Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954), Sunday 6 October 1907, page 3


Sporting Sparklets The Cult of

Athleticism.

HOCK Kèys was to have fought

Frank Thorn in Melbourne on Monday last, but contrac-ting an attack of influenza; the match bad to be put off till to-morrow, October 7. Should Hock get in the ring fit and well, he will beat Thorn, who, in our opinion, has made

a foolish match indeed.

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?JSo more bas been heard of the Jes sop^-King ; fight, which was. supposed to take place in Perth shortly. Prob-ably Jessop's prospective backer has come to the conclusion-as he should Have done earlier-that Jessop and .King would not; draw, enough to buy a waistcoat for a grasshopper. ,

Young Jimmy Britt, who used to spar with Bill Squires before the iat terfs fight with Tommy Burns, gave it as. his opinion that the Australian jyäs sbort-winded, and could never 'go more than a few rounds. Probably .Britt vïs singing a different tune ? since

Bill went nineteen rounds with Sulli

{ " If I cannot secure a fight in Bro-ke». »Hill, I will come to Melbourne, 'and / am prepared to match with, ï'rank Thorn or Tim Hegarty." Thus Paddy McMahon to the sporting - edi-tor of' a Melbourne paper. We won-der who wil) be found .-to engineer a stoushing match between - M'Mahon and Thorn ? . Why. not pit Jimmy Britt and the winner of the amateur lightweight bout at the Subiaco, Pas-time Club? \

Paddy Mf3ffabonr^''the gamest man» in' W.A."-^who went' down to Paddy King in Perth, says he intends , to open a tobacconist's ' shop in Mel-bourne. M'Mahoh has been telling .Í'otherside sports that; he had < two ribs broken whilst '' sparring with a ;heayy-weight pn^il^pïipr to figbMng 4tLng. Perhaps 'McMahon's broken ribs ?caused him to become temporarily in-sensible when King swung 'the left, Twhibh. stopped, within a foot oí ."bis itoble dial !

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"I sae that there , is no anxiety on .fee-part 'of Paddy King's backers to put np a side, wager for him against ' .nie/' remarked .Nickey Duggan,' during the week. "I am prepared to box Mm jat 9.4, the loser to get nothing out X>t the 'house,' atad I have money to asay I'm his master." Duggan' is in1 fine fettle just now, and is actually spoiling for a fight, but can get . no gent to accommodate Hm.

. " . . . . » . ..; ?» .; -. / ' ¿ "There many a slip 'twixt cup and lip." The Mines Rovers . (Kalgoorlie) ^footballers, who were beaten for the [goldfields premiership on Sunday

¡Week, liad 'made all arrangements to .come down to the coast to play off for the State premiership. Half, of the. team bad their portmanteaux packed in anticipation of a trip to Perth, and great was the disgust at . "being beaten by ûie Boulder City team. The k'diorite-punchers" tookTîheir de |eat very badly, for they had begun to imagine that when *'al[l> out" they "were invincible.'- 'v

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*À writer in the London " Sunday Times-," on the M.C.C. team, which-*is .-to visit Australia :-"Opinions bs to th* prospects'-of the team'are by no-onans so pessimistic as they were .when the names of the "selected players first became known. The explanation is, very simple, so many of the men having since shown such splendid cric-ket. No one will, pretend that the ?team is really England, but of the

fourteen men no one would be out of

place in a Gentlemen and Players 'match. This being the case, one may -feel reasonably hopeful. The one thing lacking is high-class Baiting of the steady kind. If only Fry and Hay-ward were going there would be every reason to expect a triumph." 'lt ap-pears to us that the English critics

are inclined to somewhat under-rate their representatives. Certainly, there is not a solid batsman of Hay wärd's calibre in thé team, but all the same, the combination may prove just a trifle toogood for us in the Téáts.

