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Show SPORTLIGHT , When Tunney and Corbett Sparred By GRANTLAND RICE I THEY WERE TALKING about the ring's best boxers, v They were a bunch of old-time fight writers and old-time fighters. They had listed Joe Gans, Sam Langford, Jack Blackburn, Gene Tunney, Joe Louis, Tommy Loughran, Packy McFarland, Benny Leonard and a few others. They also naturally named Jim Corbett as one of the , best. I'U taKe a chance and pick Corbett as THE best boxer of all time. ! Here's one of many other reasons. rea-sons. Just a short while before Gene Tunney .-in. t Tapir ripmn. Corbett's Choice "They always said I was a boxer who couldn't punch," Gentleman Jim said one day. "I could punch more than hard enough. But there were two tights that I won by knockouts. In both I hurt my hands. So I got to thinking. I knew I could outbox anyone then around by a wide margin. So I decided de-cided to save my hands and win decisions. A good boxer can last much longer than a good slugger. In the first place he can save himself him-self from punishment. Especially to his hands. In the second place he can concentrate on one detail in place of two." That was some 24 years ago. But even then Corbett was se-verly se-verly critical of the way all fighters that far back trained. All except Gene Tunney who studied the game intelligently who worked, studied the effect ef-fect of many punches and who also kept himself in marvelous condition for the five years needed to reach and hold his goal. "Dempsey can't relax," Corbett said at that time. "Jack goes out for the quick kill. He puts everything every-thing he has into his earlier assaults. as-saults. Dempsey has the finest competitive com-petitive spirit I've ever seen. Tunney Tun-ney is the coolest man in the ring I've ever seen. Here are two great fighters who are almost opposite in everything they do. Dempsey is 99 per cent attack Tunney at least 80 per cent defense. But don't think Tunney can't hurt you." When you think of , fighters like Corbett, Dempsey and Tunney and Louis in his prime and then look at the morbid heavyweights you see today you wonder how such a change could take place. ... Future of Cardinals Is the once great Cardinal machine ma-chine on its way out? At least it Grantland Rice' sey for the title, Jim Corbett had written a book called ."The Roar of the Crowd." Jim was looking for some publicity pub-licity for the book. Tunney at the time was looking for publicity pub-licity that would help him nail down the Dempsey fight. Gene was Just finishing a long campaign cam-paign for the championship. So Jack Eaton and your correspondent correspon-dent got the idea of using Corbett Cor-bett and Tunney in a one-reeler in our movie sport-reel series. Both agreed promptly. The meeting meet-ing was to be only two rounds at two mintues each. The only outsider outsid-er permitted to see the boxing duel was Frank Craven, the late and always brilliant actor. Jim Corbett was then 63 years old. Tunney was around 25 or 26. Tunney was dressed in full fighting costume but Corbett asked to be allowed to wear long white trousers. "My legs are not what they used to be," he said. "They have thinned out a lot. I don't want the old gang around the Oylmpic Club in San Francisco to note the change." In addition to his 63 years Corbett also had a cold. Gene Tunney later admitted that he had never faced a boxer with that much boxing skill. Corbett would feint with his left and then lead with his left. Or he would feint with his left two or three times before calling on his right. Old Jim had an amazing amaz-ing repertoire. "I used the feint," he said, "both on attack and defense. Most boxers box-ers now use it only in defense to make you miss. The feint is a wonderful attacking device." It was not only the various uses Corbett Cor-bett had for his feinting, but also the speed of his hands at 63. Naturally Nat-urally Gene Tunney was not out to show Corbett up, or to make it too rough. But Corbett kept Tunney Tun-ney busy enough through those four minutes. And Tunney that afternoon was at his peak as a boxer one of the best in the game. faces stormy days. When Bob Han-negan Han-negan and Fred Saigh ' took over the star team of the older league, both knew the handicap they faced. "Our farm system is far behind what it should be," Hannegan told me one day Just before he died. "Branch Rickey is with Brooklyn building up that organization now and Sam Breadon has been too sick to plan anything." Fred Saigh is one of the smartest operators baseball has. Saigh is a keen, hard-working owner. But neither owners nor managers bat, hit, run or throw. No one could ask for a better manager than Eddie Dyer, the Texan. But Dyer can't replace old, tiring arms and legs with the sinews sin-ews of youth. , Today the Cardinals have Stan Musial, almost half a ball club and Red Schoendienst. another star. |
