1915-06-01 New-York Tribune (New York, NY) (page 13)
OUTDOOR BOXING DRAWS WELL AT EBBETS FIELD
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Crowds Cheer as Bartfield Holds Gibbons to Close Decision.
Twelve thousand spectators set the seal of approval on open air boxing at Ebbets Field yesterday afternoon. Five ten-round bouts were contested, and few indeed were the spectators who left. This is the first battle fought in this city, or this vicinity, out of doors since Terry McGovern won the bantamweight championship of the world from Pedlar Palmer, at Tuckahoe sixteen years ago.
But now that the fans have had their taste of boxing under conditions that were really ideal, there is little doubt that shows held in the open air will become as popular here as they were in California. After five years of watching boxing bouts in superheated clubs where the air was smoke laded and impure, the enthusiasts hailed the chance to get out under the sun, where the boys could show at their best. The fighters also hailed the chance, and the pace was fast in every bout from the time that Dutch Brandt landed his first left jab on Battling Lahn until Al McCoy missed his last wild swing on Silent Martin.
To start the ball rolling Dutch Brandt defeated Battling Lahn after a rattling bout, coming through in the last five rounds. Then Battling Levinsky outboxed Dan (Porky) Flynn. The surprise of the afternoon, however, came when Soldier Bartfield held Mike Gibbons to a close decision, and although outpointed by a fair margin, was hailed by the crowd for his brave showing. Johnnie Dundee knocked out Johnnie Drummie in two rounds of a one-sided battle. The last bout resulted in a draw, and Al McCoy was one of the principals, with Silent Martin the other.
Soldier Bartfield astounded the crowd by his work against Gibbons. It was only that Mike landed his punches straight and according to the Queensberry rules that won for him.
The bout between Levinsky and Flynn was fast for big men. Levinsky scored a knockdown in the second round and outboxed his man easily. He weighed 179 pounds to 198 pounds for Flynn.
Experience and strength won for Dundee over Drummie. The speedy little Italian was entirely too good for the Jersey boy and had the additional advantage of five pounds in weight. A left and right hand punch to the jaw, landing simultaneously, brought the bout to a close.
1915-06-01 The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY) (page 2)
First Open Air Boxing Show Makes a Big Hit With Fans
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Soldier Bartfield Surprises Mike Gibbons--Levinsky Pounds Porky Flynn and Dundee Hands Drummie the Kayo--Silent Martin Makes McCoy Look Anything but a Champ--Brandt-Lahn Go the Best.
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When approximately fifteen thousand men and women give up over twelve thousand dollars to see a few husky youths show their skill with the gloves, boxing looks as if it were really some sport. That is what happened at Ebbets Field yesterday afternoon, when Johnny Weismantel led his cohorts over from the Broadway Sporting Club to the home of the Superbus and put boxing on the map as one of the big outdoor sports.
When the outdoor game was first broached there were many who said that Johnny could never get away with it. But he did, and got away with it good. He put on a card that has seldom been equaled for class about these diggings, and during the forty-two rounds out of fifty that were originally scheduled there was neither action or word by either the crowd or the boxers that might offend the sensibilities of the most exacting.
The ring was pitched where the home plate is on ball days, and about it yesterday afternoon were many well-known Brooklynites and a score of big politicians from all the boroughs. Even Labor was represented in the person of Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor. What Mr. Gompers came for we do not know, but it was hinted that he has in view the forming of a boxers union with a graduated scale of prices. If such be a fact, the promoters will give every assistance, for what some of the fighters are getting away with gives the magnates cold chills down the back, even on so warm a day as yesterday.
Mike Gibbons Gets the Surprise of His Life.
The event of the afternoon had been forecasted by the prophets as a joke. And so it turned out, but not in the way predicted. Mike Gibbons, the St. Paul Wizard, met Soldier Bartfield, the local aspirant for welter-weight honors, and it was expected that Mike would kindly oblige with a little boxing lesson and Bartfield take the place of an animated punching bag.
But did it happen so? Not much. Wizard Mike received the surprise of his life. Mike had been guaranteed $1,500 for his little exhibition, $50 a minute, and he got it. In fact, he got more than that, but not in coin. As has been intimated, something happened that upset calculations. Mike was received with a roar of applause when he entered the ring, while Bartfield got a scattering hand and an acre of grins. The grins changed to a yell of surprise before the first minute of the first round had passed, and then to roars of encouragement for the rest of the battle.
