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Show J:T32:W;ilNiL.:SlILLiVAN John L. Sullivan is going to have another an-other fling at' the stage. ' . 'The old-time warrior has persuaded a manager of one of the "bu'rley'.' shows .in the Eastern wheel that he can keep sober for. ten weeks in succession, and has - been booked for that length of time, opening down South early next month- provided he doesn't fall off the water wagon between bow and then. " All admirers of the old-time cham-' cham-' pion will.be glad to hear that he has been sticking pretty close to the straight and . narrow path for some months, and as a result his salary has been boosted, until he will get $500 a - week and a percentage of the receipts ' of the show over a certain figure. I wonder how many $500 pay nights he ' will actually be able to stand! Five hundred bones a week for John I.! Why, Sam Berger, the dub fighter, among the native sons, who never won a real fight in his life and -who got a sound thrashing from another third-rater third-rater the other night, wouldn't even consider that amount, and Joe Gans, who has a championship title, to be sure, is - getting three - times that amount now showing ' out "Wesrr Gans' jump from being a chambermaid chamber-maid in a fish market at $5 a. week to the star in a company of white' men and women at $1500 came in just ten years' time, although the discovery of the uresent champion .occurred in 1892. "For some time before that," says a Baltimore man, "Joe had been going about Baltimore with a chip on his shoulder. By day he served aa menial for a dealer in fish; when the shades of evening fell he fared forth to batter bat-ter his fellow darkies. He had picked up not a tittle 'science,' but he was still ignorant of the ultimate secrets, and as- a practical fighter he backed aggressiveness and that bold assurance which makes so many victories. Her-ford Her-ford sought him out; lectured him, coached him and trained him. and pretty soon Joe began to make a stir. But for a long while it was impossible impos-sible to match him against any fighter of recognized standing. The cause of this lay chiefly in Joe's complexion. He was and is excessively brunette, with black, kinky bair and the peculiar pecu-liar features of the Ethiopian race., In brief, he was a 'Dinge,' or Afro-Amer-can, and the fastidious Irish, Swedish, German and Italian 'pugs' of that day were disinclined to meet him. But Al kept at them to come into his camp. This unfortunate gentleman was Tommy Tom-my Butler. Tommy weighed fifteen poutds more than Joe, but Al was determined de-termined that they should meet at all hazards. So they faeed each other on the evening of June 29, 1896, before the Pelican Athletic club, in New York, and at the end of twelve rounds Joe was given the decision. "That was a surprise for the sports, indeed, for Butler was a first-rate fighter, but Herford was not surprised. He saw in Gans a future champion and laid his plans accordingly. Day by day he besieged the managers of other fighters for matches. At first they shied, because, as has been stated, Joe was unduly brunette, but by and by Fart of their reluctance began to rise rora the fact that he was also unduly skillful with his fists. One by one, however, they had to yield, and nine 1 times out of ten Joe won. " . - |