1920-08-05 Sammy Mandell W-TKO5 Eddie Corbett [Stephenson’s stone quarry, Belvidere, IL, USA]

1920-08-06 Belvidere Daily Republican (Belvidere, IL) (page 9)

FIRST BIG PICNIC GIVEN BY LEGION

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BIG CROWD TURNS OUT FOR STAG OUTING AND PICNIC GIVEN AT STEVENSON'S STONE QUARRY THURSDAY AFTERNOON--BAND CONCERT IS GREATLY ENJOYED--BOXING CARD AND VAUDEVILLE ACTS.

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Yesterday was play day for Boone Post of the American Legion, hosts of Legionnaires from other nearby posts and invited guests, the occasion marking the first annual outing and picnic of the organization.

The bosky cliffs and dells of Stevenson's stone quarry were over-run by a crowd of men estimated at upwards of 1,000 who turned out to have a good time.

There was a program that fairly bristled with features. The boxing card included three events and won much applause.

Sammy Mandell, the Rockford bantam, disposed of Eddie Corbett, veteran Chicago ring gladiator, in the fifth of their scheduled six-round go. Corbett was dead on his feet when "Red" Ryan stopped the mill and gave the decision to the dark skinned Rockfordite.

Corbett showed the effects of lack of training throughout and was bested in every round. He totes a nasty right hand haymaker which he endeavored to sneak over time after time but Mandell always was able to step out of the way and punish the red headed Chicagoan wickedly in the infighting.

Mandell had his man on the defensive throughout and Corbett was covered up or working himself into a clinch. Eddie was a game boy, however, and took his punishment without a grimace. It was this same exhibition of gameness that saved him from a knockout in the fifth session. Just before the bell Corbett threw up his hands and the bout was stopped.

The "brick top" staggered to the ropes and told the crowd that he "knew when he had enough."

In the opening bout Hamill of Camp Grant ran Young Kid DeMunn of Belvidere all around the ring and showered blows to his head and face. The referee stopped the fracas in the second session and announced that DeMunn had forfeited.

Kid Bush was cut short in the second round of the semi-windup by Scully of Capron. The bout was halted in the second round after Bush had been hopelessly beaten and sustained a cut over his left eye. It was announced that Bush had been overmatched with the Capronite.

But there were other things on the program besides boxing. There were games and sports of all kinds and sorts together with some vaudeville features. Music was furnished throughout the afternoon by the Belvidere band and following the boxing card the picnic spread was enjoyed.


1920-08-06 Rockford Morning Star (Rockford, IL) (page 10)

SAMMY MANDELL STOPS VETERAN ED CORBETT IN THE FIFTH ROUND

Sammy Mandell had an easy time with the ring veteran, Ed Corbett, in the feature bout of the Boone post American Legion picnic at Belvidere yesterday, scoring a technical knockout when referee "Red" Ryan stopped the fight in the fifth round to save Corbett from taking the count. Sammy carried the battling throughout and was complete master of the situation at all stages.

Eddie Corbett has been out of the boxing game for a long time and the lack of training showed plainly on the veteran. He put up a game fight, but the going was simply too fast for him, and he couldn't stand up to the wicked right and left jabs of the local mauler. The crowd gave him a good hand, however, for his gameness and with a little more work, Corbett should be able to regain the old-time speed and punch for which he was noted.

Sammy Starts Fast.

Sammy started off with a shade in the opening round although the exchange of blows was about even, the local bantam pushing Corbett around the ring with a ceaselessly working left jab.

The second and third rounds went to Sammy by a wide margin. Toward the end of the third Corbett began to slow up and the effect of Sammy's punches were having a marked effect on him. He kept backing away, barely able to land a blow while Sammy rained short punches to the head and body incessantly.

Only Corbett's gameness saved him from a knockout in the next round. Sammy had him against the ropes a greater part of the time, landing telling blows with apparent ease. The local fighter started a cross fire with the right that took Corbett off his feet. Corbett was fighting a losing battle and he knew it, but he stuck. The crowd was yelling for a knockout. The bell saved Corbett from the dream wallop.

Stops Fight in Fifth.

