Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1939)
7 • I- Jb* Let'll go to th«* b«r and Ulk th» dodfre ! over. The minute 1 heard that nlate- feet, ment I opened both ears. The one talking was Jack Rufus and he was talking to Johnny Sparks. These two dfci > timing was almost per t X l Ml fir ua and see n •! \ CD i • I . t *■? 16 it. Both fighting for a chance at the champ. His opponent had a powerful were in the same boat, right hand that the kid had been The ki< had to slip off from his sister warned to stay away from, but try f** m as he could that right was alwajrs every day m order to , , , , . . _ shaking him a bit. The first round m in the rs sister. The all over his just what he boys peimjd. up to make the best fl|^hi-p#eaBMBg team in the East. 1 ' followed them because when they had stranger, things to t t k over, the results always After a few proved interesting, and it was my *how j ip with place to get whatever news they had. ^*6 lu| always had Yeah. Tm a reporter.' f v face. I was aakaiiM Jack! says Johnny, I’ve got h new w ** g idnftg^.jp. But if it had been boy that’s hotter’n two kinds of hell. Jacks says ao what and nothing more, niyself that is if she was hanging on It’s like thia says Johnny again. This my an a. boy I’ve found will be the n*xl 4hamp. Afte r aboht two months of good, ed, some didn’t; but those that yeah, I said the next champ. Of hard training Frankie was ready. His course he will have to take a few first f|ght was to be over in Jersey fights and get a reputation for him- so we pU went. By this time Jack had self first, but HI bet alt the money l convin *4 tie IcUll sister , that it have that ilHide of two years ieH be wasnt such a bad racket and she was the only contender left. There's only as rea y to gd as we were. _ ^ one'thing wrong, but you ega fix The kid w«h fighting an ex-eailor ‘iron-men’—I could see myself eating that. Jack Man to get a little sue- that wtm rough and tough In fact he beans for a week If the kid lost. But pkious ao Johnny went ad talking uxiked he mean from where I was like I said it was the sixth that finish- It's the kid’s sister. She doesn’t think sitting: that I crossed my fingers. ed the fight. The kid floored him he should be fight i ^ Well, aow. ain’t The hell sounded and the fight was tw^ before the referee calld a tech- that something says jack, what are on. Thb sailor'tfcme plear across the niml knockout. you doing, robbing the cradle? ring id two jumps, took a long left Right after the fight Jack and the I slid up a little closer to son If I Sjthb u bm kid*a face. He missed but kid's sister were married. Everyone Could get the kid’s name. Johnny caughtj him wad a right cross that ww feeling swell. The coMftmr champ says to Jack that he should make p hit thd kid pn the side of the head. wMlained of f headache and went play for the kid’s sister aad get her The U||| couldn’t get his bearings, but home to bed. on his side, getting h*r to Iflce boxing, he majaaged to stay away from the A couple of weeks after the last It was kinds funny, in this compute P«»vcd nothing, both men -w of conditioa and it looked like began to tke fight would be a decision match. It was in the second round that the kid got an awTul lick in the middle of his forehead. The blow knocked the I mould Have felt kind* happy down. He stayed for the couat of nine then was up on his feet throwing gloves all over the place, Some laikl- dtd made the other guy steer clear for awhile. I could see, in my own dumb way that something was wrong. His timing was off, way off. H was the sixth round that broke up the fight and brought back my ten Not letting her know of con rag that sailor, he was in on the deal. Thay worked every angle out right there and then. It would have been a good story to break as it was. but 1 wasn’t so sure that this was the time to break it; there might be more to »t.j I * Well, things jwo^t along a little fight I went around to see the kid in Thetf sparYed for an opening, then action. Not seeing him at the gym, 1 all of 4 sudden tke kid let go. A right, went to Johnhy’s office, a leftj another right, another left. Hi ya Jotyuty! How I are things then a aerie* of' body punches that going. Rotten he says, and the way he put tip j tailor on hia bike The kid said it, I believed him. He asked me finally: cornered him and went through can I keep a secret, ao I says yes. I Jfch f9r The sailor had my fingers crossed, just in case faster than Johnny had figured and couldn|kithfhw a punch Talk about it was something big that I could use. it wasn’t quite a year before the kid form!-lima kid was perfect and was The kid's going blind, he says. The was ready to fight the champ, and mer cil4se in: hpjattiairpt to floor his doc said another fight would cost him it looked like he was going to beat- nppompi. imijljar left to the face, his eyesight. That's a tough break, him. The story broke in th* morning t * len another, and to finish the bout especially just before his big fight, that Frankie Dikes, the kid, had re- th * started one from the floor. Tliat’a the reason Frankie Dikes quit tired from the ring. Here he was on Telegraphed? Stira it was but the the fight* game. He had two swell the eve of the championship bout, re- **»l*r rouldn’t move The kid won'by managers and they were ghing to see tiring. There must be something * knockout in the first round. toi it that nothing happened :to him wrong. Vou know I have heard of I followed tip kid wherever he whether he could fight or noi! plenty of the boys retiring after they fought^ in the papers, of course. Four- have become champs, but none before to< * n kn<>ckoap|' le *» than a year, they even fought. The story I picked That’s, a good record in ally league up is pretty good »° going to pass * Tbajpfteanth fight brought the kid it on to you. f back Home to the Garden. He was in the Big competition now and had a I , M • - j|[ [ hi ' J h [Li. i. The three of them opened turant right after the retirement and wRen .1 saw that I figured tfcimjwas the time to break the story. There hadn’t been one antil now. I wrote the story up and it nan a whole column in name for himself. His opponent was the Sunday paper it got me a bonus Frankie was about nineteen, blond a smooth boxer who had almost the aad would yop believe it—Johnny hair and blue eyes. Not one inch of same reputation aa the kid and the railed me up and told me to e*t with hia face looked that of a fighter. But fight res e cinch |o be a good one. them any time I got ready and »t his body, now that was something The winner was the undisputed chal- would be on the house, Now I charge different. Big shoulders, slim- hips U nger far the qMpMaNjhi 1 the expense account for my meals and thin ankles. He could weave. The MB sounded and they were at and put the money in ray pocket THE BATTA1J0N