The Boxing Bulletin History Corner: April 30 - May 6, 1930, 1940 & 1950

By Andrew Fruman

Picking up from where we left off last time (April 29 to May 6, 1910 & 1920), we're moving on to the years 1930, 1940 and 1950 for the week of April 30 to May 6.

In this edition...

• Tuffy Griffiths vs Jack Gagnon - Chicago, April 30, 1930
• Maxie Rosenbloom vs Larry Johnson - New York, April 30, 1930
• Buddy Baer vs Nathan Mann - New York, May 3, 1940
• Jake LaMotta vs Joey Taylor - Syracuse, May 4, 1950
• Plus plenty more fight reports and pugilistic news of the times...

1930

April 30…

Jack McVey (158) won a tight decision over Wesley Ketchel (160) at the Arcadia Pavilion in Oakland. McVey (pictured, Cyber Boxing Zone) was at one stage one of the leading middleweights in the world, but was suffering from hand and vision problems by this stage in his career, and his performance was not well received…

The affair last evening hurt the spectators much more than it hurt the principals and if McVey never shows here again that will be too soon.

– Bob Shand, Oakland Tribune

* * * *

A month after losing via sixth round TKO to Jack Gagnon (188 ½) in Philadelphia, Tuffy Griffiths (187) turned the tables with a unanimous decision victory in front of 20,550 spectators at the Chicago Stadium. Dropped four times in the previous meeting by the Boston based French-Canadian, this time Griffiths (pictured training with Jack Johnson, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) stayed one step ahead of Gagnon’s dangerous right hand, and jabbed his way to a clear cut win.

Griffiths earned his victory following a definite plan of attack. He never permitted Gagnon to get set. When Jack bored in, his right hand ready to drive home those blows which won in Philadelphia, Tuffy jabbed and side stepped. He leaned forward, striking as he rushed. Always he checkmated the attack of his slower opponent.

– Wilfrid Smith, Chicago Tribune

In the wind-up bout, Chicago fighter Joey Medill outclassed Stanislaus Loayza over ten rounds. Medill (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) lacked the steam on his shots to knock the Chilean out, but piled up the points with accurate lefts and rights, and won going away.

The show also featured a highly anticipated battle between local youngsters King Levinsky and Al Keegan. The bout was short and explosive, with Levinsky heavily dropping the local Irishman twice before Keegan’s seconds tossed in the towel to save their fighter from a "certain knockout".

* * * *

At New York’s Madison Square Garden, Maxie Rosenbloom (172 ¾) secured a shot at Jimmy Slattery’s light-heavyweight crowd with a ten round unanimous decision over Larry Johnson (175).

The two fighters had met seven weeks earlier, with Rosenbloom winning via sixth round DQ after being hit low in what was a more competitive battle. On this occasion, the still filling out Johnson reportedly had a great deal of trouble making the 175lb limit and wasn’t able to fight with the same intensity. He did have one good rally in the eighth though after catching Rosenbloom with a hard left hook, followed by several right hands, but it came too late…

Larry, who seems destined to become the next black menace of the heavyweights made his best showing in the eighth round, when he caught Rosenbloom four solid whacks on the chin. The sting seemed to have passed from Johnson’s punches by that time, however, and Rosenbloom was in little danger. The more generous ringside critics gave Johnson the fourth and eighth rounds and called the ninth even. Rosenbloom won the other seven.

– Associated Press

May 4…

Max Schmeling (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) arrived in New York, ready to begin preparations for his June 12 heavyweight title match-up with fellow challenger, Jack Sharkey. The German was greeted by several thousand well wishers that had gathered on the pier for his arrival. He was reportedly already in excellent condition, only a few pounds over his fighting weight, and his good natured mood made a fine impression with the scribes in attendance…

He brought 19 pieces of luggage with him this trip, several companions, German newspapermen, a dachshund pup and a half dozen cuckoo clocks that caught his eye one day in a shop in Berlin.

It is personal improvement in Schmeling, however, that is so noticeable. He shakes hands and mixes with all the aplomb and self-assurance of Dempsey, most popular of all champions, talks freely and excitedly in fairly good English and is interested in everyone and everything. As to clothes he is a sartorial picture

– Edward J. Neil, Associated Press

May 5…

Featherweight champion Battling Battalino (129) won a dull ten round decision over local fighter Lew Massey (128 ½) at the Arena in Philadelphia. The contest was a rematch of a ten rounder won by Massey in January, a bout Battalino (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) had entered not fully fit.

The bout itself was far from pleasing to the 7000 fans present as both boxers clinched repeatedly. So much so, that Referee Tommy Reilly warned Battalino continually in the late rounds, charging him with "carrying" his opponent. The champion forced the battle throughout but Massey apparently in dire dread of the Hartford boy’s heavy right hand punches chose to tie his opponent up until the match resembled a wrestling affair.