Sammy rushed out of his corner at the start of the fifth and landed several blows before Corbett put up a good defense. The going was too tough, however, and Red Ryan stopped the slaughter, with Corbett pleading to continue. The crowd cheered Ryan's decision when the bout was over.

In the opening bout Hamill of Camp Grant stopped Adams of Belvidere in the second round. Both lads weighed 135 pounds. Adams was beaten from the start, Hamill landing punches at will.

In the final preliminary to the main attraction, Honk Garrett's protégé, Kid Bush, was cut short in the second round by Phil Vergis of New Orleans, a former Great Lakes boxer. Vergis, a ringer, and an old experienced fighter, was substituted for Scully, who was supposed to meet the Olympic Athletic club man. Vergis has been visiting Scully and as the southern lad wanted a chance to step into the squared circle again, Scully and the show officials agreed to the change. Bush put up a clever fight, in spite of the big odds against him, but Vergis was too much of a match for the local lad.

Over 800 people, including a number of Rockford legionnaires, attended the picnic, and the affair was pronounced a decided success.


1920-08-06 The Rockford Daily Register-Gazette (Rockford, IL) (page 15)

MANDELL BEATS CORBETT

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Sammy Earns Technical Knockout in Fifth Round When Referee Stopped Milling.

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SAMMY MANDELL WINS FROM EDDIE CORBETT

Sammy Mandell, Rockford bantam, earned a technical knockout over Eddie Corbett, of Chicago, in the fifth round of their scheduled six round windup, at the American Legion picnic in the woods outside Belvidere yesterday. Corbett, who is a veteran of the ring, plainly showed lack of condition, having been a private and peaceful citizen for the last two years. From the initial gong Corbett hid behind his gloves and took what Sammy had to offer, the little Italian fighting in his usual style--sailing in for a lively mix and then cleverly retreating to draw his opponent on. Corbett wasn't severely damaged but his lack of staying power laid him open to repeated attacks, and the bout was stopped in order to save him from further punishment.

In the first bout of the afternoon, Hamil of Camp Grant stopped Adams of Belvidere, who substituted for Brentz, in the second round. Brentz suffered a broken hand the day before and was unable to keep the date. It wasn't much of a scrap, the soldier mauler walking through his opponent.

In the other bout, a ringer named Phil Vergis of New Orleans, stopped Kid Bush of the Olympic club in the second round, it being no fight. Bush was scheduled to meet Scully of the Great Lakes, but the latter run out of the match to allow Vergis to go on.


1920-08-06 The Rockford Republic (Rockford, IL) (page 16)

SAMMY GIVES EDDIE CORBETT TRIMMING

Youngster Has Little Trouble in Beating Veteran from Chicago--Kid Hamel Stops His Man in the Second.

Sammy Mandell finished off Eddie Corbett of Chicago in short order in the scheduled six round windup bout at the Belvidere legion picnic yesterday afternoon, the local boy beating the game veteran all the way. Referee Ryan stopped the battle in the fifth to save Corbett from needless punishment. From the tap of the gong in the first round it was apparent that Sammy had Corbett outclassed, Mandell's left jabs and right hooks shaking up Eddie and soon had him near the helpless stage. Corbett is one game fighter and he refused to quit although he was punished severely. The action of Ryan stopping the battle was applauded by the spectators.

In the first bout Kid Hamel of Camp Grant stopped Adams of Belvidere in the second round, the soldier handing the Boone county scrapper a bad beating in the two fracas. Hamel is improving right along in every fight and he will soon be given a chance in one of the preliminaries at one of the Camp Grant boxing shows. Bush, the Olympic club boxer, was no match for Phil Vergis of New Orleans and the fight was stopped in the second round. Bush, who was making his debut in the ring, was supposed to fight Scully of Capron but for some reason or other the veteran Vergis, who has a long string of battles behind him, was substituted without letting the local scrapper know of it. Bush is an inexperienced boxer and was booked to box a fighter of his own calibre and the substitution of Vergis did not sit well with the local fans there.

A crowd of over 800 attended the picnic. A Belvidere band and a Hawaiian quartet furnished the music and vaudeville numbers followed the boxing.

