Saturday, October 18, 2014

ANGELS & DEMONS--THE BIG EVENT IN BOXING HISTORY, 1923: REPORTING FROM RIGHT HERE, IN SHELBY, MONTANA--THEORIES ON THE FIASCO, DEMPSEY, HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP OF THE WORLD VS. TOMMY GIBBONS, INTERNATIONAL HALL OF FAME, MINNESOTA HALL OF FAME, WORLD BOXING HALL OF FAME: (1) KEARNS TOLD DEMSPEY TO GO THE FULL 15 ROUNDS, SO THEY COULD MAKE IT OUT OF THE VENOMOUS CROWD, BEFORE THE MOB LYNCHED THEM, HOSTILE CROWD, GOT OUT BEFORE THE ORGANIZERS RECONSIDERED PURSE, I WONDER WHY; (2) MIKE GIBBONS, OLDER BROTHER, WAS ORIGINALLY ASKED TO FIGHT DEMPSEY, BUT HE WAS ONLY A MIDDLEWEIGHT, WHO HAD RETIRED IN 1922, SO DID HE LEAK MISINFORMATION TO THE PRESS, HE WAS FORCED TO RETIRE DUE TO DETERIORATING VISION, JEALOUSY; OR (3) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, CALLED OVER HALF OF MIKE DEMPSEY'S FIGHTS, BECAUSE THERE WERE NO DECISIONS, HE JUST HELD BOXERS AT BAY, AS DID TOMMY WITH DEMPSEY . . . WHY WAS EVERYTHING CANCELED, WHY DIDN'T KEARNS AND DEMPSEY TALK TO THE PRESS, THEY ADMITTED THAT THE FIGHT WAS ON, IN PRIVATE, DID BIG BROTHER'S CONNECTIONS WITH THE PRESS LEAD TO RUMORS OF THE FIGHT BEING CANCELLED--FIGHT ORGANIZERS, SAID, THE PRESS SEEMED TO BE GOING FROM A SCRIPT? OR A COMBINATION OF ALL THREE! CONNECT THE DOTS, ON A NEED TO KNOW BASES, THE ARENA WAS COMPLETED BY JUNE 20, 1923, $500,000 WORTH OF TICKET SALES, 26 SPECIAL TRAINS, WITH MORE THAN TWO WEEKS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, BOTH FIGHTER WERE WORKING OUT AT SHELBY CAMPS, SO WHY WASN'T THE FIGHT A ROARING SUCCESS? YOU TELL ME?

Dempsey/Gibbons Comments on the Shelby Fight

"Nailing him was like trying to thread a needle in a high wind." - Jack Dempsey about Tommy Gibbons bout in 1923
"Dempsey could beat anybody he could hit. The only reason that he couldn't do anything with fellows like Tunney or Greb or myself was he couldn't hit us." - Tom Gibbons in a radio interview in 1949
"For the first and only time, I was more worried about getting hurt by the crowd than by the guy I was fighting. I got a pretty good blast when introduced. The crowd was hollering and raising hell. I looked around for my bodyguard, a colorful New York character named Wild Bill Lyons, who packed two pearl-handled pistols and used to talk a lot about his days in the West. Wild Bill was under the ring, hiding." - Jack Dempsey about being introduced to the crowd at the Dempsey/Gibbons fight in Shelby, Montana July 4, 1923
"I could have licked him in Shelby if I had been 30, but I was 32. I'll never forget that day. I never got so tired of man in my life." - Tommy Gibbons discussing his World Championship bout with Jack Dempsey.
"People couldn't seem to understand how I could take so much from Dempsey. They said I was as Iron Man (a name I always wanted to avoid), when really all I did was slip this way and that as the occasion required. Brother Mike was a past master at that. I never saw anyone to equal him at all. He taught it to me." - Tommy Gibbons from Punches I Have Taken (Wikipedia).

