet from pry eny pry place In the Iddle Having arrived at that conclusion I took the plunge The erection of ot the arena areni alen alone cost m me mt But ut the people did 2000 not come not conic not In great numbers number reat I 1 guess gUeS I Just didn't size slie it up right There w were re no hard times Ume then and that can not be given a OH as an excuse Everybody Everybody Every Every- body body had plenty o of money and was was eager to spend it I. I ion OR OT lOT It I Is possible that the big ble fight tIght was w. w ballyhooed a little to o strong Many any stayed away away I believe beleve because of ot a General general gen Gen- eral cral belief bele that It It would be Impossible to get seats seat seats That though does doe not fully ep explain ln it I. I The fact tact is the peo- peo Jeo pie of ot the Middle West Wet did not come The railroads at that tha time were ere under government government control and we ve had bad ha great grat difficulty in arranging excursion trains traina trains Even Kven so so more people could have been accommodated I 1 built buit the arena large enough to seat people In a pinch and expected When the big day day finally arrIved arrived ar ar- ar- ar rived ne we e bpd bad but spectators and nd there were were- great rows of ot empty seats seat That Tha by the way was wa the hottest Fourth of July I ever have bave seen seen Our receipts In money money amounted to less lees than half halt what I had expected ex ex- Come to think hInk of ot It It tha that crowd I was about proportionate to New 1 New York at that when we consider the population of ot the immediate surroundings I spoke poke of the weather On the mornIng morning morn morn- mor- mor Ing Ing- of ot the fight tight hundreds hundred of ot newspaper newspapermen men were In the ringside seat seats I of ot the arena as aa early as 3 9 o'clock The heat was so eo Int intense nse that some of ot them al almost almost almost al- al most collapsed There was waa a constant procession of ot them water ater ater Before the tints time for tor the fight tight many may of ot them had raised umbrellas to escape the burning sun This Thi furnished an unusual Unusual un u- u usual B scene ne at a prize fight As I said in my last lat article I really raly felt sorry for tor Dempsey when I m met t him for tor the first time and signed him up to right light Willard He Ste looked so small that It it- impossible e for hint him to win I II tri When h I saw a n him in training though b I revised r my opinion Though apparently nty small smal he lie was as a. strong as a a lion Ion 2nd nd 5 s lithe us sa s a a. 3 panther Still Still- StillI I had doubt that he ie could win Many others f lilt lt sorry sory for Dempsey IY He Ic was Immensely popular with those who knew him personally A A. lot of ot tans fans wanted anted to see sen him win but doubted that he could do it Willard was wu a big favorite in the betting nET BET ALMOST WON ox Quite a te few of ot the newspaper writers the boxing experts had a hunch that D would win Some Som of ot them said sId so 0 openly In th their lr column columns and made bets bot on I remember writer wrier who made a bet of ot against that that Dempsey would knock Willard out in the first firt round round That Tl wa was vaa looked upon as a a 3 joke jOk bet It I really realy resulted from an argument darIng during dar dur ing the training The newspaper writer Insisted though that he had made a good bet How close clos he came cameto cameto cameto to winning la Is well known now In fact tact thousands thousand of ot fans tans believe beleve to day day- that he would have havo won but for tor an a ac accident accident ac- ac in ringing the bell bel for the end of ot tho the first round In my whole life I dont don't believe beleve I ever have seen more confidence in a mans man's face tace than In n Dempsey's when he lie took h hs corner corner J just before the gong gon sounded Over in the other corner Willard looked like a h huge hogs e elephant about to crush ersh a panther It I seemed impossible that a aman aman man mn of ot that size sIz could be downed b by a aman aman man like Dempsey When all al the preliminaries were over and the gong gong- Iong sounded Dempsey fairly leaped from his hil corner Without any hesitation or Cautious sparring he tore at Willard Wiard Getting inside the bl big arms arm of ot the champion Dempsey let fly a right handed swin It I landed flush tush on tho the Jaw of ot Willard and the big giant Ilant was a knocked a AS flat tat as a pancake He 11 le tumbled tumbled tum turn bled bird like a house hit by a cyclone The crowd actually gap gasped d In surprise In another r minute the whole place was waa in inan inan an n uproar Visions of ot a new champion chapion Were ere In the minds mind of ot the great reat crowd nn Bang D Dempsey y socked another on one I squarely u reIT on J Jews Jesse a Saw Jaw the t. t mom nth co got to his hi feet Down he be went again ie I haven't a the e writing a mJ A to describe de dc e- e scribe the scene at that moment It I wa wu something like that exciting night up at the Polo grounds ground when hen Firpo knocked Dempsey Dempy out oat of ot the ring The people went crazy Willard Wlad went ent down dow Mv seven n Um times time THE mI Tm GONG GONO GOES It wa was during this excitement that ta something went wrong with wit the rong gong and and It I failed to work ork I 1 am arn not In position to say 8 I d do not know but bt there are many who claim clam that Willard have been knocked out if It the gong gon had ou sounded Bounded at the te right moment or It if the principals principal had ba heard berd the efforts of ot the te timekeepers tiMekeeper la In II the th press pres seats Mats at at t the ringside there was quite a commotion Everybody y be believed be for a second that t t the fellow who h had made the bet of ot 00 against that Dempsey would win wil in 11 the first fist round had ha won won t Alter After r that it waa W. all al Dempsey Dempsey's fight Iii His first tut punches pUnch puch coming like battering rams rains ras had taken taen Ui the force tore out of o WIllards WIllard's WIlar WI- WI WIl- WIl cover lar lards lard's return blows blow blow H Ue Ifs could not net re r- r re- re I A Anew new champion capIon had bad ba arisen In Ia Ii m man many ny ways ways way I think tink him the greatest gretes ot of all heavyweight kings For For a roan man mal o or his hili size there thero is I. no n question in my mT mind but that Jack e Dempsey De Is the I creat greatest it heavyweight v h f of t them all Some went so s o far as to say sy that Willard Wf- Wf Wll Wil- lard had Quit Quit I do not believe beUne it It Jus IS Willards Willard's own words may throw some som light on that as u I will wi show x TR GA GAM C SEERS i 1 KETE g GE Copyright 1023 In t. t 8 8 and n a Britain Cuba Cb Japan and s-nd ad South America by North American w paper pa- pa Nor per Iel merM Alliance AlaN All 1 right d. d |