Frank Thorn on Monday hight last beat Hughie Meeghan, that good fea-therweight fighter, after 22 rounds of {strenuous battling. For the first 10 rounds the " Kalgoorlie Kid" banged Meeghan all round the ring, arid piled up the points to such an extent that in the latter stages of the battle he could afford to wait some. The fact ?that two extra rounds were ordered to be fought suggests that there was no-thing in it to speak of. " Not since the days of Griffe* and Pluto has there been such a splendid battle between featherweights," telegraphed the East-ern' representative of tbs " Herald. " It seems a great pity that Thorn'bas not been able to make a lourney to America to test himself with the fea-therweights there. A fight between 1 lim self and Frankie Neil, for instance, would serve to show what sort of

class Australia is still able to produce in the light grades of hot air. dispen-sers. Thorn has beaten every lad who has been sent against him, in his own class in Australia, and he is sim-ply wasting his time in this portion of the earth. Of course he can pro-cure matches with light-weights of the Hock Keys variety (he is to meet Hock to-morrow night) but good fight-er though he is, he should never be allowed to tackle top-notchers out-side of his class. At 126K>s., Thorn is king of the Australian boxing ring and one of the best and cleverest in the world.

A member of the "Hawklet" staff went to Broken Hill to referee the Lang-Ruenalf mill. In his account of the mill the pressman says :- "Jack

Harris afterwards, introduced the re-

feree, who received a rousing welcome, and in response to the cries of a spruik, he briefly thanked the audience for the enthusiastic manner in which he was received, and stated that he trusted their confidence in him would

not be misplaced." Modesty is a trait of the Melbourne pressman in question.

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Morey, who '. won tie lOsjfd ,amöteur j tournament promoted by Mike . Joseph, J states his willingness to box Jack Norris, whom he. fought .in..the final

of the tourney in iqueàlàoîiL Morey ; says he will iake. on Nôcris àt 9.7 which is neither li¿h£rweiigbt limit or : anything else. ., . Considering that : Morey won a . lOst. competition, be should not insist on a S!.7',-;limit. Nor-ris . probably cannot ; get jdóism to 1331b

and Morey may be aw^re of the fact. . If eyer the two meet at catch weights ' our money will gb pb dorris, who is as game as a .-.bjntt-arit. and has a heavy wallop át- tis disposât.

On the 16th .inst., in Melbourne, the German Hercules j Gus -Bennert, fwill wrestle Buttau .Singii under catch as catch can rules. Sultan Singh ¡is the individual who was '.beaten by tîlar ence Weber so dmsively aV3ew months'

ago. Singh is ,» wrestler of the.sav

age ? school, who"'would be likely * -to . make things willing fpr.-suen a\ wild

and woolly in<li\Tduai;. iör instance, as

the ginger-headed John fiop, George

Dinnie. À meeting between thé wily ' alien and, the " Scbt -wo^ld- be worth,

going a long way .-*Ql'ïéêe^and ? Mr. . Dinnie and his "au-in" .stjple, would suit Sin^ç *-4&& dpwn. to the ground. ;

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' '' ' "?. "?' 's--ï-'i\. - .' '. - " .' Tie Fremantle flrieket. Association ¡has decided to. disband, and throw m¡

its little lot ; wiHt.^Si'^pi, Assoaa?

tion. A meeting of the seaside- body was held ; on Monday iñght, and it was. resolved tint they have" one body^ only for the coming season. This > is a move in. the 'right*; diréetibñ. ; .We '.all know what success .has attended the amalgamation pf .libé * P¿rth and Fre-

mantle football befóles,/ *^|br>w^niuçn interest has :ati^cbédVÍp:;j^e: ¿trilles

between7 eighteens frbtni Pertb ¿nd Fre-mantle combin^^ns. Healthy rivalry between 'the towns is. something- al-ways to. be advocated, and -, without

doubt the decl^n^pf^^bft: Fremantle men tb; tbrow ?^Jfefe.^&.'amongst [ Perth sportemen '? t^-^é'-;to*Üie' ¿ene-ra! advancements'oí the summer game.

