Welterweight champion Harry Lewis defended his title in February of 1910 / Library of Congress Bain Collection

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By Andrew Fruman

We're back with another edition of the History Corner.  We hope you enjoyed Monday's special edition featuring the classic Battling Nelson vs Ad Wolgast lightweight title fight.  Today, we've got news and fight reports from February 19 to 25, for the years 1910 and 1920.  Tomorrow, we'll be moving on to 1930, 1940 and 1950.

Check out last week's editions of the History Corner: February 12 to 18, 1910 & 1920
& February 12 to 18, 1930, 1940 & 1950

In this edition...

• Harry Lewis vs Willie Lewis, welterweight title - Paris, February 19, 1910
• Monte Attell vs Frankie Conley, bantamweight title - Vernon, California, February 22, 1910
• Abe Attell vs Frankie Neil - New York, February 24, 1910
• Frankie Britt vs Phinney Boyle - Lowell, February 19, 1920
• Benny Valger vs Johnny Kilbane - Newark, February 25, 1920
• Bill Tate vs Gunboat Smith - Oakland, February 25, 1920

1910

February 19…

Harry Lewis (142)  of Philadelphia defended his claim to the world welterweight title with a 25 round draw against New Yorker Willie Lewis (147) in Paris. The crowd booed the verdict, feeling the Philadelphia man had deserved the nod.

Harry Lewis and Willie Lewis (pictured left, Library of Congress) fought a draw to-night before the Cirque de Paris in on of the most widely heralded matched ever staged by a European club. Harry was a heavy favourite in the betting at ringside and for several days before the fight, and boxing enthusiasts from many leading European cities had money upon the outcome and were in attendance at the bout.

– United Press

February 22…

Frankie Conley of Kenosha, Wisconsin staked his *claim to the world bantamweight title by knocking out Monte Attell in the 42nd round of a scheduled 45 at the Jeffries Arena in Vernon, California. The 19 year old Italian born youngster was awarded a diamond belt by promoter Thomas McCarey of the Pacific Athletic Club for the victory.

Using a persistent and accurate left jab, along with a steady two handed body attack, Attell outclassed Conley over the first half of the bout, but could not dissuade the hard nosed youngster from pressing the attack. Conley’s strength never wavered, and slowly but surely Attell started showing the effects of the punishing bout, backing away more and more as the rounds wore on.

The marathon battle was still hotly contested until the thirty-third round with Attell arguably still in the lead, when Conley landed a hard right hand just below the heart. From that point on, it was Conley’s fight and he very nearly ended it in the 37th round before the bell saved a retreating Attell.

At the time of the stoppage, Attell was struggling greatly and there was no question in the opinion of ringsiders that he would not be able to finish the contest. Blood flowed from his grotesquely swollen lips, while one eye was badly puffed up and bleeding and the other half closed.

He went through forty-one rounds and at the finish was so tired he could hardly hold his hands up. He was so weary that in the opening of the forty-second round he swung at Conley with his right, missed and fell to the floor. Soon after he got to his feet the strong persistent Conley rushed him to the ropes and as Attell bounded back from the big strings he plunged past Conley. As he did this Conley chipped him on the back of the neck with the butt of his right hand and Attell dropped to the floor for the first knockdown of the fight.

Monte sat on the floor supporting himself with his right hand and with his back to Conley. Everyone saw it was the finish for Attell was too dazed to get up. His old manager friend and second, Harry Foley, watching him with anxious eyes, saw in an instant that his boy was all in and that if Attell could arise he would be knocked out, and Foley threw the sponge into the ring, signifying defeat.

It was a great fight from first to last and there was hardly an idle moment in it. It showed a fancy boxer and a light puncher in Attell against a strong rugged boy who continually bores in and takes punishment in Conley. It was Conley’s condition against Attell’s cleverness and condition won and condition got the bacon.

– Los Angeles Times

• At the time Jimmy Walsh and Johnny Coulon were also claiming the bantamweight title.

* * * *

Matty Baldwin and Ray Bronson (pictured right, Library of Congress) of Indianapolis fought to a 12 round draw at the Armory A.A. in Boston.

Baldwin got off to a good start having an edge over the opening few rounds, but once Bronson figured out a way to avoid the local fighter’s left hooks, he settled into bout and had the better of the middle rounds. Baldwin pulled back even over the last few rounds by turning his attention to the body, and the draw verdict was agreeable to the crowd.

* * * *

In a bout scheduled for 20 rounds, Sam Langford needed less than 1 to finish light-heavyweight Nat Dewey in Cheyenne. Dewey managed to get a few light jabs in before Langford sent him crashing to the canvas with a left to the jaw.

At the request of the local promoter, Langford had reportedly promised to carry Dewey a few rounds to give the crowd a show, but was forced to change plans in order to catch a train heading to Los Angeles.

February 24…

Two days after his younger brother’s defeat, featherweight champion Abe Attell (pictured left, Library of Congress) was also in action, taking part in a decidedly less brutal affair against former champion Frankie Neil...

Some one with a very keen sense of humor who is intrusted with a share in the management of the Long Acre Athletic Association arranged as the main bout of last night’s programme a ten-round exhibition between Abe Attell, featherweight champion of the world, and Frankie Neill. It resulted in the worst farce that has been since in this city since the repeal of the Horton law.

From the time that the first round was sixty seconds old there was not a minute that Attell could not have put Neill away had he been so inclined. The champion started the bout chewing gum, and he never ceased doing so through the thirty minutes of light sparring that followed. And as they wrestled each other around the ring toward the middle and end of what it is impossible to call a fight, Attell would whisper to his opponent and give him advice as to how to proceed. His tones and words frequently reached the spectators in the first five rows.

