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8 D TTEAltST’S SUNDAY AMERICAN, ATLANTA, CA„ SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 1913.
Sunday Am
lerlcar
S]
porting Pages Lead AH Others
COMING BACK WITH THE SAME OLD ACT :: :: :: New, s „v.c.. « By Tad
AMD
THev opew
• N VOf? K
m October.
AHE GOING ON
Oan McKetrick Secures Bouts for
Jeannette, Moran, Williams,
Dunn and Ahearn.
N EW YORK. Aug. 23.- 1 —Dan Me-
Ketriok. the dapper little fight
manager, is going to make an
other trip to Europe. He has been
across the big pond so often that he
forgets the number of times. On his
next Journey to the other side he’ll
take with him the largest string of
fighters that any manager ever pilot
ed to a foreign country.
McKetrick has Just received a let
ter from Theodore Vienne, naming
his terms for the appearance abroad
of five American fighters, and Mc
Ketrick lost no time in hustling to the
cable office and wiring his acceptance.
The boxers that little Dan will take
abroad are Jo© Jeannette, Frank
Moran, both heavyweights; Harney
Williams, a middleweight; Young
Ahearn, a welterweight, and Mickey
Dunn, a bantam.
This party will start for Paris the
latter part of next month. Most of
the battles that will be arranged for
them will be held In the Cirque de
Paris, the big club of the French cap
ital.
Two of the boxers named above-
Williams and Ahearn—are proteges of
Dan Morgan’s, but as Vienne wanted
them. Moran agreed to loan them to
McKetrick, who is his side partner.
Williams has been promised three
fights, the first of which will take
place within fifteen days of his ar
rival.
• • •
M ORAN will first get a slam at the
best of the French and English
heavies, after which h e will be pitted
against the British heavyweight
champion. Bombardier Wells.
Moran is confident that he’ll again
make good abroad. He was over there
once before and made an awful hit
He knocked out Tom Cowier and Fred
Storback, both of whom have tacked
K. O ’* or the Boer, George Rodel. and
he also put away Fred Drummond
and Charlie Wilson.
• • •
J EANNETTE has been promised two
matches, both of which will take
place within five weeks of his arrival
tie is likely to get the winner of the
bout between Georges Carpentier and
A1 Palzer, and also he may be given
a chance at Jack Johnson.
Young Ahearn. who walk born on
British soil. will be matched with
Johnny Summers, holder of the wel
terweight title, for the Lord Lonsdale
belt. He will also encounter the
French welterweight champion, and If
he wins from both of these boxers
he’ll return to the United States and
will be ready to fight for the world's
championship.
Critic Upholds Griffin’s Verdict
+•+ +•+ +•+ 4-»+ +•+ +•+
McAllister Lucky to Get Draw
By W. AY. Naughton.
S AN*FRANCISCO, Auk. 23.—In the
ordinary course of things, the
Sailor Petroskey-Bob McAllister
bout would have been dropped as a
subject of discussion by this time. It
was in no sense a championship af
fair. It was devoid of knockdowns
or sensational incidents, and to be
frank about It, it earned no more
right to live in merifory than any
one of the hundreds of commonplace
events that are forgotten 24 hours
after they occur.
The claims of any unfair ruling on
the part of McAllister's friends are
likely to keep the contest alive as
a theme until the men again get to
gether It is one of these cases in
which the alleged miscarriage of Jus
tice looms up as a greater wrong
wtth each day that ^passes. In the
course of a few months—until the
return match intervenes—McAllister
sympathizers will, begin to regard
Referee Jim Griffin’s verdict as one
of th*» foulest decisions ever given
in a ring.
• • *
I T all comes of having too many
friends. McAllister’s cronies were
semi-hysterical about his promise of
future greatness prior to the tussle,
and the fall—when he failed to win—
was all the greater. If ever a man
received every iota of credit that was
coming to him. McAllister did when
Griffin divided the honors between
him and Sailor Petroskev.
The trouble with McAllister is that
his blows are too light to imbue an
opponent with a proi>er degree of re
spect. True, so far as speed and de
livery were concerned, he landed thr^e
punches, maybe, to Petroskey’s one,
but what use were they?