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Tom Newby, thé ^^läfiejds.' pug, who was some weekslagji;beaten ' by ' Sain Keenan in Kalgoorlie, is after his con-queror's ' scalp agam, anti; is training hard that he mayr hop into the ring

in tip-top condition. - Whether Keenan

will give Newbyy'á'^i»r¿''^-'.niatcli is doubtful, but if. he does, smother ter-rific battle may-; he expected.Ther*' never was much love lc^ between the two gladiators, and since, that memor-' able "trwist" oh the part :vöfo Sam the bitterness has been accentuated. ., lt. seems that Newby, on.; Hie 'last occa-sion went into- the ring haU well-on the understanding that Ms opponent would not worry íiimséU7-^ud, would

probably try and lose on a* fouL In-stead pf which Keenan went in with the gripi determinaron bf settling Newby in as few punches as possible. And poor Newby stopped a hot swing in tba solar plexus in, the sixth round. If ever he¡ meets Keenan' again-well, there will be hell to play !

Followers of the East Fremantle ! football team little expected that the ' , Appeal Board would uphold the pro- ..

test lodged by the Perth Club against the game being given to. the seaside.

IS. Not a few wagers were made on j the result of the protest, and in every case a slight shade of odds were laid on the verdict going to th© Easts. A delegate of the Perth Club, Mr.

MT*od, emphasised ' the fact that. Perths did not want to win on a pror j test, but preferred "toi play another game. Seeing that Perth's -haye alrea-dy been given'the match, it is/a cer-tainty that if they should have another

go-and/ get thoroughly beaten by ¡ their old riyals, die supporters of the metropolitan club would feel ^highly aggravated. It ÍB'-quite'a novelty! for a football club to exhibit such mag: nanimity as the Perthites did on this occasion I '* .

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The - well-known Australian cricketer; ' Frank Laver, at the reception to the Arictprian baseballers -in Sydney^ is credited with saying that he considers, baseball a better game than cricket, because' it takes less .timé to play. Whereat. enthusiastic followers of cric-ket are prpteètmg at the statement made by one of* the continent's, cracks to the disparagement of our natural summer game. Frank i'Layer is» it might be. mentioned, a better base baller tb an even a cricketer, which is saying â gréât deal for bim. . The "Referee" on the subject oí Laver's re-marks, says i-"As an- admirer of baser bal!, and" of -: course, a greater ad-mirer of cricket, one cannot discern conclusiveness in «Mr. Laver's ; logic. If that be Übe only reason Twhy base bail is the better, game, there is hardly a game, from pitch-and-toss to mar-bles, that could nbt, be accorded simi-lar honor*"

? After all it does not seem liât,

young' ;.Fred Linifa-um, Westralia's champion billiardist, is. to go to Eng-land with Inman, as it was originally stated. According to all accounts, he is still located^ in Melbourne;; and In^ ' man is away'touring New Zealand. : When Stevenson was ; in Melbourne, be

offered to take the .boy champion, to : England . with lum, but the monetary

.conditions did not suit young Fred, and the offer was not availed, pf. Speaking pf ibis probable future inoye-: ments, ''Snooker '*v says :-"It waa given put in Melbourne in . Juné, last; that Messrs. Alcock and Co- intended to send him to Engl and, and gay all expenses pf -bis tuition there, but whe-ther that projeet wül 'ntei^alise.ï. cannot say. Certain it is that all Lindrum requires is plenty ' of - play, with exponents greater than himself, and he will shortly be at -the'head- pf tlie profession. The only place to get. that practise is the Oki Country, and -the sooner he gets across there and to work the brighter "wi'l be his future, prospects." The same writer . classes lindrum with Memmott and Frank Smith, and says the boy is one of the" best''iiiree cueists in Australia.

