The Boxing Bulletin History Corner: April 30 - May 6, 1910 & 1920

By Andrew Fruman

We're back with another edition of the History Corner.  Today, we've got news and fight reports from April 30 to May 6 for the years 1910 and 1920.  In a couple days, we'll be moving on to 1930, 1940 and 1950.

Check out last week's editions of the History Corner: April 23-29, 1910 & 1920
& April 23-29, 1930, 1940 & 1950

In this edition...

• Jimmy Clabby vs The Dixie Kid - New York, May 5, 1910
• Bob Moha vs Happy Littleton - New Orleans, April 30, 1920
• Carl Tremaine vs Frankie Mason - Toledo, April 30, 1920
• Jimmy Wilde vs Bobby Dyson - Lawrence, May 1, 1920
• Mike O'Dowd vs Johnny Wilson - world middleweight title, Boston, May 6, 1920
• Plus plenty more fight reports and pugilistic news of the times...

1910

May 3…

At the Armory A.A. in Boston, Dan "Porky" Flynn won a twelve round decision over New Yorker Morris Harris, although earned few plaudits in the process. The Boston Globe’s headline for the bout read, "Porky Runs Away a Lot, but Gets Award."

Harris came forward from start to finish, but found it difficult to solve Flynn’s "hit and run" tactics. Flynn often scored with left hooks and right crosses, but never stayed in once place for long and kept exchanges to a minimum.

Harris did have his moments, dropping Flynn (pictured, Cyber Boxing Zone) to his knees in the third round with a right hand to the body. He also buzzed the local fighter with a short right hand just as the tenth round was coming to a close, and hurt Flynn again with a two handed barrage in the eleventh. These weren’t enough to overcome Flynn’s edge over the rest of the contest.

May 5…

At the Empire Athletic Club in New York, the Dixie Kid stepped in as a last minute substitute against Jimmy Clabby, only to receive a bad trouncing for his troubles. Mike "Twin" Sullivan had originally been supposed to go on against Clabby (pictured, Library of Congress), but pulled out due to "financial reasons."

It was a bout that featured plenty of clinching and hard infighting, with the Milwaukee fighter doing all of the damage. He busted up the Kid from the start, drawing blood and swelling the veteran’s nose and mouth as early as the second round.

By the fifth, the battle had turned a little nasty, with Clabby taunting his worn out rival with verbal jabs. The Kid tried to respond, but was unable to get across similarly damaging blows and had the look of a badly battered fighter as the final rounds ticked off. By contrast, the winner was "absolutely unmarked" and given a great cheer by the New York spectators at the final bell.

May 6…

In Washington DC on state business, California governor James N. Gillett was asked if he would try and stop the Jack Johnson – Jim Jeffries fight…

You people of the east seem to be more interested in this fight than anything else. To be perfectly frank, I don’t even know just where the contest is going to take place, although I have been told that it will be pulled off in my state somewhere.

I see no reason why I should stop it. The laws require no special permits for such shows. I don’t care a continental about the prize fight. I’m here in Washington on important business.

- James N. Gillett

Meanwhile back in California, discussions have focused on who will referee the big fight. Jeffries’ manager Sam Berger rejected Johnson’s suggestions of either Jack Walsh or Eddie Graney, both veteran California referees. Berger suggested Oakland Tribune editor Eddie Smith, only for Johnson (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) to turn the choice down due to what the fighter felt was a questionable draw decision Smith handed out in his bout with Hank Griffin eight years earlier.

In this Tribune column, Smith said Johnson was well within his rights to refuse him as the referee, and added that it was not a position he was "begging" for.

Johnson apparently does not care to allow Berger to do the dictating and Berger is equally determined not to allow the big colored chap to name the third man in the ring. The promoters, Tex Rickard and Jack Gleason, have nothing whatever to do with the selection of this important official, unless the principals fail in their efforts to name him.

– Williams J. Slattery, San Francisco Call

1920

April 30…

In a "gory" middleweight battle, local fighter Happy Littleton won a clear cut fifteen round decision over Bob Moha at the Tulane Arena in New Orleans.

The taller Littleton had a big edge in reach over the stocky Moha, and used this advantage to fight a disciplined battle, relying almost exclusively on a sharp left jab throughout the first half of the fight. Moha responded very aggressively over the early stages, picking his spots to lunge in and fire vicious right crosses, but the intensity of these rallies waned as the rounds wore on.

As the fight moved into the ninth round, Littleton appeared to have things well in hand over his tiring opponent, only to be "rocked" by a strong two handed attack from the resurgent Moha. The visiting man’s spurt was enough to put him right back in the fight, but the comeback was short lived, as Littleton stepped up his game and seized control with his own relentless body attack. The New Orleans fighter aimed his blows just below the heart, and after a number of ripping right hands to the solar plexus, all Moha could do was hold on.

From our point of vantage, Moha earned three rounds of the fray – the second, fourth and ninth. The tenth was fairly even and the remainder went to Littleton.

– The Times-Picayune, New Orleans

*    *    *    *

In Toledo, Carl Tremaine made short work of Frankie Mason, knocking the former flyweight title challenger out just 75 seconds into the opening round of a scheduled twelve.

Mason was in trouble almost immediately after being dropped shortly after the bout started by a left to the jaw. He was up at nine, but couldn’t fend off Tremaine’s follow-up assault, and a left and a right dropped the Fort Wayne fighter to the canvas again. Another count of nine followed, before Mason was dropped for good by a "terrific right to the jaw."

