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November 8, 2008

Historical Perspective: Boxer Bob Fitzsimmons returns to Terre Haute in 1911

By Mike McCormick

When “Ruby Robert” Fitzsimmons arrived in Terre Haute on Feb. 17, 1905, he was the reigning world light heavyweight champion.

Many considered Fitzsimmons — the first pugilist to hold three different world crowns — pound for pound, the greatest boxer in the world.

A native of Helston, England, Fitzsimmons was a blacksmith as a youth in New Zealand and Australia. He weighed only 175 pounds when he used his solar plexus punch to floor heavyweight champion “Gentleman Jim” Corbett in the 14th round of “The Fight of the Century” in Carson City, Nev., on March 17, 1897.

Accompanied by his wife, child, poodle and a pet lion named “Senator,” Fitz was featured in “A Fight for Love” at the Grand Opera House. He also gave a boxing exhibition with each performance.

As reported in this column seven years ago, Fitzsmmons’ visit turned into a fiasco. After being rejected by the Terre Haute House and the Hotel Filbeck because of the two animals, he secured a room at the Sandison Hotel, 516-518 N. Ninth St.

According to contemporary newspapers, on Saturday morning, Feb. 18, Fitz escorted the leashed lion through downtown Terre Haute. During a stop at the Sandison Café, the lion misbehaved and Fitzsimmons cuffed the animal and kicked it in the ribs.

Terre Haute Humane Inspector William Bradbury, who had stalked Fitzsimmons and the lion through the streets, took exception to the “abuse.” A spirited argument ensued.

The Terre Haute Sunday Star reported: “Fitzsimmons grasped Bradbury by the coat lapel and shook him until his teeth rattled.”

Alex Sandison, proprietor of the café, interceded, grabbing the boxer’s right arm just as it was about to strike Bradbury. Once freed from Fitzsimmons’ clutches, Bradbury telephoned police. Capt. John Beattie arrested Fitzsimmons at the Grand.

When Bradbury saw how much Fitzsimmons was revered by city officials and local citizens, he decided not to press charges. However, fellow officers teased him so Bradbury filed assault and battery charges before Justice-of-the-Peace Will A. Church.

Fitzsimmons pled guilty and paid a fine of $1 and costs. When he left for St. Louis on Sunday — presumably never to be seen in Terre Haute again — he gave Judge Church a horseshoe he had forged during his theatrical performance Saturday night.

Six years later, Fitzsimmons returned to Terre Haute to appear at the Lyric Theater of the Terre Haute House on Wabash Avenue. Terre Haute Tribune sports editor Ralph White asked Fitz to take over the sports desk on Feb. 20 and the boxer obliged.

One of boxing’s immortal champions wrote five first person sports stories in the Terre Haute newspaper and edited a dozen other stories. In one of his columns, Fitz talked about the 1905 incident.

“Although I was arrested for cruelty to my 640-pound lion and suffered a broken arm during my last visit to Terre Haute several years ago, I am highly pleased to get back again and meet my many friends here. I hope I will have better luck this time as paying a fine of about $15 and suffering from a broken arm is anything but pleasant.

“That night after I paid my fine I suffered my second blow: a broken arm. One of my acts was to fight the villain. Of course, I was to win. It was my custom to arrange for the crucial blow beforehand so that my sparring partner could prepare for it.

“My partner was a new man and, instead of covering his jaw as instructed, he ducked and my arm banged against his head. I had swung with all my might and when my arm connected with his hard head, “crack” went two bones.

“The broken arm and paying that fine caused me to study over the whole thing and, after the season was over, I concluded that I had seen enough of my pet lion and I gave him away. I hated to because he was a favorite and he showed lots of affection for me.

“This visit beings me to The Lyric with a new stunt, one I think is the best in vaudeville. ‘Mrs. Fitz’ (vocalist Julia Gifford, his third wife) is with me and she is the best singer in the world. Bar none. I hope to see my friends while I am here and to renew the many acquaintances made during my other visits.”

Addressing one of the most controversial issues in boxing history, Fitzsimmons asked: “Was [James J.] Jeffries drugged in his (July 4, 1910) fight with Jack Johnson?

“That question has been asked of me thousands of time and my answer is — yes! He was drugged the same as I when I first fought Jeffries. I was and I know who did it: Billy Brady, then manager of Jeffries, and Martin Julian, my own manager (and the brother of Fitzsimmons’ second wife Rose Julian), drugged me.

“If I was drugged, and I say that I was, then it was done by placing powder in bottles of White Rock that I always used between rounds. Brady was seen standing by the bottles after Julian opened them. I could not see Jeffries after the second round. After the fight I lost my mind for about four months.

“My toughest fight was with Gus Ruhlin, one of those big Chicago fighters with a kick.”

What caused Fitzsimmons to become a prize fighter? Before outlining his career, Sunny Jim responded:

“Look me between the eyes. Now, look cross-eyed and you will see the point. It is that ridge across my nose: a jagged beak overshadowed by a mound. See that hump? … Since I am editing the sporting page of the Tribune today, I am giving the readers an exclusive yarn that is very personal and important.

“If it had not been for the biff in my beak my mother might have had her way and I would have been a psalm-singing preacher who knockouts were all vocal. It all came up over a snuff box and a Rugby football. I was 11 years old and my mother sent me to get her snuff box filled. On the way back in an open field next to the English Church of Timaru, New Zealand, some young men were playing football.

“I retrieved an errant ball and, though a brute wanted me to throw it to him, I could not resist kicking it. It grazed his nose and I saw stars when the big brute’s fist crashed against my nose. When I went home my mother beat me up, too, for losing her snuff box.”

Fitzsimmons continued to box in exhibition matches in the U.S. and overseas through 1914. He died in 1917 at age 54

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