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| coverbrowser.com |
Happy Halloween, everyone. The 02-November-1963 cover of The New Yorker features a Charles Addams cartoon of a duck hunter spotting a formation of witches.
Saturday, October 31, 2020
Thursday, October 29, 2020
COVID-19, Masks, Fires, Church, Baseball and School -- October 29, 2020
San Mateo County moved to Purple on the California watch list. COVID-19 is raging through several rural states. Many idiots refuse to wear masks.
Some restaurants have reopened for indoor dining, but only at 25% capacity.
The Dodgers reached the World Series.
My wife and daughter, both teachers, are heading back to the classroom soon.
The fire up north, burning since August, is 100% contained, but still burning.
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
How Wambsganss Made Star Play of Series -- Triple Play, Unassisted -- October 28, 2020
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| Brooklyn Eagle, 11-October-1920 |
Well, darn it, the Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. This was the Dodgers' first appearance and first win since 1988. I guess this was a fitting conclusion to a bizarre season.
100 years ago this month, the Cleveland Indians beat the Dodgers, often called the Superbas or the Robins, in the World Series. Cleveland second baseman Bill Wambsganss made the first, and so far the only, unassisted triple play in a World Series game. There have been only 15 unassisted triple plays in the Major Leagues since 1900.
When Wambsganss was interviewed for Lawrence Ritter's classic book The Glory of Our Times, he complained that the unassisted triple play in the World Series was the only thing most people remembered about him.
How Wambsganss Made Star Play Of Series -- Triple Play, Unassisted
Here is a diagram of the triple play made by Bill Wambsganss, second baseman of the Cleveland Indians, in the fifth inning of yesterday's game with Brooklyn. It is the first three-ply killing ever made In a World Series and the second in major league history. Kilduff and Miller were on second and first bases with nobody out. when Mitchell drove a hot liner toward right center. The ball shot like a bullet three steps to the right of Wambsganss and about four feet over his head. The Cleveland baseman leaped high in the air and pulled the ball down with his gloved hand. He stumbled as he landed back on his feet, but recovered his balance and ran over and touched second, doubling up Kilduff, who was on his way to third as shown in the picture. Miller was close up to second when Wamby stepped on that base, but was not quick enough in turning back toward first and was run down and tagged. A fuller description of the remarkable play will be found In Thomas S. Rice's column in the Sporting Section.
James Randi, RIP -- October 28, 2020
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| listal.com |
Magician, escape artist and investigator James Randi has died, unless he is pulling our legs. I loved his book Conjuring.
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| listal.com |
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Hudson River Day Line -- October 27, 2020
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| New York Evening World, 02-October-1920 |
The Hudson River Day Line ran steamships from New York City to Albany. The boats were popular because day-time running allowed people to watch the scenery.
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| Marine Review, 01-September-1904 |
Sunday, October 25, 2020
Friday, October 23, 2020
Reduction in Prices of Ford Products -- October 23, 2020
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| Washington Evening Star, 06-October-1920 |
The Ford Motor Company repeatedly lowered the price of the Model T.
Thursday, October 22, 2020
The Accident at the Montparnasse Railway Station, Paris -- October 22, 2020
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| Engineering, 01-November-1895 |
125 years ago today, on 22-October-1895, a train entering the Montparnasse Railway Station in Paris, failed to stop and crashed through a wall. Falling debris killed a poor woman on the street. The crew and the passengers all survived.
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| San Francisco Call, 17-November-1895 |
SINGULAR RAILROAD ACCIDENT.
Elevated Train Crashes Through a
Station and Falls to the Street.
Chicago Ball Players Accused of Conspiracy -- October 22, 2020
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| Morgan County, Tennessee Press, 22-October-1920 |
100 years ago today, on 22-October-1920, a grand jury indicted eight members of the Chicago White Sox and five gamblers for fixing the 1919 World Series.
Thirteen Are
Indicted for
Ball "Fixing"
Seven Members of White Sox,
Three Former Players, Boxer
And Two Gamblers Are
Named by Grand Jury.
Seven members of the Chicago White Sox, three former base ball players, a boxer and two gamblers were named in the true bills voted recently,
The charges grew out of the alleged "fixing" of last year's world's series between the White Sox and Cincinnati.
Those indicted are:
Eddie Cicotte, Joe Jackson, Claude Williams, Fred McMullin, George Weaver, William Burns, Oscar Felsch and Charles Risberg, White Sox players: Arnold "Chick" Gandil. former White Sox player; Hal Chase, former New York Giants; Abe Attell, former boxer; Joseph "Sport" Sullivan of Boston; and Rachael Brown of New York.
The conspiracy indictment contains five counts, including charges of conspiracy to obtain money under false pretenses and to injure the business of the Chicago American league base ball club.
Three Confess.
Cicotte, Jackson and Williams Confessed to the grand jury they had accepted bribes to lose the series last year, and named the others as parties to the plot.
Extradition papers have been prepared by the state's attorney for the 13 and efforts will be made immediately, it was announced, to obtain their return to Chicago. Attell is reported to be in Canada; Cicotte in Detroit, Gandil in Texas, Jackson and Weaver in North Carolina.
True bills against three owners of base ball pools were voted today by the special Grand Jury Investigating base bell.
Owners of the Great Western, Universal and American-National pools are named In the bills. All are Chicago men.
Chief Justice McDonald announced that he would fix bail at $5,000 on each Indictment or 10,000 for each of those named.
To Meet Again Nov. 6.
Investigation of the pools resulted from numerous complaints received by the Grand jury from men holding winnings, who were unable to collect on their slips.
The special grand jury adjourned late today until November 6, when it will be dissolved unless further evidence Is brought up for consideration.