In latter day boxing cleverness
only counts when it accomplishes
something, and the McAllister Clever
ness on that particular occasion com
pares to gold-bearing rock that shows
the color and nothing more.
This may be putting it a little
strong. There were odd punches
from Bob that jarred the sailor a bit
and even raised lumps, but 1 am re
ferring to the majority of leads and
his counters and. goodness knows, he
led and countered to such an extent
that it was hard to keep track of
the times he connected. And his
average punch was little heavier than
a fly kick.
* • •
P ETROSKEY caught on early in the
game, and right here I would
like to hark back to another contest
I saw Petroskey engaged In. When
he boxed Frank Klaus he sampled
I one of the Pittsburger’s rfp-tearing
uppercuts while the clang of the start’-
| ing gong was still in his ears. It
! warned Win there was trouble ahead
land he acted accordingly. He covered
up and, if memory serves, he re-
I malned covered up the greater part
i of the twenty rounds.
It was very different in the affair
with McAllister. The sailor, after
taking a few straight, lefts and short
rights, discovered that Bob’s stabs
and raps did not carry an ounce of
weight. The sailor grinned time and
again when Bob’s gloves plumped be
tween his eyes and inaugurated a
policy of boring in which he main
tained during the entire mateh.
* * *
J-JOWEVER, the bulk of McAllister’s
friends felt about it, I know that
there were several of them near where
I sat who were exasperated over the
small degree of force that McAllis
ter injected into his deliveries. They
thought, as I thought, that he was
sacrificing everything to a desire to
score frequently.
Three punches to the sailor’s one,
forsooth, but If he had dropped two
of the three and put some driving
power into the remaining one he
might have removed the sailor’s dis
dainful smile and piled up material,
credits that would have stood him
in need at the judging time. But no.
there he stood sending home clips
and raps without drawing either el
bow’ back an inch to accentuate ihe
impact. Cunning little punches of
that kind might tell In an old-time
blackened* glove contest, but. now
aday^. when ruggedness counts for
so much In a Queensburv tilt, a boxer
must not only be able to hit, but hit
hard.
• o •
\17HEN Petroskey smashed McAl-
lister in the fifteenth round it
looked to me as though the tide had
turned in the sailor’s favor. Nor was
there anything that happened between
that and the twentieth round to lead
me to think that McAllister had re
gained the lead.
As a matter of fact, I felt sorry
for the local lad, with his distorted
mouth and his deathly pale face, and
while, as a general thing, I do not
allow my feelings to sway me when
watching a glove contest. I was
“pulling” for Master Bob to escape
the distress and ignominy of being
knocked out.
He escaped, and he earned the right
to share n draw decision. More than
that he did not achieve, and I can
not help but think that the opinion
that he got lens than he deserved is
more the outcome of the club spirit
than a careful disconnected review of
what really happened.
• • •
T T may be that there will be an-
* other bout. Some of McAllister’s
nearest friends are urging him to
withdraw from fighting for a year,
believing that he will store up suf
ficient vitality during a year’s rest
to enable him to make more of a
mark when he returns to the ring.
The suggested move may bit 4 a good
one If McAllister follows the advice
tendered. His Mhowing since he be
came a professional seems to indi
cate that a 'ack of ruggedness is his
1 greatest draw back.
WATER Fill TIE
Says Floods in Early Spring
Shoved Champs of World
Out of Running.
B OSTON, Aug. 23.—Winning a
pennant as well as the world’s
championship in 1912 and iumb-
Ilns down Into the second division
in 1913 is the unexpected reversal of
form shown by the Boston Red Sox.
And in taking this drop the cham
pions lire establishing a record for
A. L. pennant winners.
Never before in the history of the
young major league has a dag owner
of one season failed to come back
as high as Ihe first division the next.
Chicago won In 1900 and 1901, and
was fourth in 1902; the Athletics won
in 1902, and came in second In 1903;
Boston won in 1903 ad 1904 and fin
ished fourth in 1906; the Athletics
won In 1906 and were fourth in 1906;
the White Sox won In 1906 and were
third In 1907; the Tigers won in 1907,
1908 and 1909, and were third in 1910;
the Athletics won In 1910 and 1911
and were third in 1912.
