Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1927-01-03 | Page 7 | Bristling Battles of Bare Fist Days

00 ing Battles DaysI Fist Days I I MV MY LIFE IFE STORY I I Jacl Jacl- CIl aL CIL R TWO CopyrIght 1 26 by NEA Service Inc The Tho original Jack Dempsey Demp ey and ad m elt carne came cam very nearl nearly being wrestlers Instead of ot prizefighters Martin Dempsey Jacks Jack's Jack older brother was a a wrestler and tried trice his hardest to make mke Jack and me m mInto Into shortly alter after we w be- be became became became came acquainted through a a chance chanc mutual friend and meeting on the tho th Don Bowery ery cry But Jack and I ept right on working as a We e used to read In the tho Clipper about the to- to famous fa famous fighters of ot the period Jem Mace Miko McCool Joe Ioe Gos Go Goes and ad Tom Earl Early We Wo learned the tho best was a straight left lett and a rl-ht rl cross cron cro s counter Dempsey ey and I made gloves out of socks Our punchIng bap bg was wasa wasa wasa a pillow Our STI was the th kitchen II Ou Our r first pair of gloves cot coot u us The Tho leather Jeaner was waa as a stiff as shoe leather loather Dempsey Dempsey's s first t tight fight offer otter came cam from rein Barry lull Hill a big ble sport around New ow York In 1883 Hill fill offered Dempsey 50 SO to tIght fiGht the sensa sensa- sensational sensational Ed McDonald a 0 middle middle- middle middleweight wel weight ht Wo Wol all an sneaked oft off to tol l Flushing and the ring was wa pitched at dawn In the back of II a road road- road horse hOlse London ring rine rules rule with bare baro knuckles wore were agreed upon Dempsey surprised everyone In- In dueling clueing himself ol by knocking out McDonald In la tho twenty round The lightweight clus cIas as ai such was hardly recognized then but due duto to the stimulus Dempsey Injected Into the division Interest beGan beean to boom John Shanley a wealthy Brook Brook- Brooklyn Brooklyn Brooklyn lyn sportsman took Dempsey D Y up and said laId he be would back him In ali il tights he h had It was the tho th custom i then tor for every good rood fighter tighter to hove have hava havea a rich backer I At this time Charle Charley Chancy Norton an livIng JIving in claimed th the title Most of his claims were verbal He lie flatly re- re re refused fused to Dempsey and with all this talk about the tb lightweight clas claSS It soon Boon became J established and Dempsey was fixed as lis leader Its leader L 1 Lm am m thankful he h revived the claas because It made mad rae r-ie n a 1 figure flur of greater prominence when I 1 ClIme cams Into It later laler The Norton Dempsey feud grew I and nd grew crew Finally Harry Force another n and of Norton said ho Io vae the th cham chiam champion non pion and he be challenged Dempsey Dempsey jumped at a chance chanc to lit him angered at what he lie te con con- consid sid red an attempt by Norton to tomako tomake tomake make mako him look tad bad Ill I'll get him If It its It'll the tho last thing I do he lie said to me angrily Editors Editor's In hote Note In the next chapter e describes describe the tho DempseY ey fight held ct It Coney Island at midnight on September 3 L 1883 1823 dealing with the tb bare knuckle strategy ot of the time