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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1912)
sill CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING SPORTING AND MARKET REPORTS SECTION TWO Pages 1 to 18 VOL. XXXI. PORTLAND, OREGON, SUNDAY 3IORNING. DECE3IBER 1, 1912. NO. 4S. - Your In Portland Man Terms Foul Question Difficult. RITCHIE NOT REAL NAME New Lightweight Champion Known Out or King as Geary Steffen. Battles With First-Kate Men Few In Number. Willie Ritchie, new lightweight box ing champion, came by his ring name in a peculiar manner Some three and one-half years ago he did his first fighting. appearing in the Dreamland rink, in San Francisco, where the four round stars scintillate. A boxer named Willie Richardson was billed for one of the minor preliminaries one night and failed to hppear. The call for a sub stitute brought a tall, lanky chap named Geary Steffen to the dressing-room. He was furnished with tights and soon clambered into the ring. After a short discussion- the pseudo Willie Richard son's name was cut to Willie Ritchie - and that's, the" boy's nom de guerre to day. The first Portland ringside spectator at the dethroning of Ad W'olgast to reach the city is Oliver K. Jeffery. Multnomah Club athlete, back from a business trip to Los Angeles. "Whether or not Wolgast deliberately fouled Ritchie those two times in the 16th round will never be known," said Mr. Jeffery. "A good many of the spectators thought he deliberately hit low to avoid a knockout, but the ma jority leaned to the theory that he was in a daze and lashed -out blindly as his Instinct prompted him. "The two were boxing along pretty evenly up to the fatal 16th round, can tlnued the Portland real estate man. "The knockdown then was a right hand cross to the jaw as well-timed as you could ever expect to see. Wol gast arose, lurched along the ropes i few feet, while Ritchie closed In on him. and then fell on his hip without being struck. hen he got to his feet again he hugged Ritchie up against the ropes, and then, as illie broke away, sent both hands swinging toward his thigh. Two blows were delivered foul. "There was less than SO seconds of fighting left In that round and If Wol gast had not fouled he might have been able to have stuck that out. There's no telling what a minute's rest be tween rounds might have done for him." ' Willie has had but little experience with high-Class fighters, outside of his bout with Freddie Welsh, when he sub stituted for Ad Wolgast. stricken with appendicitis. After that match he was taken East under Emll Thlry. Packy McFarland's manager, and did consider able boxing with the crafty stockyards boy. He had eight fights on that trip and won all of them. Ritchie, or Steffen, as his real name reads, was born February 13. 1S91. His father, a good old Teuton who never aw a boxing bout In his life, runs a coal yard In San Francisco. Willie has a married sister living In Portland, but he refuses to permit her name to be divulged. Chicago Wins Cue Honors. CHICAGO. Nov. .30. In the Jast of the second series of three games of the. iHHRlCE We Direct ' Special Attention to Our the First Section c Merchandise ofc Merit annual three-cushion billiard champion ship, Chicago was victorious. Walter Lauben winning In 83 Innings. His high run was five. Leon Magnus, of New York, scored 35. with a high run of five. games. Old Glory Horse Sale Ends. NEW YORK, Nor. 30. The 18th an- liiliRM -Vv wit- I , t- .Lrr3! Chicago took two of the three Jtt&tfSC Ony nual Old Glory horse.ga.le was brought to a cloi(Hn-Sa;aafsoh-Suare Garden To night. During the six days of the sale Ti5 thoroughbred animals were' sold for a total of $268,000. . .. - ' ' FIRST PHOTOGRAPHS OF RITCHIE-WOLGAST FTQHT i LH11 1 ' a mn ' " '' '. ' ' ' ' i ' " ' ' 11 . o t' if xi . I ' - -: I RING FANS EAGER I Wolaast-Ritchie Battle Gives Enthusiasts Plenty of Chance to Argue. RIVAL CLAIMS ARE MADE New Champion's Supporters - Assert Willie Would Have Knocked, His Man Ont Soon Any Way, and . Others Make Denial. SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 30. (Special.) It will be perhaps three months be fore the last fight will be fought over that turkey (Jay championship mill out in the fog at Daly City. Pugilistic en thusiasts . were at it hot and ' heavy again today, 'and there does not seem any manner possible, outside of a re turn, match, to settle the dispute over the superiority of Champion "Willie Ritchie or Ad Wolgast, the late light weight king. , - One thing is assured, . and that is that -Willie Ritchie is and will be the lightweight champion of the world for at .least four months, and perhaps long er. And the San Francisco lad Is enti tled to all the glory and money that goes with the title. He-won it fairly and. squarely, for there is no question about the correctness . of Referee-Jim Griffin's decision in awarding him the bout after Wolgast had fouled him twice with two palpably low puncHes. Of course, it. was an unsatisfactory ending, and has provided a world of discussion -ever since the bout.