The Boxing Bulletin History Corner: May 28 - June 3, 1930, 1940 & 1950

By Andrew Fruman

Picking up from where we left off last time (May 28 - June 3, 1910 & 1920), we're moving on to the years 1930, 1940 and 1950 for the week of May 28 - June 3.

In this edition...

• Max Baer vs Jack Linkhorn - Oakland, May 28, 1930
• Jack "Kid" Beg vs Al Delmont - World Junior-Welterweight title - Newark, May 29, 1930
• Steve Mamakos vs Phil Furr - Washington DC, June 3, 1940
• Manuel Ortiz vs Vic Toweel - World Bantamweight title - Johannesburg, May 31, 1950
• Willie Pep vs Terry Young - Milwaukee, June 1, 1950
• Plus plenty more fight reports and pugilistic news of the times...

1930

May 28…

In a battle of local heavyweights, Max Baer (191 ½) blasted out Jack Linkhorn (179 ½) in the opening round at the Auditorium in Oakland. With both fighters known for their punching power, the bout had been highly anticipated and though it lasted less than a round, the expected fireworks were more than delivered...

Linkhorn forgot to duck toward the end of the first round when Baer shot a terrific right hand punch at his chin and Linky hit the deck. Jack rested for a few seconds and gamely rose. Another right hand nailed him on the button and he went down again. When he arose he was groggy. Baer measured him with a straight right that hit like a bullet and the fight was over. Linky was out cold but soon recovered and congratulated his opponent on his victory.

– Bob Shand, Oakland Tribune

Fearlessly attacking Baer from the outset, Linkhorn had landed a number of solid shots to Baer’s midsection before walking into the initial big right. After the bout, he echoed the opinion of referee Toby Irwin, that Baer would undoubtedly go very far…

"He is a great fighter and I believe has an excellent chance of winning the heavyweight championship. He is the hardest and most accurate puncher I ever met."

– Jack Linkhorn

* * * *

In a match-up of former champions at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Fidel LaBarba (124) won a one-sided decision over Bushy Graham (125 ½). It was a disappointing bout for the 6,000 spectators, as Graham rarely stood his ground, backtracking away from the one time flyweight king’s pressure for almost all of the ten rounds.

LaBarba spent the night trying to catch his fleet-footed rival, and only occasionally succeeded. When he did he harried Graham with solid left hooks to the body and to the head. Not a round did Graham win. His work was of an exclusively defensive nature.

– James P. Dawson, New York Times

LaBarba (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) had originally been scheduled to face Garden favorite Kid Chocolate, but the Cuban star had been forced to pull out a weeks earlier with a hand injury.

May 29…

At Dreamland Park in Newark, National Boxing Association junior-welterweight champion Jack "Kid" Berg (139) easily defended his crown with a four round destruction of Al Delmont (136). Berg (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) dropped Delmont for a nine count in the second round, before the non-stop punching Englishman sent the over-matched hometown fighter to the canvas two more times in the fourth session.

Berg had Delmont in distress in the first round and for each round thereafter until the Newark boxer’s seconds tossed in the towel in the fourth to save their man from further punishment.

– Associated Press

June 2…

In a battle of top flyweights at the Meyers Bowl in North Braddock, Pennsylvania, Willie Davies (113 ½) came on strong down the stretch to win a close ten round split decision over Black Bill (112 ½).

At a distance Davies (pictured, Cyber Boxing Zone) was able to use his left jab to keep the Cuban from getting set to throw his right hand, but resorted to some unsavory tactics when the fighters were at close quarters – occasionally stifling Bill’s infighting with head-butts and "mugging" glove work. Referee Al Grayber was almost a casualty of the rough going, suffering a cut lip while trying to separate the fighters during one fracas on the inside.

1940

May 29…

Aurel Toma (120) took a ten round decision from late substitute Jackie Callura (123) at an almost deserted Oakland Auditorium. The few fans that showed up saw a pretty good main-event, with the left hooking Callura forcing the action and Toma countering with hard right hands. By the fifth round, Toma had "found the range" and "plastered"the Canadian down the stretch.

It was advertised as a public boxing show. It turned out to be a private exhibition. The gate receipts were $328.22. Almost enough to pay for the aspirin and red ink Promoter Tommy Simpson used. Almost.

– Art Conn, Oakland Tribune

For their efforts, Toma earned only $65, while Callura took home a paltry $50.

Fans stayed away after learning the show had suffered two major hits with local star Tony Olivera pulling out of the headline bout against Toma due to a "severe cold" and the cancellation of the main supporting bout between bantamweights Jackie Jurich and Johnny Gaudes.

June 3…

Bob Montgomery (136 ½) and Al Nettlow (140) met for the third time in a little over five months at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. After being held to a draw in the first meeting, and narrowly edging the second, Montgomery (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) came on strong over the final four rounds to win a decisive decision from the crafty left-jabbing Detroit veteran.

Welterweight contender Milt Aron (150 ½) featured on the under-card, stopping Frankie Cavanna (149 ½) in the sixth round of a scheduled ten. With Aron’s only knockout defeat coming at the hands of the New Yorker two years earlier, the win settled an old score.