- New York Times

Attell opened up in the last session of the 10 rounder, putting Neill down with a left hand to the jaw, but decided not to follow up and allowed his opponent to last out the round. The display didn’t sit well with the New York crowd

The following night Neil was stopped by Willie Jones in the 13th round of a scheduled 15 at the Eureka Athletic Club in Baltimore. Neil was in rough shape at the end of the 12th, and was saved from further punishment by police intervention…

Neil was so completely battered up and practically helpless that the police called a halt in the thirteenth round. It was Jones battle from the first tap of the gong. Every round was in the Brooklynite’s favour. He dealt out terrific punishment to the face and body and on several occasions it looked as if Frankie was all in but he came back for more. He was sent to the canvas three times for the count of nine in the twelfth round, and was only saved by the bell. In the thirteenth he was floored twice and was hanging on the ropes hardly able to stand alone when the bluecoats out of humanity interfered.

– Washington Post

The bout was the last professional appearance for the California fighter. One can assume that Attell was fully aware that Neil had a date scheduled for the following evening, and took it easy on the fading ex-champion.

1920

February 19…

In a tussle for New England’s welterweight honors at the Crescent A.A. in Lowell, state title holder Frankie Britt and last minute challenger Phinney Boyle battled to a disputed 12 round draw.

Hailing from Lowell, Boyle was in attendance at the venue when he learned Britt’s scheduled opponent Jimmy Duffy, had phoned in to say he was stranded en route from New York. Having been in training for the past couple weeks, Boyle immediately asked to go on and with a large crowd already in attendance, the show’s matchmaker gave him the go ahead.

A score of the rounds gave Boyle a big lead, but Referee Gardner ruled it a draw. The decision was far from popular and caused many to believe that an agreement had been made to declare it even in the event of both being on their feet at the end of the bout. The matchmaker was questioned relative to this impression, but he said there had been absolutely no agreement.

The referee was also questioned and he said: "It was a wonderful bout and while Boyle did land the cleaner punches, Britt got in a great many on the inside that the fans could not see. He landed many punches when clinched and when against the ropes, and I figured that they offset Boyle’s long range work. I gave the decision as I saw it."

– Lowell Sun

The Lowell Sun was in clear disagreement, reporting that the hometown man had given Britt an "artistic lacing." Despite not recording the official win, Boyle was carried aloft from the ring to his dressing room by his backers.

February 25…

In a drab affair before 7,000 spectators at the Sportsmen’s Club in Newark, French Flash Benny Valger (124 ¾) won the newspaper decision from featherweight champion Jonny Kilbane (125 ¼).

Up until the last two rounds, the action had been overly cautious with the title holder repeatedly holding, and Valger reluctant to try and battle through the clinches. But in those final sessions, Valger went on the attack at close quarters behind a heavy body attack and Kilbane (pictured right, Library of Congress). found it difficult to keep up. It was this closing rally that earned Valgar the majority of newspaper verdicts. As the bout was a no-decision contest under New Jersey’s rules, the challenger needed a knockout to claim the title.

That there was a bitter rivalry between the boxers was plainly manifest. This was accentuated in the afternoon when Kilbane exacted his pound of flesh from his rival. Valger, under the terms of the match, was to have weighed in at 124 pounds at three o’clock. The challenger stepped on the scales and sent the bar quivering at 124 ¾ pounds. Kilbane promptly appropriated at forfeit of $1,000 which Valger had posted to make the stipulated weight.

The champion’s poundage was announced at 125 ¼ pounds. When the men entered the ring Joe Jacobs, manager of Valger, examined the champion’s bandaged hands with expert scrutiny and refused to allow the bout unless Kilbane removed some adhesive tape he had wound around his hands. Then, when the men were called to the center of the ring by the opening bell, the customary handshake was discarded, Valger circling about his opponent, disdaining an opportunity to touch the extended arms of Kilbane.

- New York Times

* * * *

In front of 9,000 spectators at the Oakland Auditorium, Big Bill Tate defeated Gunboat Smith in a disappointing *4 round main-event. The much anticipated bout was marred by constant clinches, but finally in the fourth round there was some action…

The knockdown came as a surprise. Smith had missed a pair of feather-duster swipes and while he was wondering how big his opponent really was Tate cut loose with a long cross that nailed the Gunner behind the left ear. Smith went down and remained there for the count of nine. He would have been there yet had the punch landed on the chin instead of the head. Then Smith decided to take a dying chance and he cut loose with his famous right-hand swing. He caught Tate going away and sent the big fellow sprawling to the ropes but the colored boy kept his feet. The end of the fight was a welcome relief and the fans were satisfied as they got their money’s worth in the other bouts.

– Bob Shand, Oakland Tribune

Along with having to cope with his opponent, Tate also had to deal with a particularly boorish spectator seated at the ring side. The individual in question, a promoter at San Francisco’s Dreamland Rink, continuously shouted racially abusive taunts at Tate through the opening two rounds of the bout. A threat of ejection from the referee finally ended the nasty display.

There were those in the house last night who do not like "mixed" matches but as long as a white man and a colored man are in the ring they are entitled to exactly the same treatment – and they are going to get it in Oakland.

– Oakland Tribune

• An anti-boxing bill passed in December of 1914 limited bouts in California to 4 rounds. The law remained on the books until 1924, when Californians had their say at the polls at the November elections, voting to allow 10 round contests in the state.

Check back in tomorrow for more of The Boxing Bulletin's History Corner as we move on to the years 1930, 1940 and 1950 for the week of February 19 to 25.

e-mail Andrew Fruman