And here are the Boston Red Sox
fifth In 1913 when they became base
ball champions In 1912. Now what
has caused this tremendous slump?
It has been figured that the in
jury to Joe Wood and many other
stars kept the Red Sox out of the
current championship battling: also
the trouble between manager and
magnate. In fact, ft dozen more ex
cuses have been ottered, but Robert
B. McRoy, secretary of the Red Sox,
comes out with a new alibi.
According to McRoy. the spring
training trip, more than anything
else, was responsible for the Red
Sox losing out this year.
"The bovs got ready too soon." ex
plains McRoy. "Down in Hot Springs
right after the series with the Pitts
burg Pirates the team was In condi
tion to play major league ball They
started out too early, and instead of
going through the training stunts
gradually were primed bv April 1.
"The series wtth Pittsburg actually
made them ready, but after that came
the series of floods around the coun
try, which had the athletes housed In
side and kept them off the ball field.
"All the work and practice In Hot
Springs was wasted, owing to the
flood. With no daily practice, stiff
arms, stiff legs and other aliments,
which arrived rapidly, were respon
sible for the spring training being a
total loss.
"Then, when April ID did arrive, the
boys were not In condition. After
playing for a month we won but 10
out of the first 26 games. The Ath
letics. primed right to the minute,
jumped out in first, and on May 14,
while we had a 385 percentage! the
Athletics had won 17 and lost 5."
Need Winner’s and Loser’s End
+•+
+•+ +•+
+•+
Connie Mack Says Philadelphia
Recruit Is Greatest Young Re
ceiver He Ever Saw.
P hiladelphia, pa„ Aug. 23.—
Connie Mack, famous leader of
the Athletics, says that Catcher
Walter Schang* is the best young
receiver that has broken into the
big ring in many a moon.
Connie Mack was once a catcher
himself—not a great catcher, for he
was handicapped by his peculiar
build—but he is a good judge of re
ceivers. Consequently, when Ma^k
whispers that Schang is the best
catcher he ever saw, baseball fans
are ready to buy ringside seats and
take a look at Mr. Schang.
Schang Is only 22 years of age.
This is his second year as a pro
fessional. Born and raised in Wales
Center, a small harr’et near Buffalo,
he caught three years for Elbert
Hubbard’s East Aurora club. In 1911
he joined the Pullmans, a famous
semi-pro club that holds forth In
Buffalo. His work with that club
was such as to cause Buffalo fans
to urge George Stallings, then man
aging the Buffalo club, to give the
youngster a trial.
Stallings rather half-heartedly
agreed. He had heard town boys
touted before, but he needed some one
to help work out the pitchers down in
Georgia, so he took the youngster
along. Schang showed enough on the
training trir> to warrant his reten
tion. but not until Julv did Stallings
begin to give him a chance in ths
International League games. It was
not long before the tip went around
the bir leagues that Buffalo had a
most promising young catcher. Scouts
began to tell the porters to “put them
ofT at Buffalo.” Within a few weeks
Stallings was In receipt of a few of
fer©. He turned them down, hoping
to save the catcher over for the 1913
season. That caused thirteen of the
sixteen big league clubs to put in
drafts for the phenom.
Lucky Connie Mack—he drew the
man they all wante This Is how it
happens that Schang Is the first
catcher of the Athletics to-dav, hav
ing relegated Ira Thomas to the task
of warming up the pitchers Schang
is as good a thrower as there is in
the country.
He is a timely hatter. If you don’t
believe It, ask the Nap pitchers He
is as fast as the average infleldcr.
He can down to first faster than
most of the Naps and can amble
around to third with the speed of a
Jackson or a Collins. He is death
on foul files, handles any kind of de
livery with skill and knows what to
do with the ball when opposing play
ers are running ’’•lid on the bases.
He is the Ideal catcher.
Three© Start Uncovered.