Those against whom true bills were voted today are:
William Chellue, Martin Carlin and F. C. Walters, all of Chicago,
While the grand jurors were returning the indictment before Chief Justice Charles A. McDonald. Ban Johnson, president of the American league, turned over to Assistant State's Attorney Hartley Replogle a letter from a Kansas City sporting editor alleging that "Frog" Thompson, Kansas City gambler received a telegram, from Claud Hendrix, Chicago Cub player advising, him to "bet $5,000 on the opposition" in the game between Philadelphia and Chicago here August 29. It was the circumstance surrounding the Cubs defeat on that data that started the base ball gambling investigation. The Kansas City letter also alleges that Thompson received a telegram from Hal Chase, who was then In California, confirming the Hendrix message.
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Satisfied Users of Reo Speed Wagon -- October 21, 2020
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| Richmond Times-Dispatch, 31-October-1920 |
Among the "Satisfied Users of Reo Speed Wagons" was the "Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Emporia, Va.."
Monday, October 19, 2020
Coulter -- Skeleton Steamer Beaver -- October 19, 2020
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| San Francisco Call, 23-May-1895 |
William A Coulter did many maritime drawings for the San Francisco Call.
Captain Mathew Turner, the ship
builder, has lately turned out two steamers for Alaskan waters which are now being shipped thither on the brig Geneva. One is the Alice, 160 feet long and about 400 tons burden, she contains over 100,000 feet of lumber and is being loaded onto the brig in sections.
The other is the little stern-wheel steamer Beaver. She weighs just seventeen tons, but when stripped of her boiler and wheel for hoisting aboard the Geneva, she will balance the scale at twelve tons. She draws about fifteen inches of water and is admirably fitted for the shallow tributaries of the Yukon, where she will be used. The vessel is of twenty tons burden and her engine is about thirty horse-power. She is without house or deck and her machinery, completely exposed, gives her an uncanny and skeleton-like appearance.
Sunday, October 18, 2020
Huell Howser 75 -- October 18, 2020
Saturday, October 17, 2020
John Reed Dies in Russian Capital -- October 17, 2020
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| Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger, 18-October-1920 |
100 years ago today, on 17-October-1920, American journalist John Reed died in Moscow. He took a radical position on social and labor issues and supported the Bolshevik Revolution. I read his book Ten Days that Shook the World. I enjoyed the movie Reds, but I haven't seen it since we first saw it in a theater.
JOHN REED DIES
IN RUSSIAN CAPITAL
Magazine Writer and Socialist
Leader Succumbs to
Attack of Typhus
NATIVE OF PORTLAND, ORE.
By the Associated Press.
Portland, Ore., Oct. 18. -- John Reed, magazine writer, died Sunday in' Moscow, Russia, of typhus, according to a telegram received here by Henry G. Reed, a brother, from Louise Bryant, Reed's widow.
Reed had made several visits to Russia during the Soviet regime. Since his latest departure from this country last year relatives here had received various conflicting reports regarding him. One was to the effect that he had been executed in Finland, as a Soviet emissary and another that he had been imprisoned in Russia.
John Reed, for the last ten years, was prominent as a writer in magazines and as a war correspondent. In addition he wrote a number of books on the world war and problems arising from that conflict.
In 1916 he was in Russia as a Socialist delegate, and upon his return it was announced he had been appointed Russian consul in New York. He was not accorded recognition by the United States Government, however, and later dispatches from Petrograd said his credentials as consul had been canceled.
Reed's pronounced views on communism led to his arrest on several occasions, and it was charged he made seditious utterances while the United States was engaged in the war. Charges of sedition brought against him were dropped, however, in April, 1919.
Reed sailed for Russia during the autumn of the same year, and subsequent to that time was indicted at Chicago for violation of the state syndicalism act. He later returned to the United States, and once more went to Europe, it being reported he had been found in the coal bunker of a ship in a Finnish port. The State Department at Washington denied he had an American passport, and it was charged he was traveling with forged papers.
Since reaching Finland, Reed has been reported arrested on two occasions, and at one time it was said he had been executed in that country. On August 28 it was reported he had been sent to Moscow to represent American communists.
John Reed was born at Portland, Ore., on October 22, 1887. He received the degree of bachelor of arts at Harvard University in 1910, and immediately began his career as a writer. He served at various times on the editorial staffs of prominent magazines.
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| listal.com |
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Pre-War Service Restored -- October 15, 2020
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| New York Herald, 13-October-1920 |
The Sunset Limited was one of the Southern Pacific Railroad's premiere trains. This ad from October 1920, says that service, which had been cut back during the war, was being restored.
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Bierstadt -- Emigrants Crossing the Plains -- October 13, 2020
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| National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum |
I have always enjoyed the paintings of Albert Bierstadt. He painted "Emigrants Crossing the Plains" in 1869. It is preserved at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
Joe Morgan, Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford, RIP -- October 13, 2020
I was about to say that it has been a bad month for pitchers. Tom Seaver died at the end of August. Bob Gibson and Whitey Ford died in early October. Now Joe Morgan has died. Perhaps I should have said it has been a bad month for Hall of Famers.
I remember Joe Morgan as a key member of the Cincinnati Reds. Later he played for the Giants. He was a great second baseman. When the Giants first started running games on a cable channel called Giant Vision, he was one of the announcers. He knew more about baseball than almost anyone, but some people did not like his style. I thought he was fine with the Giants and later with ESPN. He should have been a manager.
Whitey Ford retired when I was young, but people talked and wrote about him all the time.
Bob Gibson terrorized batters with brushback pitches. He was a remarkable pitcher.
Monday, October 12, 2020
Carpentier Knocks Out Levinsky in the Fourth Round -- October 12, 2020
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| New York Herald, 13-October-1920 |
On 12-October-1920, French boxer and European heavyweight champion Georges Carpentier defeated American Battling Levinsky for the world light heavyweight title in four rounds.