Few men of the size of the Clevelander have been seen here who possess the hitting ability of Tremaine. His punches tonight were like the kicks of an old fashioned mule, both the wallops landed with his left hand and the finishing jolt dished out with the right mitt.

Tremaine, no doubt, has the ability to whip any boy of his weight in the country today, if the ability he showed in the short exhibition here tonight is any criterion. He showed speed, exceptional ability to hit and that quality which is uppermost in every topnotch fighter, the desire to fight.

– Cleveland Plain Dealer

May 1…

Jimmy Wilde continued his North American tour with a one round trouncing of Bobby Dyson at promoter John Cuddy’s Arena in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The pre-fight activities took far longer than the actual fight, with pictures taken, along with several introductions, and the presentation of silver loving cups to each fighter.

When the contest eventually got started, it was Dyson that came out swinging. He managed to land a few left hands, before Wilde (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) rammed home a counter right upstairs. A couple more hard rights to the body took the wind from Dyson, and in an instant the overmatched youngster was in a great deal of trouble…

He crowded Dyson toward a neutral corner and quick as a flash sent the left to Dyson’s jaw that put the New Bedford boxer down for the count of nine. When Dyson got to his feet, Wilde coolly worked to get Dyson to lower his hands from his face and jaw.

He finally succeeded, and after landing a right and a left on the face, Wilde sent a terrific right to Dyson’s jaw. The latter fell out through the ropes and lay on the floor of the ring projecting beyond the ropes with his heels on the lower rope.

– Boston Globe

After the local fighter was assisted to his corner, Wilde came over to shake hands and left the ring to great cheers from the large number of British spectators in the crowd. The Boston Globe complimented Cuddy on going through with the show, as the threat of rain kept the crowd to only 5,000 spectators, well below the number needed for the promoter break even financially.

May 5…

In Lewiston, light-heavyweight champion Battling Levinsky and Canadian heavyweight Jack Renault fought a *twelve round newspaper draw…

The go was one of the best heavy scrambles that has been seen in the state for many years. Renault surprised the fans with his clever footwork and all round speedy performance.

– Daily Kennebec Journal

• In keeping with Maine’s round limit, the twelve rounder was divided into two six round bouts.

* * * *

At the Business Men’s Athletic Club in Sandusky, Ohio, Billy Weeks won the ten round newspaper decision over Billy Mercer (formerly known as Al Grayber) of Pittsburgh. The Vancouver middleweight, now fighting out of Springfield, gained the victory by forcing the issue from start to finish.

Mercer didn’t win any points by his constant holding in close, but did some nice countering over the first half of the bout, especially in the second round when he landed a series of "vicious" shots. He also landed a "wicked" right hand in the fifth that almost closed Weeks’ left eye, but the one time Canadian champion was unwavering in his pressure…

By his constant hammering and aggressive fighting every minute Weeks finally wore down the guard of Mercer and during the sixth, seventh and eighth rounds went through to the face of Mercer with increasing ease.

Mercer tightened up in the ninth and tenth rounds and Weeks landed fewer blows although he was still fighting hard when the gong sounded.

– Sandusky Star

The show was put on by former welterweight star Ray Bronson and said to have been the best of the year so far in Sandusky, with spectators coming from Toledo, Cleveland and other Ohio towns.

May 6…

Before capacity crowd of 7,000 spectators at the Mechanics building in Boston, lefty Johnny Wilson of Charlestown, Massachusetts, upset the odds to become the new middleweight champion of the world with a 12 round decision over Mike O’Dowd.

Though O’Dowd entered as a 10 to 3 favourite, the Boston Globe tabbed the local fighter as a potential champion earlier in the week, pointing out O’Dowd’s issues with southpaw opponents. The analysis proved correct as the aggressive O’Dowd struggled to avoid the clever Wilson’s right jab and snapping straight lefts.

It was fast paced gruelling affair, and the big hitting O’Dowd got plenty of his own shots in, mainly hard right hands, but couldn’t get over a fight changing punch on the shifty challenger and at times missed badly. Wilson (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) also did a fine job of trying O’Dowd up in close, and never once in the twelve rounds did he look in trouble although both battlers were exhausted at the final bell.

There was one knockdown in the bout, scored by Wilson in the second round. O’Dowd was down for a count of four, but immediately went back on the attack upon rising.

According to the write-up in the New York Times, Wilson had an edge in eight rounds, while O’Dowd (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) had the advantage in two, with two even. O’Dowd initially protested referee Hector McInnes’ decision, arguing that he deserved at least a draw, but neither he nor his manager Paddy Mullins made a big fuss…

"We are good losers," was all they would say. When asked in regard to another meeting with Wilson, the ex-champion said it was up to Wilson. He was ready any time.

– Boston Globe

The Times pointed out in a story a couple days after the bout that although the new champion was now fighting out of Boston, he was a native New Yorker…

New Yorkers failed to identify him as one of their own, but that is the true story of Wilson. He was born on Second Avenue, near 106th Street, in this city, on March 23, 1893, and a few days later was baptized Giovanni Panica. The house in which the new champion first saw the light of day is next door to where Willie Jackson, contender for the lightweight crown, was born.

...Wilson has made regular visits to his home in this city, and during a recent stay here he discussed a bout with O’Dowd. At the time he declared that he had seen the champion in action against Ted (Kid) Lewis and other boxers in Boston and was positive that he could outpoint the title holder.

– New York Times

For more great boxing photos of the past, make sure to visit Antiquities of the Prize Ring.

Check back in a couple days for more of The Boxing Bulletin's History Corner as we move on to the years 1930, 1940 and 1950 for the week of April 30 to May 6.

e-mail Andrew Fruman