This boost of Schang emphasizes
the fact that the 1913 season will
go down In history as a memorable one
because of the uncovering of threa
star catchers In Schang, Schalk and
Agnew. and the development of Steve
O'Neil, of the Naps and Wingo, if
the Cardinals. McKee, of Detroit,
is another who can almost be classed
alongside of the five mentioned, but
he is not quite their equal, although
it must be admitted he shows great
promise. Ranking Schang flrs\,
Schalk O’Neil and Acnew look to b**
abtu even up. with Schalk and Ag
new having the edge on the Cleve
lander in batting. Schalk is also a
fast runner.
Beaten Men Quit Too Easily
By W. \V. Naughton.
S AN FRANCISCO, Aug. 23.—The
high cost of fighting continues
to be a bone of discontent
among the promoter© out here on
the coast, and If the men who handle
Queensberry enterprises will stand by
their guns as they threaten to do, the
scale of prices will be revised before
the year is out.
There have been muttering? for a
long time, but it wan the Rltchie-
Rlvers contest that precipitated the
present insurrection among the
matchmakers. That affair drew $29.-
000. and out of this Ritchie received
$18,000 and others $7,000. Promoter
Graney did not have enough left to
pay rent and running expenses.
The men who conduct the four-
round sho v© are also up In arms. At
each one of these Friday night en
tertainment© as many as eight or
ten bout© are provided, yet some of
the short-bout specialists have been
commanding and receiving as much as
$700 for each appearance. In conse
quence there have been many losing
ventures and quite a number of pro
moter© have gone out of business. A
discussion of the situation is not
taking a hand, and numbers of writ
ers are airing opinions to the effect
that such conditions are causing the
quality of ring sport© to deteriorate.
It Is easier of course to suggest re
forms than to inaugurate them, and
that is why the promoters shrug their
shoulders when asked what is to pre
vent a return to the old order of
things. Mr. Fight Fan—and Mr.
Fight Fan is right—©ays there was
more spirited boxing in the years
when a set of articles called for a
winner’s end and a loser’s end. It Is
pointed out that under the present
system of paying pugilist© fixed sums
there is no Incentive to struggle on
once he begins to see defeat staring
him in the face
"Don’t you think Joe Rivers would
have taken more interest in his work
and have shown more stomach for
it had he not known that there was
$7,000 waiting for him in the box of
fice?” was a suggestive question ask
ed after the Fourth of July bout. So
as to bring about a new condition, the
promoters are talking of standing to
gether,. but whether they will do so
or not is a mooted question. What
they would like to do Is to establish
a custom by which championship
fights, which are naturally the high
est priced pugilistic commodities, do
not call for the paying over of more
than 60 per cent of the gate receipts.
* • •
OUT how Is such an arrangement
to be established, and what ar©
the chances of Its bring lived up to?
Even some of the promoters are
asking this double-barreled question,
and by the same token are answering
it in such a way a© to make it ap
pear that the situation is in a meas
ure hopeless.
One of the Queensberry entrepre
neurs discussed the matter thus wise:
“There are promoters and promoters,
and a uniform scale would result
in the most businesslike handler
of glove contests securing all
the attractions. The fighters them
selves would go to the pro
moter© who have the reputation of
being the best money-getters—and
| they would be sure to do business
with them. This mean© that a fixed
rate for championship fights will
work to the detriment of promoters
who are not as smart as their com
peers. And what would be the result?
Would a man who has paid for a high
priced yearly license and who has a
lease on his hands stand by and se? 4
h'© riv^l in business get awav with
all the plums? Not on your life. He
would approach the champion or the
champion's manager with a side prop
osition of some kind and the proposed
uniform rate would go glimmering.”
• * *
«ANYHOW," said the same wise
head, “you have the champions
to reckon with before you can establish
percentages again. The rank and file
of the boxing brigade may be willing
enough to conform to a scheme of
that kind, but champions are differ
ent. A champion is a queer animal.
He feels that the world is against him,
and I guess he is right. You know
and I know that there is more joy in
sportdom over one champion being
humbled than there is over a hundred
second-raters being knocked cold. The
champion says to himself ‘they want
to see me licked and they will have
to pay dearly for the privilege. Maybe
even then I’ll fool them, but I want
my price in any case.” Then he names
his figure and holds out for it. The
public may rail at him and the pro
moter© may tell him that they can
not pay such a price and live, but
he sticks and finally his terms are
accepted. His stubbornness simply
increases the craze for a sight of him
in action and at the same time, I sup
pose, adds to the prospects of seeing
him flattened out.