Carpentier Knocks Out Levinsky in the Fourth Round
FRENCH BOXER
OUTCLASSES HIS
RIVAL ALL WAY
Floors Levinsky Twice for
Count of Eight in
Second.
END IN 1 M. 7 S. OF FOURTH
Carpentier Impresses Great
Throng With His Skill and
Punching Power.
By CHARLES P. MATHISON.
Georges Carpentier. heavy weight champion of Europe, knocked out Battling
Levinsky, light heavyweight champion of America, in the fourth round of
a one sided contest last night in the Jersey City baseball grounds in the
presence of 15,000 persons.
The "vehicular tunnel" that began its excavations was the Holland Tunnel.
The knockout blow, a short right to the jaw, was delivered after one minute and seven seconds of boxing in the fourth round. Levinsky was in a neutral corner at the time he received the blow and he fell through the ropes and lay on his back on the ledge of the ring platform, where he was counted out by Referee Harry Ertle. The Frenchman left the ring at once, and Levinsky on being assisted to his corner received the attention of his seconds, who apparently had considerable trouble in reviving the beaten man.
It was the worst looking bout that Levinsky ever put up. The cleverness and ring generalship he had exhibited in all previous bouts were missing and he fought like an awkward novice. He did not land one effective blow on the Frenchman during the entire four rounds, and did not seem to be able to get out of his own tracks, let alone avoid the attack of his opponent.
The Frenchman cut loose in two rounds, the second, in which he scored two knockdowns, and the fourth, in which he administered the coup de grace.
Carpentier was a top heavy favorite, and there was an abundance of money to back him to score a knockout in four rounds. This condition of affairs, coupled with the palpably poor contest put up by the Battler, gave tho onlookers an unpleasant impression.
By beating Levinsky, Carpentier not only acquired the light-heavyweight championship of the world, but has earned a match with Dempsey.
Nine out of ten of those at the ringside expressed the opinion that Dempsey would settle the Frenchman in jig time.
The contest between Carpentier and Levlnsky was utterly devoid of anything spectacular and as an exhibition of boxing was mediocre in the extreme.
Levinsky acted like a beaten man at the beginning of the first round, and he showed no spirit or aggressiveness.
The Frenchman was wide open at all times, yet with the exception of a few light jabs to the body or face, Levinsky failed utterly in attack. While the Battler never has been noted as a punisher, yet his defence always has been puzzling to the best men in the country.
Carpentier did not show any of the speed for which he is said to be noted, and how he managed to land on the clever Levinsky is a mystery.
Any one of the preliminary bouts excelled In the matter of science and combativeness the chief event. So far as Levinsky is concerned his exhibition was not only poor, but peculiar. Regardlng the Frenchman his performance will not insure many supporters in a contest for the world's championship.
Gov. Edwards was introduced as the "best Governor New Jersey ever had" and was called on for a speech, but contented himself with bowing to the applause.
Carpentier was first to enter the ring, followed by Descamps an 1 Joe Jeannette. ' The French champion bowed and smiled graciously. Levinsky followed a few minutes later. Both men were heavily bundled, as the air was cold and damp. Mike O'Dowd former middleweight champion, challenged the winner. The ' weights were announced as I70 1/2 for Carpentier and 173 for Levlnsky.
First Round -- The Frenchman opened with a left to the face, and when they clinched both tried for the body. Levinsky got in a couple of light jabs to the face. Carpentler tried for a right uppercut but missed. Levinsky backed away and Carpentier chased after him trying for a knockout punch. The Frenchman missed several rights, and Levinsky was on his feet at close. It was Carpentier's round.
Second Round -- Carpentier went after the Battler hard, and soon landed a series of rights and lefts to jaw that staggered Levinsky. A heavy right to the jaw dropped the Battler for the count of eight. Levinsky was groggy when he arose, and the Frenchman repeated the knockdown, also for a count of eight. Levinsky was in distress when he regained his feet, but the Frenchman could not drop him again. It was Carpentier's round.
Third Round -- Carpentier carried the battle to Levinsky and felt so confident he held out his chin and let the Battler hit him on the jaw. Carpentier did not land with effect and Levinsky did not do any damage, although he had plenty of openings. Carpentier had all the better of the round.
Fourth Round -- Evidently Carpentier decided that this was the time to end the bout and he plied Levinsky with a series of right handers to the jaw. The Frenchman pounded Levinsky on the jaw with a short right, and the Battler fell through the ropes in a neutral corner and was counted out. The time of the knockout was 1 minute and 7 seconds.
The battle was viewed by about l5,000 boxing enthusiasts, and they were as representative a crowd as ever settled down about an arena. Many of the most noted sportsmen in the world were there. Big business and the professions were well represented. There was no confusion anywhere, for the arrangements were admirable.
Seated around the big ring could be seen Gov. Edwards of New Jersey, rested from his labors of starting the excavation of the vehicular tunnel; Jules J. Jusserand, French Ambassador; Harry Payne Whitney and Walter C. Teagle. Mixed in with them were T. Coleman Du Pont, Sherwood Aldrich, W. A. Brady, Charles B. Cochran, F. H. Bedford. Col. J. G. Ewlng, R. Thornton Wilson, Henry L. Doherty, L. Gordon Hammersley, Eugene Grace, D. W. Griffith, Frank H. Hitchcock, Herbert L. Pratt, Mesinon Kendal, Frederick Lewisohn, Col. Jacob Ruppert, Forbes Morgan, Allan Ryan, Sr., Alan Ryan, Jr. ; H. A. C. Smith, George M. Sweenty, Charles M. Schwab, Robert Hilliard, Tom Andrews and a host of others.
