The McGovern-Gans fight.

Gans was ordered to take a dive, plain and simple. The over whelming accounts of the fight say it was so bad and obvious it killed boxing in Chicago for decades. Gans later admitted to it .. what more is there to say except he was a far better fighter than actor .. ?

 

Gans's alleged admission of guilt would speak in favour of the fight being a "fix".

You could make the case that he was lying to save his face but in those days admitting to having taken part in a fixed fight may have been worse than a loss, an argument often used in the case of Dempsey denying any "fix" in his fight with Flynn.

I haven't looked into it though, so I cannot say whether Gans definitely made this statement or not. There'd have to be some solid, trustworthy accounts to back up a quote of this magnitude.

 

How about the over whelming newspaper coverage of those who witnessed it ?

 

I was talking about Gans's quote, mostly. I know about everybody thought it was a fix.

 

I'm not sure if I desperately want to know, or wish to avoid that at all costs.

 

This.

 

I think based on the bit of reading i've done, fix is the wrong term.

A fix implies the result has been fixed and everyone is essentially acting out a role.

To me this is more of a dive as there's zero evidence incriminating terry. Now gans looked preoccupied, went down time again without defending himself and later said he agreed to take a dive.

There's a chance that the first big right knocked gans senseless and he was just on auto-pilot until the end, with the excuse being his final way of saving face many years later.

Given gans non-effort and the decision to ban boxing in the state i'd probably go along with the dive theory. Not long after gans got his title shot as well.

Either way terry went in there to do a job and he did it. The victory gets an asterix but it's a victory none the less.

 

Nice stance Luf.

 

this talks about the 'black belt', black people or a geographical area?

obvioulsy it was over 100 years ago but has the hallmarks of a dive.

 

If janitor's 2d point reply was not enough (it convinced me , and even more since it came from janitor , on this topic) , then came TGA and raised another valid argument that convinced me even more .

It was a fix , read janitor's and TGA's replies and tell me how they could b ignored .

Of course it came in n era when d exact amount of fixes (huge) will always remain ignored .

 

George Siler (Chicago Tribune): "I do not wish to accuse any fighter of faking, but if Gans was trying last night I don't know much about the game."
"The fight looked bad and I was disappointed. The evidence, however, was not strong enough to justify me in calling it 'no contest.'

W.W. Naughton (Chicago American): "To the writer it looked as if Gans went into the ring programmed to lose the fight in short order, and he carried out his part of the program to the letter."

Louis Houseman (Chicago Inter Ocean; he was the manager of the Tattersall's where the match was held) thought that Gans was simply scared of McGovern. But "I told Referee Siler that if in his opinion the fight was a fake I would withhold Gans' money. The club was innocent in the matter."

Chicago Record: Terry McGovern knocked out Joe Gans at Tattersall's last night in what appeared to be a "fake" contest. The end came in the second round, Gans failing to arise at the count of 10 in his sixth knockdown from blows which seemed hardly strong enough to jar him. Perhaps the most suspicious feature was the betting.

Chicago Chronicle: Gans made a miserable showing for a man with championship aspirations. In fact, so bad was the work done by the colored man that many of the big crowd decided that the contest was not honestly fought. It might not have been. It can scarcely be said that McGovern could be a party to such an affair, for he fought the colored man with all the ferocity of a tiger.

Chicago Times-Herald: In a bout heavily scented with crookedness Terry McGovern became the lightweight champion of the world at Tattersall's last night by putting Joe Gans into a state of apparent helplessness. Singularly enough the result of the contest conformed in every respect to the suspicious betting offered Wednesday and repeated last night at the ringside by men who passed among the spectators with handfuls of bills offering the false price of even money that Gans would be knocked out by the Brooklyn Terror.


Harry Gilmore--I was close to the ring side and am free to confess the fight was not to my liking. Gans did nothing that he said he would do. According to reports issued from his training quarters, he was to meet Terry with left down jabs and right uppercuts. His stated plan of battle seems to have been entirely forgotten. He did not appear to me to be drawn too fine, as I have seen men finer than he battle with bare knuckles for two hours or more. Of course it is possible he received a punch that took all the fight out of him, but I did not see it land. Then the betting before the fight made it look suspicious.