“You can see, therefore, that so far
as the fighters’ end of it is concerned
this thing of exorbitant prices is
largely a one-man proposition. A
champion stands alone and is master
of the situation. It does not look a©
if the promoters will get much relief
from the rapacity of champions until
the boxing game Is controlled by com
missions in every place that the sport
is conducted. Then If a champion
does not conform to the official scale
of prices he will be placed under the
ban throughout the boxing belt. But I
suppose the day is far distant when
champion© will be made amenable to
official control of such a widespread
character.”
• • •
M EANWHILE the promoters are
talking seriously of a committee
of ways and means. Successive lean
years have imbued them with the be
lief that the time is approaching when
they will have to stand shoulder to
shoulder.
Sullivan Made
No Appointments,
Says Secretary
Mulvey Not Chosen as Assistant
Director of Exposition Sports,
Says Ferris.
NEW YORK, Aug. 23.—In reply to the
open letter In San Francisco yesterday
by President John ElUott, of the Pacific
Association of the Amateur Athletic
Union, expressing resentment because
of the reported appointment of Thomas
Mulvey as assistant director-general of
amateur athletics at the Panama-Pacific
Exposition, announcement was made to
night that Mulvey was not given the
post but merely had been expected to
confer with James E. Sullivan, director-
general, in September relative to boxing
at the exposition.
The letter of Mr. Elliott announced
that inasmuch as Mulvey had no stand
ing in amateur sport, since he is a fight
promoter, the Pacific Association would
not allow coast athletes to compete at
the' exposition if Mulvey was assistant
director-general.
The announcement here that the re
port of Mulvey’s appointment was incor
rect was made by Daniel J. Ferris sec
retary to Director Sullivan. Mr. Sulli
van is abroad.
UMPIRE IS RELEASED.
KANSAS CITY. MO., Aug. 23.—Um
pire Sigler, of the Federal League, has
Wen released, according to an an
nouncement made at the headquarters
of the local Federal League club. Sig
ler formerly was with the Western
League. John A. Spinney, of Cincinnati,
business manager of the local Federal
League team, has resigned.
Noted Horseman Will Pilot the
World’s Champion in Record-
Breaking Trial Sept. 2
M inneapolis, minx., Aug. 23.
Following the announcement
that Minneapolis was to catch
a more or less fleeting glance of Uhlan
In action, the State Fair officials an
nounce that the great trotter will
make his record-breaking effort in
Tuesday, September 2, Minneapolis
day, and that the driving will be dono
by C. K. C. Billings, the millionaira
owner of the flyer.
Billings has taken a great personal
interest in the appearance of hi*
great horse at Minneapolis and ha*
notified Secretarj r Simpson that not
only would he come in his private car
with a party of friends, but that he
proposes to handle the reins when
Uhlan steps out to try to lower tho
1:68 mark made by himself.
* ♦ *
MINNEAPOLIS day at the Stato
Fair also marks the team races
on the speed card, and Billings is es
pecially interested in team racing For
that reason he requested that Uhlan
be sent away the same day.
Billings is an experienced and clev
er reinsman and has owned and driv
en many of the famous horses of the
harness division.
* * •
TJE owned Lou Dillon and has only
* comparatively recently returned
from a long sojourn In Russia, where
harness racing is just now on the too
Wave- of popularity. He shipped hi*
entire stable to Russia, and his ap
pearances before royalty were great
events on the other side.
Heretofore the pacers, with Dan
Patch as the leader, have been the
feature of Minnesota speed exhibi
tions, but now comes the kingpin of
the trotters and with a driver as well
known and famous as the horse,
CUBS SIGN REILLY.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.. Aug. 23.-.Tohn
Reill;;, an amateur pitcher of this cltv
has signed with the Chicago National
League club, and will join that team
when they return from their Eastern
trip.
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