As they began to clear the ring for the Frenchman and Levinsky, the cameramen stepped up and began to make a lot of pictures and presently the band started to play "How Dry I am," with everybody singing out loud, and someone in a top hat leading. The tune was going good when Carpentier hopped under the ropes and landed in the ring.
There was a lot of cheering and everybody ten started commenting on the colorful beauty of the dressing gown he had wrapped about him. The tan sweater that hung from his shoulders wasn't big enough to hide its broad bands of gray and black and the wide flapping sleeves that made it look something like a kimono. The band switched from "How Dry I Am" to the "Marseillaise," and the crowd stood up with the Frenchman.
Levinsky got his roar of applause and the band switched again, playing "The Star Spangled Banner."
Carpentier did less moving around than the fans. There was a drumming of' feet of men who wanted to keep warm, but he sat quietly in his corner while the gloves were being laced on him. He held a long talk with Mike O'Dowd laughed now and then and pulled his loose gray cap over his eyes to keep out the glare of the lights.
About this time there was a lot. of talk flying around among the crowd. Everywhere one looked there was an argument. Usually some one was trying to impress some one else with the idea that Georges didn't have a show, and he was usually being told that he didn't know what he was talking about. The Frenchman was the favorite generally, but the Levinsky followers couldn't be stopped. They talked right on up to the moment their idol went down for the first crash.
The throng that packed the. ringside began to collect at the gate as early as 4 o'clock in the afternoon. There was a long queue there an hour later and by 7 o'clock traffic around the neighborhood was almost at a standstill. There were mounted cops on duty to keep automobiles and trucks moving and they earned their pay. They patrolled up and down and tried to keep warm, but they were at a disadvantage in the saddle, but the ticket holders and those who didn't but intended to get tickets could warm up by drumming their heels against the fence.
Once in a while some one would amuse himself by telling the man next to him that Carpentier was in "that big red machine," and the crowd would "go" starrted on a wave of clapping only to find out that the man tn the car was some high New Jersey State or other official on hand early to see everything.
Carpentier has a sensational ring record. Born at Lens, in northern France, in 1894, his parents were poor people of the mining region, and when Georges was a child of 11 he was put to work as a pit boy, receiving 10 cents a day for his labor. He was about 13 when Prof. Descamps, an athletic trainer and one of the first Frenchmen to take up boxing, discovered him. Under the coaching of Descamps young Georges was a great success. Beginning as a flyweight, he won the championship of his country in each division as he grew older and heavier, so that he has held every title from flyweight to heavyweight.
One of the men Carpentier beat was Charles Ledoux, who now holds the bantamweight championship of France and is matched to meet Jack Sharkey at the Garden on Friday night. Growing heavier, Carpentier climbed into the welterweight class and while in that division he encountered his first American opponent. This was the Dixie Kid, a negro of championship calibre. The Kid knocked out the youthful Carpentier in five rounds, but this did not discourage him in the least, as he did not expect to beat so formidable a fighter.
It was not until he grew into the middleweight class that Carpentier began to attract worldwide attention. His first important match was with Jim Sullivan, the champion of England, whom he knocked out in two rounds at Monte Carlo, winning the championship of Europe. In that same year he met Willie Lewis, an American, whom Carpentier had admired greatly and had taken as his model. Lewis was near the end of his rope then, but Carpentier had so much respect for his old tutor that the bout went the limit, the decision going to Carpentier on points.
Then came Carpentier's fights with Billy Papke and Frank Klaus. Papke stopped him in seventeen rounds and Klaus in nineteen. Technically Georges lost to Klaus on a foul, Manager Descamps jumping into the ring when he saw that the youngster was overmatched.
The bout with Klaus marked Carpentier's finish as a middleweight. Making weight had weakened him and brought about his defeat, so he decided not to make that mistake again. His next move was to make a match with Bombardier Wells for the heavyweight championship of Europe, English boxing followers thought he had lost his senses when this match waa announced. Wells is a six footer, a fine boxer, great hitter, champion of England and a prospective opponent for Jack Johnson for the world's title.
Early in the bout it looked as though the English fans were right. Wells knocked his impetuous opponent down for counts of nine and had him on the verge of slumberland. But Carpentier stuck it out gamely. He beat a tattoo on the slender Englishman's body, causing him to writhe in pain, and then, when the tall Englishman's guard came down, Georges crossed a right to the jaw, knocking him cold in the fourth round.
That victory made Georges a sensation in boxing circles the world over and in France a public Idol. He followed up his victory over Wells by outpointing Jeff Smith, the American middleweight, in twenty rounds, and when Wells demanded another chance Georges consented without hesitation. This time Carpentier walked up and smacked the nervous Wells on the chin before the latter knew the fight was on.
In the following year Carpentier took part in a battle which he lost, but which gained him more prestige in America than any of his victories. His opponent on that occasion was Joe Jeannette, the American negro heavyweight. No American white hope cared to have anything to do with the Hoboken negro, but Georges took him on and not only went the limit of fifteen rounds, but scored a knockdown over the husky negro.
Then came Carpentier's battle with Gunboat Smith, one of the leading white hopes. Carpentier was altogether too fast and clever for the hard hitting Smith. In the fifth round Georges shot his famous straight right to the jaw and Smith was knocked cold. The bell saved him from being counted out and he was dragged to his corner and revived. In the next round Carpentier went to his knees, either from a blow or a slip -- opinions differed as to how it happened. Smith was too groggy to observe that Carpentier was down. He struck the Frenchman and was disqualified.
The war cut short Carpentier's ring career just when he was beginning to reach his best form. After serving, with distinction in the great conflict, during which he was twice wounded and thrice K decorated for bravery, Carpentier returned to the ring broke, all his earnings having been invested |n the coal mines of Lens, which had been destroyed by the Germans.
