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.