- -.- ' Wolgast Men Raise Cry. . There are two separate factions, each with rival theories. The Ritchie cqntingent regrets the unfortunate finish and is to the fore -with a claim that Willie would have scored a knock out in. another second or two. The Ritchie following thinks that Wolgast has gone away hack and was weak ening fast after the tenth round. The followers of Wolgast have been raising the loudest cry. They -figure that the sturdy German was winning all the way when he got in the way of that terrific right-hand punch . In: the sixteenth round. They further assert that for another bout Wolgast would take his training more-seriously and would cut-up Champion Ritchie-more severely than he did Thursday.--' There was evidence in -the- fight to back up arguments on both sides. Cer tainly Wolgast had a good margin of points when that eventful sixteenth opened. He .had Administered a terrific mauling to Willie In the first nine rounds and was going -pretty strong in the fifteenth, when there were times when Wolgast gave, indications that he was being hurt by the body punches sent in by. Ritchie. Along about the twelfth round he backed across the ring to the ropes when. Willie started driving blows at his midsection. He was seen swinging wildly too. which is a sign of weak ness. Maybe Wolgast would have re covered as he did in his, battle . with Bat Nelson or maybe Ritchie would have clipped him on the Jaw again with that deadly right. . ' ' . ' Nolan Plans Battle. . - From a reliable-source of information it has, been learned that Manager Nolan mapped out a plan of battle for Ritchie which had some bearing on how the fight progressed. 'Ritchie went into the ring to let Wolgast wear himself out and then to came on and win. Nolan declares that Wolgast's stamina has been snapped. He gained that impres sion from the Rivers-Wolgast fight in Los Angeles and he was confident that if Ritchie would let Ad do all the lead ing and milling in the first ten rounds, then it would be easy to wear down the Michigan wildcat .in the closing rounds. It was a pretty logical plan of at tack. . but It. did- not .- work . out lust right In the first place Wolgast proved stronger than was predicted and in the second place wuue.tooic more punishment than Wolgast bargained for. Ritchie explains thatr.he - was chilled and could not box or defend himself in his usual form, and for' this reason he took a severe lacing. Nolan and Ritchie assert, however, that the pace told on 'Wolgast and made passible that knock-down in the 16th and brought about the nmsn. Wolgast Makes Defense. -. .' In defense Wolgast says, "I know that I was not as . good as .1 was couple years ago, but . I "am still - good enough to beat , -all theV present-day lightweights. ' I can honestly say that I was not blowing up and was as strong as ever. :- Even Wolgast can see that the opera tion for appendicitis has done its work. The new ruler- in the . lightweight division-was' up and about today visiting-friends and accepting congratula tions. . Willie was as modest and unas suming as ever and the championship crown has not turned his head in the least. He 'is the. . same level-headed chap and is again looking- around to Invest the money he won on xnursaay. Willie already owns several pieces of real estate in San Francisco and if he successful in his . roped arena en gagements he bids fair to cut a swath among the capitalists." - -. Fighters Appear on Stage. Market street will harbor a pair of lightweights today, who will likely op pose each other in - the roped arena in the near future. Captain Willie Ritchie will be the headllner at one theater and Joe Rivers, his closest lightweight rival will' be the attraction at another.- Both boys will appear before the footlights and gather in some of the "soft" money that was made possible by their vic tories on Thanksgiving day. Ritchie Is planning quite ' an exten sive theatrical tour. He expects to pass Ave -weeks shooting up and down the Coast and will then strike Eastward to - give the -fans -a peek at --the new holder of the championship. ... Kramer Wins -Six-Mile Run, NEW YORK.' Nov. 30. W. J.