His first match was with Dick Smith, a third rater, whom he stopped in eight rounds. Carpentier was away off form after his Jong absence from the ring and his showing was not impressive on this occasion. But when he met Joe Beckett, champion of England, a few weeks later, Carpentier won the most spectacular victory of his entire career. Before the thick necked. slow moving English champion knew what it was all about Georges stabbed him twice with a left, followed with his deadly right, straight and true from the shoulder, and England's champion went down and out, the whole proceeding taking but a few seconds.
Ted Lewis, former welter weight champion, got Into the ring in a preliminary bout with Marcel Thomas, a French welterweight, whose chief second was Francois Deschamps, manager of Carpentier.
Lewis took the bout with the object of reinstating himself with the public, due to the terrific drubbing he received from Mike O'Dowd in the same ring a few weeks ago.
Lewis started out with vigor in an effort to stop the Frenchman, who stayed twelve rounds with Britten a short time ago. Thomas is easy to hit, and Lewis got his left and right on the jaw with great frequency. Lewis dropped Thomas twice in the second round, but the Frenchman woke up after the third round and made It very interesting for Lewis. Thomas staggered Lewis in the fifth and sixth, but Lewis outboxed and outhit his man and earned the decision.
Babe Asher of Bay City, Mich., the A. E. F. bantam champion, won the opening event from Kewpie Collinder of if Minneapolis. It was a spirited six round bout, in which Asher used a left to the body with good effect. The contest aroused much enthusiasm among the crowd that now nearly filled the arena.
Frankie Burns, the veteran bantam of Jersey City, conqueror of champions, gave Patsey Johnson of Trenton, N. J. a severe drubbing in the second bout of the night. Burns, who still boxes with great skill and vigor, hammered Johnson in the body with a heavy left and also jabbed his man in the nose and mouth. Burns varied these tactics with a right to the jaw and had the Trentonian groggy towards the close. Johnson was too rugged to be stopped and was on his feet, though shaky, at the close.
AN accident which probably will prove serious for James Corbin, 30 years of age, of 247 Halliday street, Jersey City, occurred during the big bout when the roof of a building at 283 and 285 West Side avenue, where some hundred or more men and boys collected to watch the contest, caved in. The roof of this building overlooks the ball grounds where the fight was staged, and men and boys gathered there early to kept places of advantage.
The building is occupied by the West Side Scrap Iron Company, and when the roof crashed the occupants were thrown into a heap of scrap iron. Besides Corbin fifteen others were removed to the Jersey City Hospital, but only Corbin was detained there. Corbin, it is said, was suffering from a fracture of the skull.
The "vehicular tunnel" that began its excavations was the Holland Tunnel.
The knockout blow, a short right to the jaw, was delivered after one minute and seven seconds of boxing in the fourth round. Levinsky was in a neutral corner at the time he received the blow and he fell through the ropes and lay on his back on the ledge of the ring platform, where he was counted out by Referee Harry Ertle. The Frenchman left the ring at once, and Levinsky on being assisted to his corner received the attention of his seconds, who apparently had considerable trouble in reviving the beaten man.
It was the worst looking bout that Levinsky ever put up. The cleverness and ring generalship he had exhibited in all previous bouts were missing and he fought like an awkward novice. He did not land one effective blow on the Frenchman during the entire four rounds, and did not seem to be able to get out of his own tracks, let alone avoid the attack of his opponent.
The Frenchman cut loose in two rounds, the second, in which he scored two knockdowns, and the fourth, in which he administered the coup de grace.
Carpentier was a top heavy favorite, and there was an abundance of money to back him to score a knockout in four rounds. This condition of affairs, coupled with the palpably poor contest put up by the Battler, gave tho onlookers an unpleasant impression.
By beating Levinsky, Carpentier not only acquired the light-heavyweight championship of the world, but has earned a match with Dempsey.
Nine out of ten of those at the ringside expressed the opinion that Dempsey would settle the Frenchman in jig time.
The contest between Carpentier and Levlnsky was utterly devoid of anything spectacular and as an exhibition of boxing was mediocre in the extreme.
Levinsky acted like a beaten man at the beginning of the first round, and he showed no spirit or aggressiveness.
The Frenchman was wide open at all times, yet with the exception of a few light jabs to the body or face, Levinsky failed utterly in attack. While the Battler never has been noted as a punisher, yet his defence always has been puzzling to the best men in the country.
Carpentier did not show any of the speed for which he is said to be noted, and how he managed to land on the clever Levinsky is a mystery.
Any one of the preliminary bouts excelled In the matter of science and combativeness the chief event. So far as Levinsky is concerned his exhibition was not only poor, but peculiar. Regardlng the Frenchman his performance will not insure many supporters in a contest for the world's championship.
Gov. Edwards was introduced as the "best Governor New Jersey ever had" and was called on for a speech, but contented himself with bowing to the applause.
Carpentier was first to enter the ring, followed by Descamps an 1 Joe Jeannette. ' The French champion bowed and smiled graciously. Levinsky followed a few minutes later. Both men were heavily bundled, as the air was cold and damp. Mike O'Dowd former middleweight champion, challenged the winner. The ' weights were announced as I70 1/2 for Carpentier and 173 for Levlnsky.
Fight by Rounds.
First Round -- The Frenchman opened with a left to the face, and when they clinched both tried for the body. Levinsky got in a couple of light jabs to the face. Carpentler tried for a right uppercut but missed. Levinsky backed away and Carpentier chased after him trying for a knockout punch. The Frenchman missed several rights, and Levinsky was on his feet at close. It was Carpentier's round.
