Just finished rereading Adam's book on Fitz, who has become one of my fave fighters in history. Great work of research. Not as good as his volumes on Dempsey or Johnson, but he had more to work with for those subjects and he seems to have matured into the format as he has progressed. I've read a lot of stories about Fitz being an unruly drunk, wife-beater, fight starter, general surly hellion... While I understand Adam's focus is primarily on fighting career to the championship, there isn't a hint of this side of the man in his book. Did he start the boozing and many wives later in his career? Is Lanky Bob any good, worth the $40?
I’ve ordered “in the ring” with Jack Johnson. I don’t have much to say about Fitz, sorry. But I am wondering does he get into Jacks life outside the ring? That’s really the sum of my interest in Uncle Jack, yeah.
Hey I'm not familiar what the author you're referring to, would you mind letting me know the author and name of the book about Fitz? I love boxing biographies, you're hard pressed to find men with more enthralling lives than boxers am I right? I am have bought and am waiting to read both, Sam Langford: Boxings Greatest Uncrowned Champion, and The Prizefighter and the Playwright books currently and would love some recommendations Seamus!
Sorry, Adam Pollack is a sometime contributor on this board and has authored the finest studies ever done of the early heavyweight champions. These aren't orthodox biographies but studies on their fight careers based on contemporary articles and next day fight reports. He has done Sullivan through Dempsey (minus Willard). Johnson and Dempsey are two volume sets, the second on Dempsey set to come out sometime this year. I have read Moyle's excellent book on Langford and his book on Miske. He also used to occasionally contribute on this board.
Fancy being in a bar and Bob Fitzsimmons decides to kick off. I’d be out through that door in a jiffy!
And if you didn't know him, he would be the one you'd think you could take. If ever the old adage was correct, it was correct about Bob... When he hit you, you stayed hit.
I imagine certain saloons in Sullivan’s time would’ve paid trauma money to on duty keepers for the kind of brutality John would’ve unleashed on pay day.
The books accent primarily on career using multi contemporary newspaper reports for an even handed and balanced overview. However, the books aren’t completely devoid of some information re Johnson’s life outside the ring and significant events in the world otherwise to frame the era. Both books on Johnson, vols. 1 and 2. are great and provide as nice encyclopaedic go to references when talking Johnson and, to a reasonable extent, his opposition and boxing contemporaries otherwise.