The Psychic Researcher is at it Again

I am reporting from the Glacier Motel & RV Park, Rm. 116, or better known as conspiracy central . . . wondering what the hell happened in Shelby, before I was born, the day that Jack Dempsey fought Tommy Gibbons . . . as I had finished up my blog today, assuming for a second time, that I had completed my thoughts and writings on this small town miracle, that captured the attention of the world press, back in 1923, I sat just zoning out, thinking, that even though Kearns and Dempsey, were fighting over the venues, money, and type of fights they were and were not going to participate in, they were literally, in Shelby, so for all intents and purposes, and according to contract law, after the first installment of $100,000, Dempsey was committed to fight, regardless of whether the rest of the money had been or would be raised.  Most contracts, are in fact, carried out before, either side, fulfills the full elements of the contract, going and operating on a good faith effort to carry out the terms of the agreement, which was apparently the case with both sides, up to this point.

According to Dempsey's comments above, about the hostile crowd, and his New York bodyguard, hiding under the boxing arena, due to the angry crowd, it appeared, that possibly, the mob, was still pissed, and carried the popular sentiment of Dempsey, being a dark horse champion, being unworthy of any sympathy or admiration, and the cancellations of ticket sales, refusal to talk to the press, and 26 trains of people scheduled to be transported to the fight, now, only increased the hatred toward Dempsey.  According to one account, Kearns told Dempsey to go the full 15 rounds with Gibbons, so, they could book it out of town, without Dempsey even changing his clothes, and allegedly, a Montana, Revenue agent, who showed up to replace ticket takers, collecting $54,000, no small amount, even after the 7,000 tickets that had already been sold, then getting out of town, after Johnson and fight organizers told the IRS agent, not to turn any more money over to Kearns, who was in breach of contract, for refusing to talk to the press . . . was there, even in-state demons, working against Shelby?  These were state IRS agents, not feds, as I recall.  Was that fight day, purse, split between the state IRS agent, with the promise to go after the Shelby boys, rather than Kearns, who was the only one, plus Dempsey, who even made money on the fight . . . so what is up with that?

Sibling Rivalry?  Mike & Tom Gibbons, Baby Brother?  World Attention?  Oh, Hell Yeah!

Having been a victim of a similar sibling rivalry, with sister, Shelley, without much participation on my part, but with obsessive attention on hers, I was just sitting here, thinking about what I had just written, without it making much sense, thinking, there has got to be more going on behind the scenes . . . just as I was thinking, and spacing out, a tanker, nice looking, new, went down the road, with two tanks, that said, Gibson, Gibson . . . now, while not exactly, Gibbons, many often, as I have myself, called Tommy Gibson, rather than Gibbons, and easy mistake, but one that didn't go unnoticed by me, with my Intel guy over the years, helping me figure things out, and for the first time, I wondered if, the double tanker, with the same name, was symbolic of the two brothers, leading me to get back on the Internet, and check out the backgrounds of the brothers, who share a web site, and both being in state, national and international boxing halls of fame . . . to stellar brothers.

Now, why would Mike be jealous of Tommy . . . he was 4 years older, he taught little brother much of what he knew, both started at the YMCA, both were great defensive boxers, fast and with magical footwork, dazzling fight goers for years, but, the reason, Mike was not asked by a former, middleweight boxer, Lyman, someone, who had moved to Shelby, the contact man, and right out of the military, was friends with both brothers, but due to the fact that Tommy had moved into the heavyweight category, was chosen over, big brother.  Mike retired, with an admirable career, in 1922, just one year, or even months before the Dempsey fight came on the radar screen . . . even with his vision deteriorating, I would venture a guess, that it was every boxer's dream to take on Dempsey the King of Boxing, like fighting, Mohammad Ali of later years . . . and baby brother gets the gig?  Fuck NO!