Bartfield accomplished the impossible. He did to Mike what Mike has been doing to others. He made him look like a monkey. He outjabbed and outguessed Mike and landed two punches to the Wizard's one. He rubbed his nose before Mike rubbed his, and even beat him to the sneeze. He had stolen Mike's code book and had studied it to such advantage that he knew it better than Mike. The St. Paul lad tried every trick in his box, but none of them worked. With seven pounds the better of the weights, he naturally hit harder than the Brooklyn boy, but that was all.
Soldier Bartfield "Made" Himself.
With the exception of a couple of rounds, it was Bartfield all the way. The Soldier played on Mike's left side the whole distance, and with all his wonderful finesse Mike was never able to get on his right. In the clinches alone he excelled, but did no damage there. On the other hand, Bartfield had his left in Mike's face all through the bout, and worked his right to such advantage that Gibbons' left ear looked like a toy balloon before the bout was over. The Soldier "made" himself yesterday afternoon, and when he left the ring he received an even heartier cheer than did Mike when he entered it.
Almost as pleasing to the crowd was the result of the McCoy-Martin bout. Silent Martin took the place of Johnny Howard against the middle-weight champion, Al McCoy. The crowd showed sl well how it liked the champion when he appeared that Martin, although deaf, caught the drift and followed his cue to the letter. The champion was hailed as a joke and so he proved as a champion. Off the reel, Martin was after him like a wildcat, and the crowd howled in delight as the silent one forced him about the ring. McCoy grabbed and hung on at every opportunity. He did not like Martin's style and showed it clearly. Martin has not much style at that, but he is effective. He can punch, and to this statement McCoy can testify. For the full ten rounds Martin was on top of him all the way, and had McCoy stood to his guns and fought, instead of making a wrestling bout of it, there would have been a new champion without a doubt. As an alibi, McCoy's friends declared that his hands are in such bad shape that his doctor has told him he will never be able to hit hard with them. He lived up to the doctor's orders yesterday afternoon.
Johnnie Dundee had the easy time of the day. He went on with Young Johnny Drummie. This also was for ten rounds, but Dundee ended it in the second with a left to the body and a right hook to the jaw.
Battling Levinsky obliged by taking on Dan (Porkey) Flynn for ten rounds and almost tickled the porkey one to death with tantalizing lefts. Dan was on the received end from start to finish and was the prettiest decorated contestant of the day when the Battler got through with him. Only Dan's weight saved him on several occasions, and the final bell was a welcome sound.
Brandt and Lahn Furnish the Pyrotechnics.
The opening bout furnished the genuine pyrotechnics. Dutch Brandt and Battling Lahn were the principals, and while they were at it there was not a dull moment. In the early rounds Lahn looked like a sure winner, but he lacked the stamina of his opponent. Brandt's body blows took the sap out of him in the fourth round, and after that the Dutchman was always the aggressor. Lahn fought back gamely, but never had a chance to recover, and was a well-whipped lad at the finish. All in all, it was a wonderful day for the fight fans, and as they left the grounds there was nothing but praise for Johnny Weismantel, who had engineered the show.
1915-06-01 The New York Times (New York, NY)
GIBBONS HAS HARD BOUT.
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Soldier Bartfield Makes Westerner Hustle to Win.
Under a clear sky, with a warm sun tempering the rather stiff breeze, open air boxing was revived at Ebbets Field yesterday afternoon in the presence of 11,000 enthusiasts. The solid bank of straw-hatted fans in the upper tier of the big baseball stand, the circus seats and canvas walls on the field, the bright hued raiment of the women scattered throughout the big crowd, the boxers dancing around the ring, the referee clad in white flannel, the band and the clicking of the "movies," all tended to give real holiday color to the scene. The boxing show itself was good, very good. Five real star bouts were staged, and card, and the contest was somewhat of there was variety of boxing sufficient to satisfy the most ardent and exacting devotee.
The ring was built on the playing surface of the diamond, near home plate on the third base line, and its decorations of the national colors and its ropes covered with green velour made the setting a very attractive one.