- Kramer, of the Long Inland Athletic Club, won today the Amateur Athletic Union Na tional senior cross country champion ship handily from-a field of 27 run-ll'$liminary class, thai ners over the Van Courtlandt's parKTratea" "a championship course, repeating -his victory of last year. - Kramer's time for the slx-mlle run, twice over the three-mile course, was 32:34. He was a half-mile ahead AT SAN FRANCISCO. of the second man, Harry J.'Smith, un attached, of New York, the' ten-mile champion,' who made 'the course in M:48. RITCHIE MAT RAISE LIGHTWEIGHT LIMIT Critics Believe Champion Too Heavy for His Class and . Light for Welters. GANS' FATE' IS RECALLED Battling - Nelson's Insistence That '. Baltimore Negro 'Make 1S3 for Fights Said to Hare - Sent Him to Early Grave. BY JAMES H. CASSELL. Now that California has rounded out Its championship roll of honor with a lightweight pugilistic -title-holder, what of the 133-pound division of Bat tling Nelson and Ad Wolgast? Is 133 pounds to remain the deadline between the : lightweight and welterweight classes, or will Willie Ritchie, the newly-crowned king, raise the mark to 13S pounds? Ritchie made 133 pounds for Wolgast Thursday and proved that he can re duce to .this weight and enter the ring strong enough to win the lightweight championship of the world. But critics generally rank Ritchie among such men as McFarland, Britton and Young Jack O'Brien too light for the welter and too heavy for the, lightweight ranks. Ritchie' insists that 133 pounds is easy for him, but, if he retains the title an appreciable length of. time, fans may expect .a new (lightweight limit 135 pounds. - Title Won Year Later. Had Bat Nelson weighed three pounds more he probably would never have held the lightweight title, and Ad Wol gast might have been eliminated from the calendar - of 'champions. But the Battler sent Joe Gans to an early grave through his insistence on 133 pounds as the legal weight, defeating the Balti more negro, when the latter was little more than- a shadow of himself from the strain of weight-reducing. v - It was a strange coincidence that Ritchie, who sprang into the first flight of boxing stars through an opening caused by Wolgast's sudden appendi citis attack, should win the title from the same man exactly one year later. Ritchie substituted for Ad against Freddie Welsh a year ago at Los An geles and made such a wonderful show ing for a man just emerging from the that he has been contender ever since. - - Four years ago Ritchie was a lad of 17 years, struggling to learn the trade of a sheet metal worker. Three, years "amateur" ring, climbed to the top of that misnamed contingent in San Fran cisco, made a splendid showing against Welsh, although he lost a 20-round de cision; alL but .knocked out Joe Man dot In 10 rounds, worsted Wolgast In four rounds, and today this lad, whose real name Is Gary Steffen. Is the rank ing lightweight of the ring. As long as men congregate to spend long hours in verbal warfare over the doings of the ring idols, so long will the Wolgast-Ritchle affray be discussed. Wolgast undoubtedly underrated his ago he was a machinist In an automo bile repair shop. Less than two years ago he was a demonstrator for an auto mobile concern. At tiiS age of IS he invaded the opponent, and probably 'failed to con dition himself properly for the fray. He was either on the verge of defeat by a knockout In that 16th round on Thursday and fouled his opponent to save his record from the blackest of all marks, or was so far gone that he blindly swung toward his conquerer-to-be, and lost on an unintentional foul. Return .Match TrobablF. Under what circumstance? the fouls were committed, and Just 'how strong Wolgast properly trained for the bout would have been, will be matters for dispute for years. That a return match will be staged within a year goes without saying, pro vided that Wolgast does not suffer more reverses in the meantime, or Ritchie lose his crown. But it will be Ritchie who will demand the $15,000 guarantee, and Wolgast who must con tent himself with the paltry thousands left after the champion has exacted his share. Wolgast won the championship from Battling Nelson on February 23, 1910, at Point Richmond,- Cal., winning in the 40th round. He proved a popular champion, meeting all comers as fast as they appeared, and evading no on who could command a good guarantee from the boxing promoters for Wol gast. His style of milling, of the "wade in and exchange wallops" variety, was popular, while his spectacular wager ing on his own bouts appealed to the public always fearing a frameup. , Ritchie is of a different school of boxing. He does not