Jack Fleming--I was surprised that Referee Siler did not declare it no contest, for it seemed to me a prearranged affair. Gans we know is clever. He has met and blocked the blows of many of the best men in the country. In his fights in Chicago he demonstrated he can punch some, and men with a record such as he possesses must have grit. On Thursday night he did not do what was expected of him, and this, coupled with the fact that rumors of fake were plentiful before the fight, made it look bad. I saw a letter written to a friend by a prominent sporting man in which he was advised to bet on McGovern, as it was fixed for Gans to go out in the fourth round.

Jimmy Bardell--I am not making any charges, but the contest looked bad from the Gans side.

Malachy Hogan--I am still of the same opinion as last night. Gans certainly did not put up the battle he is capable of, but it is possible he may have received the punch he claims to have received and have been unable to do himself justice.

Jack Flaherty--Among the State street saloons, where the colored sports congregate, it was common talk before the fight that McGovern would win. It is a well known fact that as a general rule they will back one of their own color, no matter how good the other man may be. I believe if Peter Jackson was to get in the ring again with Jeffries many of them would be on him. This being the case, it seemed strange that all of them were on McGovern. A saloonkeeper is reported to have sent a commission man to Louisville and Cincinnati with $5,000 to wager on McGovern. I was close to the ringside and thought then and still think Gans laid down. He has too good a record to be accused of cowardice, and it did not appear to me he tried to do anything, even at the start. McGovern just came across the ring, let go a swing, and, though Gans jumped out of range of others that followed, he showed but little of the clever work he has previously displayed. Policemen of the down-town district who were inclined to bet that Gans would win were given a friendly tip and saved their coin.

Paddy Carroll--I sat close to the ringside and an old friend said: "How do they get away with it?" I am willing to make every allowance for Gans, but the only way to explain it was that he got a punch which but few of the spectators realized the force of. When asked after the fight for his opinion he simply said the better man won. Yesterday he remembers the distinct punch which did the damage, which I should have thought would have been prominent in his mind at the time.

Tommy White--McGovern was too good for him and that was all there was to it.
Tommy White--I don't think Gans faked or laid down. He took an awful beating in the short time he was there. Terry landed a lot of awful hard blows, and landed one that would stagger anybody right at the start, which put Gans on the run.

Jack Fogarty, manager of Joe Butler, the Philadelphia heavyweight--As far as I could see, the fight was on the level. Many people do not realize that McGovern can punch as hard as he can, and his blows on Gans' body were more effective than they appeared. The colored boy was weakened before the middle of the first round, and after that it was easy sailing for McGovern.

Phil Wechaler--From all I can learn Gans told his colored friends McGovern would win, and those that did not make money on the tip lost none. "Dutch Croker," a New York sporting man, who is so-called because he is credited with being commission man for Dick Croker, was at the battle and is reported to have won $3,500.

Billy Catton--I suppose the result pleased the majority, but as to the contest itself I have nothing to say.

John Johnson--All the talk about the colored men betting heavily on McGovern is exaggerated. They have not the money to bet. Come around to my place before any big fight and you will see them crowded around the ticker. They will talk about the contest for forty-eight hours after it is over, but you will see little betting. I was sorry to see Gans lose, as I have known him personally for several years and have always found him square. He of course labored under the disadvantage of being a colored man, and consequently is being roasted more severely than a white fighter would be. I do not believe any colored man was sent out of town with money to bet on McGovern. As far as I am concerned, I did not bet a dollar on the fight.

N. P. Cummings--If fights of such a character do not stop the game in this city I miss my guess.

 

I should note that except for Chicago Tribune, I don't have next-day issues of other Chicago newspapers, only quoting them from other sources. I wish somebody has taken the task of actually looking them up.

 

Thank **** Gans was a **** actor...

Imagine if he actually made it look legitimate....