Second Round -- Carpentier went after the Battler hard, and soon landed a series of rights and lefts to jaw that staggered Levinsky. A heavy right to the jaw dropped the Battler for the count of eight. Levinsky was groggy when he arose, and the Frenchman repeated the knockdown, also for a count of eight. Levinsky was in distress when he regained his feet, but the Frenchman could not drop him again. It was Carpentier's round.
Third Round -- Carpentier carried the battle to Levinsky and felt so confident he held out his chin and let the Battler hit him on the jaw. Carpentier did not land with effect and Levinsky did not do any damage, although he had plenty of openings. Carpentier had all the better of the round.
Fourth Round -- Evidently Carpentier decided that this was the time to end the bout and he plied Levinsky with a series of right handers to the jaw. The Frenchman pounded Levinsky on the jaw with a short right, and the Battler fell through the ropes in a neutral corner and was counted out. The time of the knockout was 1 minute and 7 seconds.
15,000 See the Contest.
The battle was viewed by about l5,000 boxing enthusiasts, and they were as representative a crowd as ever settled down about an arena. Many of the most noted sportsmen in the world were there. Big business and the professions were well represented. There was no confusion anywhere, for the arrangements were admirable.
Seated around the big ring could be seen Gov. Edwards of New Jersey, rested from his labors of starting the excavation of the vehicular tunnel; Jules J. Jusserand, French Ambassador; Harry Payne Whitney and Walter C. Teagle. Mixed in with them were T. Coleman Du Pont, Sherwood Aldrich, W. A. Brady, Charles B. Cochran, F. H. Bedford. Col. J. G. Ewlng, R. Thornton Wilson, Henry L. Doherty, L. Gordon Hammersley, Eugene Grace, D. W. Griffith, Frank H. Hitchcock, Herbert L. Pratt, Mesinon Kendal, Frederick Lewisohn, Col. Jacob Ruppert, Forbes Morgan, Allan Ryan, Sr., Alan Ryan, Jr. ; H. A. C. Smith, George M. Sweenty, Charles M. Schwab, Robert Hilliard, Tom Andrews and a host of others.
As they began to clear the ring for the Frenchman and Levinsky, the cameramen stepped up and began to make a lot of pictures and presently the band started to play "How Dry I am," with everybody singing out loud, and someone in a top hat leading. The tune was going good when Carpentier hopped under the ropes and landed in the ring.
There was a lot of cheering and everybody ten started commenting on the colorful beauty of the dressing gown he had wrapped about him. The tan sweater that hung from his shoulders wasn't big enough to hide its broad bands of gray and black and the wide flapping sleeves that made it look something like a kimono. The band switched from "How Dry I Am" to the "Marseillaise," and the crowd stood up with the Frenchman.
Levinsky got his roar of applause and the band switched again, playing "The Star Spangled Banner."
Talks With O'Dowd.
Carpentier did less moving around than the fans. There was a drumming of' feet of men who wanted to keep warm, but he sat quietly in his corner while the gloves were being laced on him. He held a long talk with Mike O'Dowd laughed now and then and pulled his loose gray cap over his eyes to keep out the glare of the lights.
About this time there was a lot. of talk flying around among the crowd. Everywhere one looked there was an argument. Usually some one was trying to impress some one else with the idea that Georges didn't have a show, and he was usually being told that he didn't know what he was talking about. The Frenchman was the favorite generally, but the Levinsky followers couldn't be stopped. They talked right on up to the moment their idol went down for the first crash.
The throng that packed the. ringside began to collect at the gate as early as 4 o'clock in the afternoon. There was a long queue there an hour later and by 7 o'clock traffic around the neighborhood was almost at a standstill. There were mounted cops on duty to keep automobiles and trucks moving and they earned their pay. They patrolled up and down and tried to keep warm, but they were at a disadvantage in the saddle, but the ticket holders and those who didn't but intended to get tickets could warm up by drumming their heels against the fence.
Once in a while some one would amuse himself by telling the man next to him that Carpentier was in "that big red machine," and the crowd would "go" starrted on a wave of clapping only to find out that the man tn the car was some high New Jersey State or other official on hand early to see everything.
Carpentier's Sensational Career.
Carpentier has a sensational ring record. Born at Lens, in northern France, in 1894, his parents were poor people of the mining region, and when Georges was a child of 11 he was put to work as a pit boy, receiving 10 cents a day for his labor. He was about 13 when Prof. Descamps, an athletic trainer and one of the first Frenchmen to take up boxing, discovered him. Under the coaching of Descamps young Georges was a great success. Beginning as a flyweight, he won the championship of his country in each division as he grew older and heavier, so that he has held every title from flyweight to heavyweight.
One of the men Carpentier beat was Charles Ledoux, who now holds the bantamweight championship of France and is matched to meet Jack Sharkey at the Garden on Friday night. Growing heavier, Carpentier climbed into the welterweight class and while in that division he encountered his first American opponent. This was the Dixie Kid, a negro of championship calibre. The Kid knocked out the youthful Carpentier in five rounds, but this did not discourage him in the least, as he did not expect to beat so formidable a fighter.
It was not until he grew into the middleweight class that Carpentier began to attract worldwide attention. His first important match was with Jim Sullivan, the champion of England, whom he knocked out in two rounds at Monte Carlo, winning the championship of Europe. In that same year he met Willie Lewis, an American, whom Carpentier had admired greatly and had taken as his model. Lewis was near the end of his rope then, but Carpentier had so much respect for his old tutor that the bout went the limit, the decision going to Carpentier on points.
Then came Carpentier's fights with Billy Papke and Frank Klaus. Papke stopped him in seventeen rounds and Klaus in nineteen. Technically Georges lost to Klaus on a foul, Manager Descamps jumping into the ring when he saw that the youngster was overmatched.