believe in the theory of taking a punch to give one. but relies upon his cleverness, backed by a good right-hand wallop, to score a victory. Unlike Nelson and Wolgast, Ritchie Is unmarked, and looks more like a college lad than a prize-fighter. King's Honeh Pays. Portland fans fell hard when Ritchie beat Wolgast, but a few of them cleaned up handsomely on the Cali fornlan's conquest. Jack King, a strong personal friend of IVolgast be lieved that Wolgast was through, that he could not "come back" so soon af ter the appendicitis attack, and backed his Judgment with money. But King's confidence was more in Billy Nolan than in Wolgast He be lieves Nolan, once manager of Nelson, ts the shrewdest manager in the busi ness, and backed Billy rather than his protege. Nolan is not popular with California promoters and newspapermen, but he now has a world's champion in the most attractive division of the game, and is once more back in the ascend ancy. Frenchman Is Ridiculed. "LeDoux is a good cook, 'tis said. Better be good at something, for as a boxer he is not .there would be a cinch for Coulon or WilliamB," read the headlines of a New York paper af ter the .highly touted French bantam weight defeated Battling Reddy at New York. . LeDoux won because he forced th lighting-, but his willingness is his sole asset. He knows nothing of boxing, but wades into an opponent ' like -the veriest novice, swinging wllily In an effort to land a knockout punch. LeDoux was heralded as the ono Frenchman who wouId'Vpliold'ttie fleur de lis against any rlngster of his weight in the business, but his New York debut was a bitter disappoint ment to those who expected to see a bitter struggle between Coulon, Wlll- lams and the Frenchman for the cham-" pfonship. BOXING BRIEFS ON WEDNESDAY night a middle weight fight of championship cal ibre will be staged In New York. Eddie MoG.oorty of Oshkosh, Wis., meets Mike Gibbons of St. Paul. This fight will do much to decide the 158 pound championship. An effort will be made to match Frank Klaus with the winner for the title. - Philadelphia seems to' be an unlucky city for the topnotch scrappers. In ad dition to reverses suffered by Gibbons and Palzcr, Packey McFarland and Eddie McGoorty have fought their poor, est in the Pennsylvania city. . Frankle Conley, who was knocked out at Los Angeles in 19 rounds by Johnny Dundee, touts Dundee to win the featherweight title when he gets a crack at Johnny Kilbane. - ' Jem Drlscoll and Owen Moran meet in London on January 27. Lord Lons dale has offered another belt for the winner. . Abe Attell will never fight for the featherweight championship again. Wh?n he quit In six rounds to Oliver Kirk at St. Louis last Wednesday night he eliminated himself from further con sideration. In addition Abe made the announcement that he will never fight again. His retirement marks, the end of one of the cleverest boxers in the history of the ring. - If Kid Williams, the sensational Bal timore bantam, who outpointed Cham pion Coulon not long ago, meets Eddie Campi at Los Angeles on January 14, he must be in the best shape of Ills life, or his star will be on the wane . ere the new year is very old. The Flynn-McCarty heavyweight mill. scheduled for Los Angeles on Decem ber 10, will eliminate one of the big fellows from the "white hope" race. Al Palzer will meet the winner, Jut the man emerging from the melee will be far from recognition as the champion of the world. One California surgeon declared be. fore the Wolgast-Ritchie fight that Ad could not last the full 20 rounds, as no man could be completely recovered from an operation for appendicitis in one year. He names from one to 10 years as the period necessary tor com plete .recovery. Amateur Athletics. Louis Johnson, Northwest "prep," rec ord holder for the shotput and Jave- line throw, will not be with the Wash ington High School next year, as he has decided to oin the forces of the Oregon Agricultural College. Johnson is heavy and can also play football and will un doubtedly be heard of again before his school days are over. The' Washington High-Wendell Phil ips game is becoming "warmer." The Astoria High School Is dickering with the Chicago team and in the event that It accepts, the visit may be made with out the additional team which Is being sought. Eugene, Pendleton and Walla Walla high schools have decided that the expense is more than they can stand and ..will not take up the team. Coach Sam Moyer's North Central team, of Spokane, the eleven which defeated Jefferson and Lincoln highs, defeated the Lewis and Clark High, the other team of Spokane, 81 to t, on Turkey day.