– Chester Times

* * * *

At the Jolly Bowl in New Castile, Pennsylvania, Phil Tobias won a battle of flyweight contenders, edging out Ruby Bradley in an entertaining ten rounder. Bradley’s main weapons were right hands upstairs and left hooks to the midsection, while Tobias used both hands to pepper Bradley’s body and jaw.

The battling was spectacular and there wasn’t a dull moment in the clash… Some of the fans believed that Bradley should have had a draw and had that award been presented it would not have been hard to take. In fact there wasn’t much to choose between the flyweights but the judges probably based their votes on Phil’s heavier punching and infighting.

– New Castle News

1940

April 30…

At the New York Coliseum, Petey Scalzo (128 ¼) recovered from a pair of third round knockdowns to stop Englishman Ginger Foran (129 ¾) in the fifth round of a scheduled eight. Scalzo (pictured, Harry E. Winkler Collection) had taken the opening two sessions easily before being dropped hard by a left hook to the jaw. He was dropped again, but "recuperated quickly" to knock the Liverpool fighter out a couple rounds later with a crunching right hand.

The following day was a big one for the New Yorker as the National Boxing Association named Scalzo as their new featherweight champion. The Associated had stripped former champion Joey Archibald in April for agreeing to fight Harry Jeffra, rather than the #1 rated Scalzo. The NBA had hoped Scalzo would fight Jimmy Perrin for the vacant crown, but Perrin’s manager had refused to take the bout unless it was in the fighter’s hometown of New Orleans.

The N.B.A. subscribes to the theory that titles are won in the ring, but Scalzo’s case presented the peculiar picture of various leading featherweights declining to box him in a title match.

When Archibald and Leo Rodak met for the N.B.A. featherweight title over a year ago it was with the understanding that the winner would meet Scalzo, who had just knocked out Archibald in a non-title bout. The promise was never kept.

– Harvey L. Miller, National Boxing Association President

The Archibald-Jeffra match is set for May 20 in Baltimore. The Maryland commission refused to go along with the NBA’s ruling, and resigned their status as a member of the NBA in protest. It will be recognized as a world title affair by the independent New York commission and the Maryland commission.

Meanwhile the Louisiana commission decided to ignore the NBA’s ruling and recognized Perrin as the new champion, sanctioning the local fighter’s upcoming clash with Bobby Ruffin as a title affair.

May 3…

In a battle of heavyweights at Madison Square Garden, Buddy Baer (249) stopped Nathan Mann (188) of New Haven in the seventh round of a scheduled twelve. The bout was mostly uneventful through six, with Mann getting some decent work done by forcing the action against his cumbersome opponent. In response, Baer flicked out long left jabs, though none seemed to bother his undersized opponent.

The battled changed dramatically in the seventh, with Baer (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) charging out with renewed vigor and immediately dropping Mann with a long right hand. Mann got to his knees by the count of five and was up at nine, but struggled to fend off Baer’s two-fisted follow-up to the body. He tried desperately to hold, but was dropped again for another count of nine.

Mann gamely rose to resume hostilities with the giant Oakland fighter, but was shook by another left hand. At this point referee Arthur Donovan appeared to step in and stop the contest, but was waved away by Mann who gave the impression he wanted to battle on. Mann managed to hold on and looked like he may have weathered the storm, when he suddenly turned to Donovan and indicated he was done, before walking to his corner.

1950

May 1…

Frenchman Laurent Dauthuille (158) scored a TKO victory over New Yorker Steve Belloise (161) before 11,593 spectators at the Montreal Forum.

The scheduled ten rounder was stopped by referee Tommy Sullivan early in the seventh, with Belloise offering no "resistance to the free-swinging" Dauthuille (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring). Right from the start, Belloise gave a listless performance, and the near capacity crowd that turned out to see the middleweight contenders were extremely vocal in expressing their displeasure.

* * * *

At the Coliseum Arena in New Orleans, Del Flanagan (135) won a ten round unanimous decision over Joey Barnum (139 ¾). The win marked the 42nd straight bout without a defeat for the 21 year old St. Paul lightweight, with only a draw marring his perfect career record.

Flanagan used a steady does of 1-2’s to keep Barnum for ever getting off, however the local spectators were far from impressed…

The bout proved highly disappointing to the small turnout of 1354 fans who contributed a net $2277.97 in promoter Heard Ragas’ till. Many of the fans, particularly in "gamblers’ row" were yelling "stop the fight" from the third round to the finish. The bout had little of the luster which characterized other local bouts which these two boys had participated in.

