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Show VHEN JEFF WAS MADE CH AMPKIN I'dul Armstrong, the roan who wrote the "Heir of the Hooraii" and other successful plays, used to write lighi dope under the name of Right Cnss. Paul comes across with a bully f tory of how Tommy Ryan literally Hundod Jim Jeffries inui the championship, cham-pionship, and as Jeff and Tommy arc not good Irlends any more, this stuff of Armstrong's makes fine reading. Hilly Delaney has been gtven a lot of credit lor making a champion out of Jeffries, but recording to Armstrong. Tommy Ryan Is the man wno really deserves it. .Mr. Armstrong's story follows: (By Paul Armstrong. 1 The other day 1 met Tommy Ryan mi. I he asked rue: "Waal did 1 ever do to .11 in .iefnies thai lie should al-v al-v ays have his hammer out lor me?" I replied: "Never anything against .Urn. but a lot for him." We then dl:i-c dl:i-c issed the hard work Ryan did with Jim m the training camp down at As-bury As-bury park. Ryan. who had been accused of everything ev-erything on the crooked lighters' calendar, cal-endar, but nevertheless was tne greatest great-est tighter, pound for pound, that .nerica ever producei; He wan r Lampion ol two classes, the best bet-I'r.g bet-I'r.g pi oposii inn in the r:iH'.. and a interesting a mr.'.i In nciro.i as ever lived. The tirsl exponent ol lighting rk'Vi rness, he could folnt you Into blindness. Jolt you Intj Idiocy or knock you dea.l with a wallop. ll had a J c( ol head, blinding speed nod eeryl km wu punch. He foujht more thau j iv.enty years, everything from six-j "left and right to the body. He hit1 him wherever he liked, whenever he llkod and Jeff' a attempts to lead or' counter wero so pathetic that frequently fre-quently both Delaney and brother Jack woe4d leave the barn In dlsnust. j And be not deceived with the Idea that there was any agreement that Jeff was not to lv his besi. n was always trying, and Ryan saying, "Come on, conic on." They swore and fought and scarcely scarce-ly spoke at times, but Ryan was no a hired sparring partner and he did not care one d whether he trained with Jeffries or not. He wanted Fltz-slmmons Fltz-slmmons beaten, and before him was a big, strong youth matched with his I enemy. He knew Fiti, his every trick, his weakness and his strength. He could Imitate him perfectly, and he made Jeff light Fltz In the barn J as near as Ryan could flpht like j Fltz. He would jolt Jeff and then j stop and explain" and then do It again harder. At times Jeff was discouraged. discourag-ed. A hundred times he asked me If I I thought, he had a chance with Fltz-simmons. Fltz-simmons. I would tell Ryan and h would Ray, "If he's going to quit I'll make him do It In this barn, not In the ring," and the next session would be one of blinding speed, blood and taunts. But there was no quit In Jeff. There is none. He was, and Is. game, and his courage Is as rock-ribbed as the everlasting hills. (And lay your bet on that In the coming flht, for that Is the ace.) Ryan says I know more of those lutor days than anyone. I guess that's true. Delaney didn't like to see It and quit coining. Ja?k used to try to advise Jeff, and Jeff didn't want him around. I used to stand by and "sic" Ryan on, and some way the big bear liked me for that. Jeff was not taken In hand like n young millionaire and gently taught. He was turned Into a barn with the cleverest fighter olive, who was trying 1o break his nose, cave In his ribs, cut him and put him out If he could. And he learned first to protect hlni-r.rlf hlni-r.rlf and next to hit while protected. Ryan's wallops at his body taught him Ryan's crouch, and the old straight left that Ryan used, a left ! that traveled six Inches and set your head back, in the hands of Jeffries learned to travel four Inches aud ret );' down Ryan's little left hook to the floating float-ing rib that slowly stopped his men, In Jeff's hands brought a temporary but complete paralysis. Ryan's short right, straight as a wogon tongue, that stopped many a rushing sucker. In Jeff's hands later stove Sharkey In like a ship pound-log pound-log on a rock-strown la shore. It was Ryan's rapid fire battery of six-Inch puns turned Into twelve-Inch, In Jeffries' hands. At the ringside It was Ran s mind that won. Only one sound ever reached reach-ed Jeffries' ear that night of June 0. It was cot the howl of te multitude, nor the shrieks of the hysterical Rradv. nor the -encouragement of his lest lilend, Delaney. It was the voice ' of the master. Tommy Ryan, sharp as pistol shots In an arctic silence, that steered him through the reef of trlckB trial Fitzslmmons forever led him toward to-ward I heard Ryan as a last Injunction, on the day Jeff stopped training, lav out the flpht. 