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Show Sports gi Released by Western Newspaper Union. "X7IN, lose or draw, Hammerin' Henry Armstrong always has been the fighter for our money. Pound for pound, Henry Just about tops the list of all-time great boxers. Look over the list of ring men and find one who has done what he has. The dark slugger set a record fof bowling over his opponents and in so doing managed to win three world's boxing championships, holding hold-ing them simultaneously. More than once the experts said Henry was through. That has been the cry for years. Henry again upset up-set the dope recently when he knocked out Aaron Perry, a sensational sensa-tional comer, in Washington, D. C. Yet Henry insists he always has been a pacifist who avoids arguments argu-ments and heartily dislikes fighting. How is it, then, that a man who detest fighting can work up so much fury when he steps into the ring? Simple Ansiver The answer Is simple and quite obvious. Henry needs the money. He is fighting for board and room. During his ring career the little Negro probably earned a million dollars or so. lie Isn't absolutely HENRY ARMSTRONG broke now, but he isn't a rich man by any standards. The disappearance disappear-ance of his hard-earned wealth doesn't cause Henry too much mental men-tal anguish. He remembers cheer, fully how his likable ex-manager, the late Eddie Meade, managed U mess up their finances following ev ery big bout. Henry remembers that when the time came to split the purses, Meade always came up with a -brilliant idea for doubling their money. The schemes always failed. Gene Kessler, a Chicago sporti writer, tells of some of Meade's get rich-quick ideas: "There was the movie, "Keep Punching,' in which Henry was star actor, co-director and financial angel. All Henry got for his bankroll bank-roll in that venture was a few souvenirs souve-nirs and still-life photos of himself. There was the flash-front chop suej joint in Los Angeles which packed in customers but, strangely, showed no profit. In fact, it kept Henry broke feeding the good citizens oi Los Angeles from his fight pursei until a sheriff gracefully closed th doors." Financial Venture But Meade's greatest financial ventures had to do with the improvement im-provement of the breed. De wai known to have invested an entire fight purse on one discouraged n which ended op Just where everyone every-one else expected him to. Armstrong retired in 1940 aftei absorbing quite a beating frorr Fritzie Zivic. He took a terrible pounding in that fight.- His eyei were hammered into bloody, bruta! messes. And when he retired he had only a small bank balance to show for his great earnings. The story goes that when Henry retired, Meade took the last of hit earnings and bought a race horse. It wasn't the best race horse in the world, but one day he won a $5,00C stake at Belmont. It was the firsl big money Meade had ever collected from the turf and the shock was toe severe. He collected his money, returned re-turned to Broadway and died. It wasn't love of fighting that brought Henry back to the ring. It was necessity, coupled with the lure of war-fattened bankrolls. And thh time he is going to take care of hlej own finances. The total gate for hie match with Perry grossed $60,104 In Washington. Other good sized gates have given him a comfortable chunk of cash. He could retire now with enougt to last him the rest of his life, but he's playing it safe and addinf something extra to a bankroll that has had the unhappy experience oi fading all too rapidly. SPORTS SHORTS C. Gene Tunney modestly does not rate himself in his list of the eight best heavyweights, but does ranh Jack Dempsey, whom he whipped twice, as the No. 1 scrapper. Dempsey was followed by Fitzsim-mons, Fitzsim-mons, Corbett, Jeffries, Louis, Sulli van, Johnson and Sharkey, in tha1 order. C. In eight of the last nine years, the team that was In last place ir the National league standings oc the morning of Memorial day, wor the pennant. |