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The defeat of Bul Squires by Jack {"Twin") Sullivan,, at Colma, U.S.A., eight days ago, makes us think'that after all "Bpsfater Bill" is not the possessor of such a deadly wallop as we were once wont to imagine. The first affair with Tommy Burns, which, ended so suddenly,' we did not take much stock pf, for it was the general opinion that the miner from Narra ,bri was the victim of a fluke punch, That sharp and sudden mill told us,' however, that our man was as vul-nerable as the majority of scrappers. Many of his admirers considered that Squires was an athlete who could as-similate more punishment than . any fighter who preceded him. " You couldn't hurt him with an axe," said those who knew him best. And then in his first mill in the land of wood-en hams. Noah Brusso passed Billiam one on the point, be subsides, into oblivion, and the American sporting writers immediately describe him as the man with the glass jaw ! Still, more than 75 per cent, of Australian sport-followers were not satisfied that our Bill was outed by a better man, and they would have bet even money on Squires had the New South Wales miner been given a return with the stousher from Canada. And now we are shown that not only is Bill as easy as the rest to knock out, but that we have greatly exaggerated the force and weight of his swats. The: cable -tells us that he was heavily punished during the course of 19 rounds ; but it is only natural to sup-pose that in the course of the period he got home a few hot 'uns" on his opponent. With such a meagre de-scription to hand, it is hard tp pass an opinion of Squires in bis latest contest ; but at the same time those who are inclined to disparage him in connection with, his latest effort must bear in mind that he was beaten by one of the best middleweights in the world-a man who downed Tommy Burns-and a clever, hard-hitting boxer, who bas the scalp of many first rate heavies dangling at his girdle. Squires may improve still further-if he cares to continue in' the game in America ; but probably his latest set-back will be the cause of him turning up fighting for good.

Rowing challenges are still thick amongst the first and second-raters on t'otherside. The latest is that Ben Thoroughgood, who was beaten by Dick Tressider so decisively, has thrown down the gauntlet to his erst-while conqueror, and has deposited a

fiver to bind a match. Thoroughgood reckons he would have beaten Charlie

Towns last November, only for fouling the bank.

Probably no prior match for the sculling championship of the world has ever presented the personal features of the Towns-Webb race (says an East-ern scribe). In the first place, the holder of the title had never before rowed for the championship, and had only once before rowed in a profes-sional match. Then the challenger had only once before competed in a match for money. Thirdly, this is the first occasion on which a New Zealander has taken part in a scull-ing race for the worlds championship.

V ' ;. .' . ' .-'. ,.'?.*?'? /-. 4 The -sculler-cyclist, Dick Arnst, still persists in his efforts to obtain a match with one of the champions, but the majority of sportsmen do not seem to take him seriously. Whether or not Arnst is in the top class we do not know but he may very shortly be given a try against Fogwell. Should Arnst beat Fogwell, only Tres-sider and Webb will stand between the ex-cyclist and the world's champion-ship. Fogwell and Arnst are of the same age -- 23 years. Jack Mitchell is still much annoyed at his prior right to a match being overlooked by Fog-well.

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There,-is a big probability ;pf Tommy Bur rife and Jack Johnson, tile colored pugilist, coming together in tte magic square , sshortly. There is ño one bet-, ter niatched . wiih Burns ; at present than the lengthy coon, and it would not surpris^ vany of us to see John pon do up thé Canadian ' on points, ' per medium of his . great skill. It must

bé' "very annoying to the , colored scrapper to have his challenges ignor-ed, and the color line drawn, and we faa %o see''/how Bums can conscien-tiously tack "the title of world's ¡cTham . pion to his > ñamé till he ' has settled ; with-; thè 'coon. By the way. Burns '

has nd* ' dime any good with- has -thea

itrical ??. shpw, and he may soon want I .j some!more pf the "toot'of. all evfl."

- When at Fremantle dine at Warbyf's. Duke pf York Cafe, next and 0. '; HoteL . .. ' ."-.;."'. ? ?

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