Prizefighting

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Prizefighting

Crime or Sport? Boxing was the most noteworthy sport of the era in terms of crowds and newspaper coverage. American pugilism had its origins in England. In the mid nineteenth century contestants fought under the London, or Broughton, Rules, first devised by the boxer Jack Broughton in 1743. Opponents faced each other in the middle of the ring, toeing a mark called the “scratch.” When the bell sounded, they proceeded to fight with bare fists. No hitting below the waist was allowed, and a fallen boxer could not be struck. A round ended as soon as a man went down; only thirty seconds separated each round. Moreover, there was no limit to the number of rounds in a fight. For example, the bout between John C. Heenan and Tom Sayers on 17 April 1860 lasted for forty-two rounds (two hours and twenty minutes) by some accounts. Each boxer had seconds to assist, and referees supervised the bout. As may be expected, an individual needed to be in superb physical condition to engage in such activity; the average lifespan of a bareknuckle prizefighter was forty-five years.

Manly Art. Although prizefighting was a bloody affair, it was far more than simple brutality. Boxing helped develop the manly virtues of physical conditioning, fair play, and athletic skill. The ring, it was said, taught a man “bulldog courage.” In addition, bare-knuckle fighting nurtured the American notions of individualism and self-reliance. With the advent of heavy industrialization in the mid nineteenth century, urban centers throughout the country started to grow in size and population. City dwellers found boxing a welcome diversion from long hours at the factory and crowded living conditions. Moreover, many viewed the manly art as an opportunity to rise above poverty, and the boxers became ethnic and neighborhood heroes. Pugilists also served a useful purpose for urban politicians, becoming “shoulder hitters” on election day, roughing up the rival candidate’s ballot-box stuffers and thugs. In return, politicians protected their muscular supporters whenever they were arrested (which was quite often).

Outcry. Boxing suffered from legal as well as religious opposition. Religious leaders opposed it on moral grounds, denouncing the violence and heavy gambling that accompanied the bouts. The New York Tribune described

BLOOD SPORTS

Various blood sports, imported from England and easily conducted in alleys and taverns, had great underground appeal in the United States since the colonial era. Although the contests were illegal, they occurred on a regular basis throughout the country, especially in such major cities as New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston. The urban masses of the North enjoyed rat baiting. In the “classic” a fox terrier was placed in an eight-foot-long pit with one hundred rats. The object of the sport was for the dog to kill as many of the rodents as possible in a given time. The best trained terriers could dispatch all one hundred in twenty minutes. In the “handicap” a dog was timed in how long it took to kill its weight in rodents. Ratting occurred in saloons, livery stables, and private pits, with spectators paying twentyfive cents to $1.50 to see a handicap, and $5.00 for a classic. Sportsman’s Hall in New York City, owned and operated by Kit Burns, could accommodate 250 spectators for such events.

Cockfighting pitted two specially trained roosters against one another. During this era at least two or three cockfights were held in New York City every week, and one breeder had at least seventy birds. While Southerners openly advertised gamecock matches in newspapers, Northerners relied on word of mouth or handbills to spread the news of upcoming events. One contemporary described the typical contest: “It is amazing to see how they peck at each other, and especially how they hack with their spurs. Their combs bleed terribly and they often slit each other’s crop and abdomen with the spurs. There is nothing more diverting than when one seems quite exhausted and there are great shouts of triumph and monstrous wagers; and then the cock that appeared to be quite done for suddenly recovers and masters the other.”

Source: Elliot J. Gorn and Warren Goldstein, A Brief History of American Sports (New York: Hill & Wang, 1993).

a typical fight scene as follows: “Probably no human eye will ever look upon so much rowdyism, villainy and scoundrelism, and boiled-down viciousness, concentrated upon so small a space.” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper was equally condemning: “A worse set of scapegallowses … could scarcely be collected; low, filthy, brutal, bludgeon bearing scoundrels.” The courts perceived prizefighting as a throwback to a less civilized

era, and classified it as an affray or a riot. As a result, promoters of the sport bribed and dodged police, holding events in wooded glades, barns, or on barges anchored in rivers and bays. Spectators of all ages and classes flocked to the events, their price of admission usually including boat or rail fare. At times, the violence spilled out into the audience. In 1863 at Virginia City, Nevada Territory, a thousand miners paid $2.50 each to watch Thomas Daly fight William McGrath. In the fourteenth round a disputed call of “foul” was leveled against McGrath. Rival betters then started to argue and in a few minutes five men had been shot, one of them fatally.

Champions. In 1850 one of the most popular American fighters was James Ambrose, an Irishman who came to the United States ten years previously after escaping from the penal colony at Botany Bay, Australia, and assumed the name “Yankee” Sullivan. In 1841 he fought Vincent Hammond for one hundred dollars, defeating him in eight rounds (ten minutes). The next year he battered Tom Secor in sixty-five rounds spread over one hour, earning $300. On 12 October 1853, Sullivan encountered John C. Morrissey in upstate New York. Morrissey won the match after Sullivan left the ring to slug a few hecklers between rounds; when the bell sounded to start the next round, he failed to get back into the ring in time. As the new champion Morrissey had no problem finding contenders. In fact the 1858 prizefight between Morrissey and John C. Heenan, the “Benicia Boy,” was probably the most famous boxing match of the era. Both men trained for several weeks and then boarded a train from New York City to Buffalo, accompanied by thousands of fans, some from as far away as New Orleans. From Buffalo, boats took the crowd to Long Point, Canada. The fight was short; after eleven rounds Heenan was so exhausted that he could no longer throw punches. Morrissey, showing more “bottom,” or endurance, knocked out his opponent. Some newspapers reported that in New York City alone more than $250,000 in bets changed hands. Another famous rivalry pitted Tom Allen against Mike McCoole. They fought on two separate occasions in Saint Louis, McCoole winning in 1869 and Allen in 1873. After 1877 John L. Sullivan, the “Boston Strongboy,” would emerge as the new hero in the boxing world.