What was the biggest wallop of all the wallops landed by famous wallopers?

Another column from the great boxing writer Robert Edgren

SPORTS through Edgren’s eyes

San Bernardino Sun, Volume 59, Number 46, 16 October 1926

By ROBERT EDGREN What was the biggest wallop of all the wallops landed by famous wallopers?' There was the series of socks that Dempsey hit Willard at Toledo. There was the punch Dempsey hit Carl Morris at New Orleans a first punch knockout. That wasn't the biggest wallop. Morris was soft and Dempsey's glove splashed him, that's all. And the punch Dempsey landed In the fourteenth second of the first round on Fred Fulton some wallop. It turned Fulton from a gay blade who liked to mix with Sam Langford into the world's champion fancy diver. But Fulton always had a jaw like a basket of eggs. One of the world's most historical wallops was the one Bob Fitzsimmons handed Thomas J. Sharkey, a noted trotting horse fancier in New York and next to that was the sample slipped to Gus Ruhlin by old Bob. Sharkey and Ruhlin met afterward and agreed that if they ever fought Fitzsimons again they'd invite the coroner to sit in a ringside box. Jess Willard hit Jack Johnson something of a poke at Havana, but he waited until Johnson was ready to fall down anyway from blistered feet, so that can't be figured as the world's greatest. Jess Willard hit Soldier Kearns with a right hand punch on the chin and turned the Soldier a double somersault. John L. Sullivan had a mighty wallop. He once had a set-to with Mike Donovan, middleweight champion, In Boston, and hit Mike so hard on tho shoulder blades that Mike's nose broke a two inch plank when he struck the floor. Mike didn't mind It. He got up and went boxing. They were tough in those days. That punch of Firpo's that tossed Dempsey through the ropes would have pushed a loaded truck from the Polo grounds turnstiles to 155th street, but It didn't have the right snap a wallop should have. Dempsey crawled . back and lived to stall through several years more as champion.

Bradley Nearly Overslept

Bert Collma, the Mexican, swung one at Mickey Walker that missed Mickey four feet and nearly knocked out the reporters at the ringside. That was some sock. If Collma could land the punches he misses he'd be a champion Instead of a floor polisher. Talking of Rip Van Winkle socks, how about the one AI Kaufman landed on Bradley In the old gold plated post ring at the horse pavilion on Twenty-third street, New York. They couldn't bring Bradley to In the ring, so they started him to his hotel room and put him to bed, and left him. About dinner time next day Bradley walked down to my office to see me, and leaning over my chair whispered: "Say, I'm going to fight this bird Kaufman tonight. Come up and see It." "When did you wake up?" I asked. "Just a little while ago," said Bradley. "Gee! I nearly overslept and I got this fight on tonight. What do you think of that?" Bradley didn't know the fight was over. He'd lost a day. Here's a story of a wallop that went wrong, or went right, according to the side you favor. Harry Gilmore was fighting Jack McAuliffe for the world's lightweight championship. Prize ring rules, skin tight gloves. Three sides of the ring were roped: the other side was a brick wall. After fighting an hour or more Gilmore thought of a trick. McAullffe had a habit of lunging with a blow when he had a clean opening. Gilmore backed around near the wall, gave ground slowly until he felt his heels touch the bricks, and then dropped his guard a little. His plan was to draw McAuliffe into a hard lead, duck under the blow and let McAuliffe hit the brick wall. It was as simple as that. But McAuliffe let Gilmore duck and cracked him with the other hand, driving his head back against the wall. Gilmore was so dazed by this double wallop, in front and behind. Hint he lost his chance to win the fight. If some of the boxers were interviewed on wallops this is what they'd probably say:

What the Fighters Say

Mickey Walker: "The hardest sock on record was landed on me by the N. Y. Commission when they said I couldn't fight Milligan because I had a sore toe. What a difference would a sore toe make In fighting Mllllgan?"

Jack Dempsey: "I've been groggy ever since the Firpo fight. But it wasnt from any punch Firpo landed. What socked me for a goal was making out my income tax statement afterward."

Tiger Flowers: "I don't know anything about hard punches: I'm a prohibitionist."

Harry Greb: "The hardest wallop is the one I'm saving up for Flowers next time.".

Paul Berlenbach: "I haven't hit anybody hard yet Wait."

Tom Sharkey: "The hardest wallop! Sure, that's easy. It was the time I hit Jim Jeffries on the jaw so hard I broke three of my own ribs."

Kid Kaplan; "There ain't no wallop I can't push over with my face."

Young Corbett, broadcasting from Denver: "I hate to mention it, but the punch I hit Terry McGovern in Hartford . rang all the bells In Brooklyn."

Phil *********: "I'll tell the Commission! They all hit too hard."

Jack Kearns: "Wallop? Ask Mickey."

Dan Morgan: "There haven't been any wallopers since my little Dutchman, Kayo Brown." (Copyright, 1926. by The Bell Syndicate, Inc.)

 

Thanks guys, Robert Edgren is one of my favorite boxing writers, he brings back that era of great fighters to life. He's seen them all, Dempsey, Wills. Greb, Tunney, Leonard, you name them he's seen them. If you havent heard of him you should, he writes and seen the best fighters from the early 1900's. If you want to look him up, ck out this link: https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a...---en--20--1--txt-txIN-robert+edgren+-------1