1921-08-05 Mike Gibbons W-PTS12 Gus Platts [Arena Athletic Club, Arena, Boston, MA, USA]

1921-08-06 The Boston Daily Globe (Boston, MA) (page 7)

It Will Take a Better Boxer Than This Platts Person Is to Show If Mike Gibbons Has Really Come Back to His Old Form
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GIBBONS HIT PLATTS TOO OFTEN TO COUNT
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By DANIEL J. SAUNDERS

Mike Gibbons, the St. Paul Phantom, never met a softer opponent or won a decision as easily as he did the one he gained over Gus Platts of England, European middleweight champion, in their 10-round bout at the Arena A. C. last night.

Gibbons received $5000 for administering the licking he gave Platts and the latter received $3500 for taking it. Platts is one of the worst English fighters who ever showed in Boston. He is a sturdy fellow but muscle bound.

The punches he landed on Gibbons had little force. Only a few times did Gibbons show how clever he is when he wants to be. He did not have to display his cleverness, Platts was so easy. The St. Paul boxer took many punches that he could easily have avoided, but he evidently did not want to show the Englishman up any worse than he was doing.

It looked at times as if Gibbons were carrying Platts, and there were other times when it appeared as if he were trying for a knockout, for he staggered Platts with lefts and rights on the jaw.

Gibbons hit Platts so often with lefts and rights on the jaw, face and stomach that it was impossible to keep count of them. It was easy enough to keep tabs on the blows that Platts landed. The latter was such a punching bag that the big crowd of fans would not have kicked if the referee had stopped the bout before it had gone half the distance. If Platts is the European champion then the men he defeated in order to win that title must have been a poor lot of fighters.

This was Platts' first fight in America. He will have a sore fact for some days from the jabbing that Gibbons gave him all through the battle.

Platts weighed in at 160 pounds at 3 o'clock and Gibbons tipped the beam at 155 pounds at the same time. It was the second easy match that Gibbons had won in two succeeding nights, he having won from Ratner the night before in New York.

In the semifinal bout, Barney Rivers of Providence outclassed Willie Corbett of Somerville so much that Corbett's seconds threw in the towel in the sixth round and Rivers was declared the winner.

Freddie Madden of East Boston and Frankie Conway of Philadelphia boxed a hard and fast eight-round bout. Madden got the decision, but the majority of the fans figured that Conway was the winner.

In the opening bout, Newport Johnny Brown won from Billy Coogan of South Boston, three rounds.


1921-08-06 The Boston Herald (Boston, MA) (page 6)

Platts Clay in Hands of Mike Gibbons

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Gibbons Throws Flock of Boxing Gloves All Over Opponent Platts

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By W. A. HAMILTON

Gus Platts, proud possessor of the middleweight championship of Europe, was due to gaze on the field of American contenders for world championship honors. He might have obtained a peek at Mike Gibbons last night at the Boston Arena, but if he did it was a little peep. For 10 rounds Europe's best bet in the middleweight division stopped Mike Gibbons's assortment of punches unflinchingly and at the end was marked up a little, but as full of fight as when he started.

Hard Work for Platts

If Platts is the champion of Europe we would like to see some of the men he defeated winning his way to the title and the man he captured the championship from must be a "beaut." Poor Gus looked worse than anything we ever saw in a local ring. He absolutely knew nothing about boxing, but of course that could be accounted for when the fact is known that he faced the cleverest middleweight in the business today.

Gibbons, smart as ever, but lacking much of the old dash and snap that featured in his previous encounters here, looked good to the uninitiated who never saw him in action before, but not like the Gibbons who smeared Gus Christie and Joe White all over the ring in 12-round bouts several years ago.

Boxing to Gibbons is the most natural thing in the world, while to Platts it is hard work. There isn't a natural move in the Englishman, and if he has any he failed to display them last night. He couldn't do a thing but stop punches with his face and body until the mill became monotonous, and if Gibbons hadn't been in fairly good condition he would have tired under his own efforts thumping the Englishman.

Platts was willing enough and game as a pebble. He was belted enough in five rounds to have discouraged a less game fighter but never stopped trying to keep pace with his elusive and cleverer opponent. Gibbons was altogether too fast and shifty for Platts, who expected that he might tire under a heavy pace, only to be fooled in the end and outpointed for the decision. Outpointed hardly describes the result as Platts was outclassed more than any other fighter who has appeared in a local ring and been on his feet at the end.