– Times-Picayune, New Orleans

After the show, Louisiana boxing commissioner Tom Littleton announced the purses of both fighters would be held up pending an investigation.

The following day after members of the commission had met in Littleton’s office, the commissioner announced that each man had been fined $100 for giving an unsatisfactory performance. Flanagan was finished additional $50 for "failing to arrive in New Orleans 72 hours before the bout."

May 4…

Middleweight champion Jake LaMotta (169 ¾) got more than he bargained for with long-shot Gentleman Joey Taylor (162 ¼) in a "bitterly contested" bout at the Coliseum in Syracuse.

The rangy Taylor of nearby Binghamton, opened a cut over LaMotta’s eye in the third and on the strength of a strong jab, held the Bronx Bull in check through the early rounds. The title holder finally broke through in the fifth session, unleashing a heavy attack that had the underdog backing up and looking uncomfortable for the first time in the fight.

Having dropped the sixth and seventh rounds, a noticeably tiring Taylor (pictured right) appeared ready for the taking, only to surprise everyone by standing his ground and "slugging it out" with LaMotta in the eighth. During this session, Taylor stopped the champion in his tracks with a hard right cross, opening up another cut in the process and sending the 6,500 fans at the old building into delirium.

LaMotta regained control in the ninth, battering Taylor all over the ring, before dropping the youngster for an 8 count in the tenth…

Nearly everyone in the house was standing and screaming throughout the final chapter which reached a climax when Taylor slumped to the canvas from exhaustion rather than from any particular punch, midway thru the round.

Up at the count of eight, Taylor earned the applause of the fans as he weathered the onslaught of the almost-exhausted Bronx title-holder for the final 60 seconds until the bell.

- Gerald Ashe, The Post-Standard, Syracuse

The scores in favor of LaMotta were 6-4 and 6-3-1 twice, although there were some in the crowd that booed the verdict. The Syracuse papers were full of praise for Taylor’s effort, but felt the decision was a fair one.

There was one bizarre and rather distasteful moment involving the LaMotta team (pictured with Joe LaMotta on the left and Jake on the right, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) that took place ringside as the ninth round was coming to a close…

Joe LaMotta, brother of Jakey, the fighter, is likely to draw a suspension for actions unbecoming a fistic manager after his strange act during the LaMotta-Taylor shindig.

Joe invading the corner occupied by Mike Dempsey, the official timekeeper, leaned on the bell in the ninth round when Champion Jake had Taylor on the run, refusing to let Dempsey sound the gong for the end of the three-minute stint.

Boxing Inspector Ed Leonard standing nearby, heard Joe whistle to attract Jake’s attention, apparently to signal the champ should continue piling in for a knockout. Leonard pushed LaMotta none too gently ordering him away and when Joe saw police advancing decided he had better follow the advice."

- Frank Woolever, Syracuse Herald-Journal

A day before the Taylor bout, it was announced that LaMotta would defend his title on June 14 at Yankee Stadium. A list of possible names including 147lb champion Sugar Ray Robinson was submitted. A notable omission from the fighters under consideration was the highly rated Frenchman Robert Villemain, the most recent man to defeat LaMotta.

May 5…

Fast Freddie Dawson (139 ½) knocked out Tommy Bell (145 ½) in the ninth round of a scheduled ten at the Coliseum Arena in New Orleans. The bout was the headline attraction on *all-black card. At these events, sections in the gallery and at ringside were "reserved for white patrons."

Referee Eddie Brown didn’t bother to count on the stoppage, quickly having recognized the former welterweight title challenger was out cold. Bell would not rise for several minutes, and for a time the situation looked very serious.  Dawson (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) had recently been lifted into the #1 contender spot at lightweight by the NBA.

• In May of 1959, the United States Supreme Court ruled Louisiana’s law banning racially mixed sporting events was unconstitutional.

* * * *

In Detroit, Lester Felton (149) recovered from a first round knockdown to take a ten round unanimous decision from Tuzo Portuguez (157 ½). After dropping the 21 year old only thirty seconds into the contest, Portuguez poured on the pressure, but Felton managed to do his best to stay out of range during the rough early going.

In the third round, a frustrated Portuguez urged referee Lou Handler to make the local fighter stand and trade and to the spectator’s delight, the usually fleet footed Felton obliged. It proved a mistake on the Costa Rican’s middleweight’s part…

It was the most impressive showing Felton ever made in Detroit’s Olympia Stadium. And a hometown crowd of 7983 came to its feet repeatedly to shout approval of the dusky Felton’s new-found aggressiveness.

– International News Service

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

Check back in a few days for more of The Boxing Bulletin's History Corner as we move on to the week of May 7 to 13 for the years 1910 and 1920.

e-mail Andrew Fruman