The bout with Klaus marked Carpentier's finish as a middleweight. Making weight had weakened him and brought about his defeat, so he decided not to make that mistake again. His next move was to make a match with Bombardier Wells for the heavyweight championship of Europe, English boxing followers thought he had lost his senses when this match waa announced. Wells is a six footer, a fine boxer, great hitter, champion of England and a prospective opponent for Jack Johnson for the world's title.
Early in the bout it looked as though the English fans were right. Wells knocked his impetuous opponent down for counts of nine and had him on the verge of slumberland. But Carpentier stuck it out gamely. He beat a tattoo on the slender Englishman's body, causing him to writhe in pain, and then, when the tall Englishman's guard came down, Georges crossed a right to the jaw, knocking him cold in the fourth round.
That victory made Georges a sensation in boxing circles the world over and in France a public Idol. He followed up his victory over Wells by outpointing Jeff Smith, the American middleweight, in twenty rounds, and when Wells demanded another chance Georges consented without hesitation. This time Carpentier walked up and smacked the nervous Wells on the chin before the latter knew the fight was on.
In the following year Carpentier took part in a battle which he lost, but which gained him more prestige in America than any of his victories. His opponent on that occasion was Joe Jeannette, the American negro heavyweight. No American white hope cared to have anything to do with the Hoboken negro, but Georges took him on and not only went the limit of fifteen rounds, but scored a knockdown over the husky negro.
Whipped Gunboat Smith.
Then came Carpentier's battle with Gunboat Smith, one of the leading white hopes. Carpentier was altogether too fast and clever for the hard hitting Smith. In the fifth round Georges shot his famous straight right to the jaw and Smith was knocked cold. The bell saved him from being counted out and he was dragged to his corner and revived. In the next round Carpentier went to his knees, either from a blow or a slip -- opinions differed as to how it happened. Smith was too groggy to observe that Carpentier was down. He struck the Frenchman and was disqualified.
The war cut short Carpentier's ring career just when he was beginning to reach his best form. After serving, with distinction in the great conflict, during which he was twice wounded and thrice K decorated for bravery, Carpentier returned to the ring broke, all his earnings having been invested |n the coal mines of Lens, which had been destroyed by the Germans.
His first match was with Dick Smith, a third rater, whom he stopped in eight rounds. Carpentier was away off form after his Jong absence from the ring and his showing was not impressive on this occasion. But when he met Joe Beckett, champion of England, a few weeks later, Carpentier won the most spectacular victory of his entire career. Before the thick necked. slow moving English champion knew what it was all about Georges stabbed him twice with a left, followed with his deadly right, straight and true from the shoulder, and England's champion went down and out, the whole proceeding taking but a few seconds.
Ted Lewis, former welter weight champion, got Into the ring in a preliminary bout with Marcel Thomas, a French welterweight, whose chief second was Francois Deschamps, manager of Carpentier.
Lewis took the bout with the object of reinstating himself with the public, due to the terrific drubbing he received from Mike O'Dowd in the same ring a few weeks ago.
Lewis started out with vigor in an effort to stop the Frenchman, who stayed twelve rounds with Britten a short time ago. Thomas is easy to hit, and Lewis got his left and right on the jaw with great frequency. Lewis dropped Thomas twice in the second round, but the Frenchman woke up after the third round and made It very interesting for Lewis. Thomas staggered Lewis in the fifth and sixth, but Lewis outboxed and outhit his man and earned the decision.
Babe Asher of Bay City, Mich., the A. E. F. bantam champion, won the opening event from Kewpie Collinder of if Minneapolis. It was a spirited six round bout, in which Asher used a left to the body with good effect. The contest aroused much enthusiasm among the crowd that now nearly filled the arena.
Frankie Burns, the veteran bantam of Jersey City, conqueror of champions, gave Patsey Johnson of Trenton, N. J. a severe drubbing in the second bout of the night. Burns, who still boxes with great skill and vigor, hammered Johnson in the body with a heavy left and also jabbed his man in the nose and mouth. Burns varied these tactics with a right to the jaw and had the Trentonian groggy towards the close. Johnson was too rugged to be stopped and was on his feet, though shaky, at the close.
Fifteen Fight Fans
Hurt; in Hospital
AN accident which probably will prove serious for James Corbin, 30 years of age, of 247 Halliday street, Jersey City, occurred during the big bout when the roof of a building at 283 and 285 West Side avenue, where some hundred or more men and boys collected to watch the contest, caved in. The roof of this building overlooks the ball grounds where the fight was staged, and men and boys gathered there early to kept places of advantage.
The building is occupied by the West Side Scrap Iron Company, and when the roof crashed the occupants were thrown into a heap of scrap iron. Besides Corbin fifteen others were removed to the Jersey City Hospital, but only Corbin was detained there. Corbin, it is said, was suffering from a fracture of the skull.
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| New York Evening World, 13-October-1920 |
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| Cine-Journal, 09-March-1912 |
Happy Columbus Day, 2020 -- October 12, 2020
Happy Columbus Day to those of you who still remember it.
Sunday, October 11, 2020
Comic Book -- Witching Hour -- October 11, 2020
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| coverbrowser.com |
DC's Witching Hour had some colorful covers.
Friday, October 9, 2020
Pulp -- Ghost Stories -- October 9, 2020
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| coverbrowser.com |
The cover of this issue of Ghost Stories includes the required scared lady in nightclothes.
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Thank Goodness This Brick Is Not Invisible -- October 7, 2020
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| Washington Times, 25-October 1919 |
I love George Herriman's Krazy Kat, especially when it gets metaphysical. Click on the image to see a larger version.
Monday, October 5, 2020
You're Mighty Much Mistaken -- October 5, 2020
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| Perth Amboy Evening News, 04-October-1920 |
I love Fontaine Fox's The Toonerville Trolley That Meets All the Trains.