Platts Never in Distress

Despite all that came his way, Platts at no time was in danger of being bucked away. He never was in distress and never wavered under the stinging left jabs and hooks Gibbons caught him with in each of the 10 rounds. Not once did Platts back away from his opponent. The faster Gibbons scored the harder Platts tried to fight, but it was next to a hopeless task for him to score on Gibbons.

Platts admitted his defeat manfully, but believes he will do better in his next contest. What he received last night was what he wanted, a hard, fast contest, and there is no denying that he learned a lot about boxing from Gibbons.

Gus claimed distinction of never having been knocked off his feet in more than 200 contests, and the distinction still belongs to him as he was propped up at the finish without ever being in danger of being knocked down even though he stopped more gloves than he ever thought were made.

Corbett Stops in Sixth

Willie Corbett had to give up in the sixth round in his fight with Barney Rivers in one of the preliminary bouts. The Cambridge boxer was not in any too good condition and the pace proved too warm for his comfort when his seconds tossed in the towel.

Freddie Madden of East Boston defeated Frankie Conway of Philadelphia in an eight-round bout. The judges' decision failed to please a few, but Madden won the contest by his cleaner and harder hitting and was entitled to the verdict.

Willie Coogan started out like a sure winner, but was defeated in the first round in his fight with Young Brown of Newport. The latter was sent to the canvas with a right that looked good enough to win the fight for Coogan, but when Brown took his feet he made the going warmer than Coogan could stand.


1921-08-06 The Boston Post (Boston, MA) (page 5)

Gibbons Winner but Platts Game

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European Champion Cheered for Forcing Tactics, but Is Outclassed by St. Paul Phantom

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BY DOC ALMY

When Gus Platts of England tied up with Mike Gibbons of St. Paul as the proper opponent with whom to make his American debut, he made a big mistake.

He knows this himself, now, so do the 7000 fans who took in last night's bout at the Arena.

Gibbons, though 37 years old and growing older, won the decision all the way, starting with the first round and going through to the end of the 10th.

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TOUGH BUT SLOW

Platts showed himself to be game, willing and tough, but he was dead slow as a ringster alongside the St. Paul "phantom," and stopped enough punches to sink a battleship. Happily for Platts, Gibbons is not a hard hitter, for Mike speared his man with straight lefts and rights, hooked him to the jaw with either hand, and now and then shook him up with jolts and uppercuts to the chin. Against the Britisher, the St. Paul man appeared to have lost none of his old-time speed, cunning and cleverness. His showing caused many to express the query what he would do with either Wilson or Downey or both.

Though Platts' face and jaw was the target for Mike's pet punches, the bulldog in the Englishman caused him to stick right with him, and, excepting two or three rounds, he was always forcing. His aggressiveness won for him more than one cheer in the earlier stanzas, though toward the last, when the fans realized that he had no chance to win, the referee was urged to interfere.

Face Badly Puffed

Gibbons left the ring without a mark, while Platts' face was badly puffed and bore a cut under the right eye. Jack Sheehan was the third man in the ring. After the bout it was learned that Platts had suffered a rupture in connection with his training and narrowly escaped being barred by the State's doctor from going into the ring.

Willie Coogan of South Boston, who was substituted for Denny Glynn in the first prelim, because the State weigher found Glynn six pounds overweight, gave Johnny Brown of Newport, R. I., a lively scrap for a couple of rounds, upsetting the Rhode Islander in the initial session. Then Willie blew up in the third and the referee stopped the affair, the award going to Brown.

Madden's Verdict

Freddie Madden, East Boston, and Frankie Conway, Philadelphia, put up a rugged eight-rounder in the next prelim. Madden did the cleaner landing and cleverer work, but too much holding to please the fans. He was given the verdict and the fans did not like the decision.

Willie Corbett, the Tech student, bit off too big a mouthful in Barney Rivers of Woonsocket, R. I., in the semi-final. Willie made a game, uphill fight of it and had the better of the first three rounds. Then he began to go to pieces and in the sixth the towel was tossed from his corner. The award went to Rivers.