Earlier in the week, it was reported that Aron might be in line to fight for the N.B.A. version of the welterweight title in July. After champion Henry Armstrong’s decision to fight Lew Jenkins rather than defend his crown against the N.B.A.'s #1 rated Aron (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring), the organization is considering vacating the title.

* * * *

Phil Furr pulled off a violent upset victory over highly touted local rival Steve Mamakos in a battle of local welterweights at Griffith Stadium in Washington DC. The sturdy Mamakos has been expected to overwhelm Furr with his high volume attack – instead right from the start, the veteran did all the damage, crashing a steady diet of straight 1-2’s between the Greek fighter’s looping lefts and rights.

It was a murderous bombing that Furr dealt out – a bombing which saw Mamakos take one of the most brutal beating ever seen in Washington… It was a sheer massacre, with blood splattering out in the ringside every time Furr’s gloves landed with sickening thuds on Mamakos’ granite-like jaw.

– Al Hailey, Washington Post

Mamakos was dropped twice in the second round, and two more knockdowns in the fourth had the crowd yelling for referee Eddie LaFond to stop the fight. In the sixth round, Furr gestured for LaFond to step in and end the carnage, but when the referee looked towards the Mamakos corner, a shake of the head from manager Matt Twomey persuaded him otherwise. A visit from the ringside doctor before the seventh round revealed Mamakos had suffered a broken nose, and LaFond finally decided he’d seen enough.

The Cocoa Kid had been promised a bout with the winner, but Furr announced the following day that he had no intention of meeting the slick contender, declaring he wanted an immediate title shot with Henry Armstrong.

* * * *

Former featherweight title claimant Leo Rodak (133 ¼) came on strong down the stretch to win a unanimous decision over fifth ranked contender Jackie Wilson (128 ½) at Marigold Gardens in Chicago. The bout marked the fifth time the fighters had squared off with Rodak having now won two in a row after the first three contests had ended in draws.

After losing the first two rounds, Rodak held his foe on even terms in the third. Wilson came back to take the fourth, Leo held him even against in the fifth. Rodak rallied to win the sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth. The bout was all square going into the final round.

– Chicago Tribune

1950

May 31…

Before a gathering of 27,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium in Johannesburg, 22 year old Vic Toweel (116 ¾) won the world bantamweight crown from Manuel Ortiz (117 ½). It was only the fourteenth pro fight for the 1948 Olympian, who had won the British Empire crown a little over six months earlier.

Toweel’s speed and skill brought about the defeat of his harder hitting opponent from the U.S. Toweel won at least 10 of the 15 rounds.

– United Press

From the outset, Toweel (pictured, Cyber Boxing Zone) attacked the aging champion with a relentless attack and though Oritz did some damage in the fourth and ninth rounds, the local fighter was in control throughout. Sensing his title slipping away, Ortiz threw everything he had at Toweel in the final two sessions, but could not break through.

So clearly had Toweel won that when the final gong rang, photographers crowded round him and the crowd cheered hysterically.

– Associated Press

After the bout Ortiz called Toweel a great fighter and said he thought the South African would hold the crown for a long time. Ortiz’ manager Ray Luna added that, "Toweel’s a bit green but he was too good for Manny tonight."

June 1…

At the Arena in Milwaukee, featherweight champion Willie Pep (129) won a lopsided unanimous decision over lightweight Terry Young (138 ½). The fighters kept referee Julius Fidler plenty busy, with Young using his laces and thumbs on the inside, while Pep (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) used "arm pulls and elbow twists" to constantly spin his opponent.

Tempers boiled over in the ninth when Young tried to turn up the heat and for a moment appeared to have Pep in a little bit of trouble from a right hand to the body. With Young trying to swarm forward, Pep tried one of his tricks only to be thrown down by the heated New York fighter who wound up on the canvas as well…

When they got up, Young was raging. He tried to climb over the referee, snarling, "I’ll kill this so-and so!" and adding what sounded like Italian epithets. Fidler restrained him momentarily and then let him go after Pep. Willie sidestepped the rush and spun Terry again. Young grabbed the champ in both arms and threw him halfway across the ring.

– S.G. Lynch, The Milwaukee Journal

Sonny Boy West (136 ½) won a unanimous decision from southpaw Harold Jones (140 ½) on the undercard in a mostly uneventful 10 rounder. Only in the seventh round did either fighter do real damage, with West having Jones in trouble at the bell after pounding the Detroit fighter "all over the ring."

June 2…

After three cancellations spanning several months, lightweight champion Ike Williams (144 ½) finally fulfilled his contractual obligation to fight Lester Felton (144), and was an easy winner at the Detroit Olympia. A crowd of just over 14,000 saw Williams (pictured, Antiquities of the Prize Ring) drop Felton for a five count in the second round, and chase the young welterweight around the ring for the remainder of the bout.

Boos far outnumbered blows, but that was no fault of Williams. He tried his utmost to make a fight of it… Felton ran backward; Williams ran forward. And that was about all of it.

– Associated Press

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

Check back soon for more of The Boxing Bulletin's History Corner as we move on to the week of June 4 - 10.

e-mail Andrew Fruman