Sunday, October 4, 2020
Janis Joplin 50 Years -- October 4, 2020
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| www.listal.com |
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| listal.com |
I remember seeing the cover of Big Brother and the Holding Company's Cheap Thrills. It may have been my first exposure to R Crumb.
Years later I read an article that said she had auditioned for San Francisco traditional jazz band leader Turk Murphy. He liked her voice but he didn't want to hire a "beatnik." It would have been interesting. This is not the original article, but it has some nice details about Janis singing some songs with Dick Oxtot. Oxtot recommended her to Turk Murphy: http://jazzhotbigstep.com/428723.html
The Flowers of Saint Francis -- October 4, 2020
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| listal.com |
In honor of the Feast of Saint Francis, here is a poster for Roberto Rosselini's Francesco, giullare di Dio (Francis, Jester of God, released in the US as The Flowers of Saint Francis). Inspired by the Fioretti di San Francesco and La Vita di Frate Ginepro, Rosselini made a neo realist religious film. Francis is played by Franciscan Brother Nazario Gerardi. Rosselini was not a practicing Catholic, but he appreciated the church's ethical teachings and the anti-materialism of Francis.
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| listal.com |
Saturday, October 3, 2020
Harry Wright, 125 Years -- October 3, 2020
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| Washington Evening Star, 04-October-1895 |
Harry Wright was a pioneering baseball player, manager and executive. He organized, managed and played for the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first openly professional baseball team. After the Cincinnati club folded, Wright and many of his Cincinnati players moved to Boston and formed the Boston Red Stockings of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, which were the direct ancestor of the Atlanta Braves. He died 125 years ago today, on 03-October-1895.
HARRY WRIGHT'S CAREER.
The Most Widely Known Man in Base Ball Circles. Harry Wright, chief of umpires of the National League of Base Ball Clubs and ex-manager of the Philadelphia National League club, whose death was announced in yesterday's Star, was sixty years of age.
He was taken ill in Philadelphia ten days ago, and thought a trip to the seashore would be beneficial. He grew worse. He had catarrhal pneumonia.
Harry Wright was the most widely known and perhaps the best posted base ball man of the times. Honest in his dealings with managers and players, he established an enviable reputation. He was born in England in 1835, but came to this country with his parents a year later. His athletic career began as a cricketer. He played with the St. George Cricket Club of New York when but fifteen years of age. He commenced to play base ball in 1857, when he was center fielder for the famous Knickerbockers of New York.
In 1866 he went to Cincinnati and helped to organize the famous Cincinnati Red Stockings. During the season of 1869 the Red Stockings traveled all over the United States without losing a game. It was while a member of this club that Harry Wright, in a game at Newport, Ky., June 22, 1867, made seven home runs, the record to this day.
In 1871 he was engaged to play center field and captain the Boston club. After the National League was organized Harry's Boston team won the championship of that organization In the seasons of 1877 and 1878. He remained with the Boston club until the end of the season of 1881.
He was engaged in 1882 to manage the Providence club, and it finished second in the championship race that season and third in 1883. Harry Wright in 1884 was engaged to manage the Philadelphia club, with which he remained until the close of the season of 1893, when he was made chief of the league staff of umpires, a position which was created for him, and which he held at the time of his death.
Friday, October 2, 2020
Don McLean 75 -- October 2, 2020
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| listal.com |
Singer and songwriter Don McLean was born 75 years ago today, on 02-October-1945. I was surprised when I first heard "American Pie" on KFRC. I remember people arguing about what it meant. I was part of the crew in a dance performance during a summer program and one of the songs was "Vincent." I still like that one.
Thursday, October 1, 2020
October, 2020 Version of the Cable Car Home Page -- October 1, 2020
I just put the October, 2020 version of my Cable Car Home Page on the server:
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/
It includes some new items:
1. Picture of the Month:
An 1840 view of Marsh Station on the London and Blackwall Railway.
2. On the Cable Trams in the UK page:
A ten year update about the London and Blackwall Railway, a pre-Hallidie cable-operated line
3. Added News updates about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a cable car made available for people to see and photograph three days a week.
Ten years ago this month (October, 2010):
1. The picture of the month:
An 1840 view of Marsh Station on the London and Blackwall Railway.
ilway, an automated electric line. Google Maps Streetview Image updated
Jun 2019. Copyright 2020 Google.
2. On the UK page: A new article about the London and Blackwall Railway, a pre-Hallidie cable-operated line
3. Added News and Bibliography items about the 48th Annual Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest. The gripmen and conductors chose to boycott the contest because of union/management issues
4. Add links to two sites: FunCheapSF and Railroad Parts: History for Kids
Twenty years ago this month (Fall, 2000):
1. Picture of the Quarter: Geary and Market
2. Roll out Excerpts From The Octopus page.
3. Join more webrings: Funicular, Trolley & Interurban, Tram, and International Transportation.
125 years ago this month:
The Lexington Avenue line of New York's Metropolitan Street Railway opened for service
Coming in October: On the Decorated Cable Cars page: A ten year update on the Giants' World Series of 2010
The Cable Car Home Page now has a Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/CableCarHomePage/
Joe Thompson
The Cable Car Home Page (updated 01-October-2020)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/
San Francisco Bay Ferryboats (updated 31-January-2020)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ferry/
Park Trains and Tourist Trains (updated 31-July-2019)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ptrain/
The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion (updated spasmodically)
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com
The Big V Riot Squad (new blog)
http://bigvriotsquad.blogspot.com/
Donny Hathaway 75 -- October 1, 2020
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| listal.com |
Singer, composer and arranger Donny Hathaway was born 75 years ago today, on 01-October-2020. He died way too young in 1979.