Mike Gibbons, the St. Paul middleweight, and Soldier Bartfield, champion of the United States Army, furnished the star bout of the all-star a surprise as Bartfield easily earned a draw with the Westerner. Gibbons did not appear to exert himself and did not show the ability as a boxer which has marked his work in the past. Bartfield realized that he had the opportunity of his career and he displayed the best he had. Although the busy left jab that he shot to Gibbons's face repeatedly did not have any effect on the St. Paul boxer, but all his tricks were mimicked over a swing or jab that stung. At those times during the bout when Gibbons did let out, he easily showed his superiority over Bartfield, but these spurts were too far apart to give him any advantage. Only in the last two rounds did Gibbons cut loose from his apathy and jarred and staggered the soldier with his terrific wallops. Gibbons is a tricky boxer, but all his tricks were mimicked by Bartfield yesterday and were not of much value to the Westerner. Gibbons weighed 155 and Bartfield's weight was 148.
Dan (Porky) Flynn, who put a crimp in Al Reich's aspirations several weeks ago was pitted against Battling Levinsky, and the rugged young east sider had the better of the contest. In the second round Levinsky scored a knockdown, and several times during the bout he caused the blood to flow from Flynn's mouth and nose. Levinsky was careful and did not take any chances with the Boston boxer. He was always alert, on the defensive mostly, and kept the boxing at long range as much as possible. The Bostonian with his superior ring experience and generalship was able to keep Levinsky's attacks at a distance and but few times during the bout did he assume the offensive to the point where Levinsky was worried. The Boston boxer had an advantage of nineteen pounds over Levinsky, whose weight was 179.
The only knockout of the afternoon was scored by Johnny Dundee, the Italian-American boxer, who dropped John (Young) Drummie of Jersey City to the floor with a dull thud for the count in the second round. Dundee was hopping around through the air most of the time, and about the middle of the second round he drove a right and left uppercut to Drummie's jaw, and the Jersey boxer went down. He tried gamely to regain his feet, but those wallops had completely drained him of energy and strength.
Al McCoy, a Brooklyn middleweight, was matched against Johnny Howard of Bayonne, but Howard being laid up with ptomaine poisoning, Silent Martin was rushed from the trenches to take his place. McCoy didn't show much championship ability in his bout with Martin. Martin by his gruelling, aggressive method of boxing had the Brooklyn man plainly worried, and several times during the bout caused him to wince. Martin is by no means a polished boxer, but he can take reams of punishment and still be on hand for more. And he has a clever defense. He did not have to extend either of these qualities yesterday, but whenever McCoy did put on steam, the "dummy" merely smiled. McCoy had an army of advisers in his corner, who continually barked instructions at their charge, but even then the best he could get was a draw. He weighed 157 1/2 to Martin's 155.
Dutch Brandt and Battling Lahn furnished the opening ten-rounder, and it was a fast, hard hitting bout, with Brandt the winner by a big margin.
1915-06-01 The Sun (New York, NY) (page 13)
GIBBONS EXTENDED.
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Soldier Bartfield Surprises Him With Vigorous Attack.
The open air boxing bouts of the Brooklyn Sporting Club held yesterday afternoon at Ebbets Field, the home of the Brooklyn baseball club, proved a big success. Nearly 15,000 fight fans, including a number of women, were in the stands to see five ten round bouts, one of which ended with a clean knockout in the second round. In this contest Johnny Dundee put Young Johnny Drummie of Jersey City away with a right hook to the jaw, followed with a left uppercut. Drummie lay flat on the floor of the ring and was counted out.
In the main bout of the afternoon between Mike Gibbons and Soldier Bartfield the Brooklyn man surprised his noted foe and put up a good fight. Gibbons won by only the smallest sort of margin. It looked to those around the ringside as if the St. Paul man wasn't going at his best. In the first four rounds the Soldier peppered Mike with jabs, while the St. Paul fighter smiled. As the ninth opened Gibbons caught the Soldier on the ropes and with quick right and left hooks to the jaw made the claret flow from Bartfield's mouth. The Soldier was cheered when he left the ring. Gibbons weighed 155 pounds and Bartfield 148.
In the opening bout Dutch Brant won over Battling Lahn. The bout was fast from start to finish, both boys putting up a clean contest.
Battling Levinsky and Porky Flynn furnished the second entertainment. Levinsky won. He weighed 179 pounds, whereas Flynn tipped the scales at 198. In the final Al McCoy made a poor showing against Silent Martin, who was substituted for Johnny Howard. In McCoy's corner were several seconds throughout the bout telling Al what to do. The silent man, who is deaf, had no one in his corner. One of his seconds remarked, "We only use the wireless when he is fighting."
The ring on the field was put up between home plate and third base and gave a good view to all those in the grandstand. Around the ring were benches and boxes. The seating arrangements gave everybody a clear view of the ring. It was the first open air contest around here in many years.