1 heard one thine reiterated until It became a chant: "Don't ever lift your right hand to rltz's head, Jeff. Stick to the left to the end " I And will anyone who ever saw the fight forget how religiously that in- I Junction was obeyed? I Even when Fltz, with both arras j hanging limp, stood swaying, blear- j eyed and beaten, Jeff hesitated until he heard Ryan's voice I It came, a scream above the throaty roar of thousands. "Let It go" And a moment later -Jeff was champion. icund exhibitions to bare knuckle fin- i iies in private. And he was once b' Olen decisively. He offered to fight ."'ilv.tlni(iin.iH for the middleweight tliauiplor.shlp, and had Fltz kept his rtord and made the nildJIcweigiit ityan would have been there. And he louglu uiili a (much all his life remember Ihat- And as la Jeffries !n the Right Cross days there cunie under my observation a much-touted coast woiider. who had been a sparring pari tier of Corbet t'n at Corson City. Pc aney had picked him up because In- was big ai'-d strong anil was alternating al-ternating o make something of him. He came io New York and was to ilpht two men in the aauie r:ng Sieve O'l'onr.ell anl F!ob Armstrong. Until were yellow hcav y ve:gjts, one I rn Australian, the other a negro. Jeffries drew Armstrong tirst. There was the ii?ual delay, but linnlly the I I .il ela.if-.ed, and we saw the big won- j der in action He proved to b a big. .'umbering sr.ckT. He had a lot of useless footwork foot-work and a iclni or two h-. had picked up ofl Corblt. bnl ho st'.oj on his hi-fis. started his hord; from behln I Mm and didn't know what his right band va.s for. Armstrong stayed his ten rounds, i.nd on the excuse that Jeff had hurt his hand he refused to go on with O'Doiinell. Th n Jeffries faded from view. Some months later Hill Brady came to me. ope lJght at a six-day bicycle race and calb-il me aside :o asu in., j ( pinion of Jeffries, saying that Delaney i si 111 believed in him and wanted io 1 bring him back ensL It developed .'n I i he inlk that Brady thought of managing mana-ging Jeffries, r.nd h was evidently leading me out as to what the attitude atti-tude of Right Cross would be toward a man he Intended to play up ror a champion. I was perfectlv candid, and told Brady 1 bellexed If Jeff knew how to box he would be a great heavyweight. And In this talk I mentioned that if Jeff hud some one like Kyan to teach him he might be a champion. The talk ended by Brady saying he hadn t yet decided what he would do. anil ine matter resten a ween or so Then one nlghi Brady announced to me that he had Jeff and was dealing with Rvan to train with hlrn. The combination looked promising, and Right Cross tool; Jeffries and his fu- j turc seriously. This was in the winter, at a time j when Fltz was trjlng to make Sharkey fight,-with O'Rourke stalling out or each corner. They finally met; tlv? meeilng broke up In ft row, and Martin Mar-tin Julian, Fltz's manager, was lamenting lament-ing the fact that Fitz could find no opponents. Brady had gone west, but 1 tr:ok It upon myself to tell Julian that Jeffries would fight Fltz. Both Julian and Fitzslnimons jumped at It., and the next morning I drew the articles ar-ticles for the flRht. and Kid IStrnn signed for Brad) and Jeffries. The date of ihe fight was made June :t. and the articles drawn In February. lMh fighters then went with burlesque shows, and I kept the match before the public by frequent stories. Finally, when the spring came, Jeffries Jef-fries went to Allonhurst. N. J., next 2oor to Asbury Park, to train The weak end of the fight wa.s Jef flies, so 1. for The Morning and Evening Even-ing Journal, went to Asburv Park to live. 1 was within a short walk of the ing quarters, on very friendly terms with Delaney. Ryan and Jeffries, so .vent there everv day. 1 was the only man, save Delaney and Jack Jeffries, who eveu saw Jeffries Jef-fries get his from Ryan. At that time Jeffries seemed to understand un-derstand that I wa.s a pretty good friend," and when he went to the barn to box with Ryan he used to ask nio along. And now as to what Ryan did to and lor Jeffries. First, Jeffries was without style, a knowledge of bitting nr blocking. All he had was the chance of the big gamo man who ran take a heating and keep swinging Ryan knew that as Jerr fought the night he met Armstrong Arm-strong he was-bulk to order for Fitz 8lniruon6. hence he started In to beat Jeffries Into smothering up Instead of coming as If to embrace. Delaney. Jack Jeffries and I. and wu alone, saw the transformation. Ryan did not box or explain. He Jabbed and he jolted and he hooked and he swung, and Jeff with a sheepish smile took It. And that was the best he had H he reached back to get one of his left hooks Ryan's right shot to the side of his head with a thud If ho tried to swing the right Ryan crossed Inside In-side with 6. left hook then hack with a stralRQt right, and the big feltow stnggered back. Ryan would feint jcff'n bands up to his head, then blng. banc would tro |