I am sure, it would not have taken much, for Mike, if he had any pull at all, to come out of retirement, for just one crack at the King!  The Shelby contingency, even wanted Mike originally, so with all the attention, work, hype, and a worldwide press, in Shelby, with Mike, having a relationship with the press, like no other boxer, due to him being so defensive, that he rarely won his fights, he just kept the champions in his weight from winning the titles, free and clear, which is exactly what baby brother did, in this fight, with Dempsey!  Did the local press report on thing, and the national and world press report something else, leading to all the cancellations, who cancelled everything?  I highly doubt that it was the fight organizers, who were flying around the state, going from one American Legions to another, raising the last $100,000 for the fight purse . . . much like I was doing with my cases, so busy, in court, going from state to state, that, my case was stolen right out from under my face by big sister and crew, including my clients?  So many similarities, I allegedly lost the case in Utah, but won the case nationally, with billboards in Nebraska alluding to the peace for financial planners around the country, seeing it while I am on my way to the U.S. Supreme Court, racing big sis, to the Capitol!

As Mike Gibbons Was ON the Way OUT, Little Brother, Tom, Was Getting a Chance to Fight the KING!  Now, Tell Me, There Was Not Jealousy?

In my case, my big sister, Shelley, my father, her ex-husband, her old boss, were all investigated by the Utah Division of Securities, my father 5 times, my sister, rolled over and became a state witness or ratted out her former husband and her former boss, mafia, and now little sister, attorney, has not only the hottest case in the nation, backing off and putting on notice, both federal and state SEC divisions, that financial planners have civil rights, too, but she is also listed at the second in the country for civil rights defense, according to a new client, who sought her legal service, due to the award!  Shelley, that is why I love the name, Shelby, standing for, Shel By . . . or get the hell out of my life, my name, my cases, my family, and all other areas of infiltration, to stealing my every ID!  I was no more suspecting than Tommy Gibbons would have been, and probably remained in the dark, to brother's sinister plot, that seems to be coordinated with Kearns, not necessarily, Dempsey, who may have known, but made good on his agreement to fight, worried, though, but both Kearns, and big brother, Mike, had more access to the press, than the up and coming brother, who was just thrilled, even did it free, to get a swing at the King . . .

As in the case with the Shelby fight, there may, or seemed to be, the boxing world, which was noted for being connected to the mob or the mafia, the press, always just looking for the best story . . . was it a better story to throw Shelby under the bus, or to let this small time town pull of a great fight . . . probably would sell more papers, with a great story, of bankrupting a town . . . Kearns got his money, Dempsey his, the IRS agents, got a cut, probably, the agent was seen exiting the town with Kearns and Dempsey, and big brother, gets to try to bury the fight, turning it into a disgrace, making sure that Shelby, just tried to put it behind them, after the work, the pain, the lose . . . a silence over the fight, thereafter, with Dempsey never returning after many invitations, Gibbons, came often, he didn't know what was going on, and bragged about it as his highest boxing achievement of his life!  Little brother was connected to what was referred to as a fiasco, rather than a ragingly successful and fun fight, that it was planned to be, from publicity stunt, to world class boxing status, killed!

Tommy Was Wide Eyed and Bushy Tailed, Big Brother Knew What the Fight Meant

As one brother went down the other was on the rise, and you wouldn't think that big brother, wouldn't have given his eye teeth to even fight in the heavyweight championship?  I am not a boxing guru, nor have I followed the history of boxing, but I have studied human and family development, sibling rivalry, taught family law at two universities, and generally, the oldest child is the successful one, the achiever, and the second child, the rebel, the wild child, and more the party kid, the fun, social one . . . was the younger sibling, going to supersede the older sibling?  And being forced out, denied the fight of a lifetime, and none, other than a baby brother, you trained, being the one selected to fight the KING?  Really, and we are going to assign sainthood to either older sibling? Envy, jealousy, rivalry are bad enough, vying for attention in a family, but at such a level of attention, worldwide, and one brother, denied the role, and the other one getting it . . . just too damned painful, for the brother who never was the champ, other than at a time the former champ, was murdered, and he stood in . . . just to get to fight, many fighters might have given their lives, or the risk, to fight, their passion, the fame, the high!

It is Plain to See How It Could Have Happened . . . But the People of Shelby Took the Brunt of the Ridicule, and Were the Least Responsible for the Failure, or Alleged Failure!

When You Strip It All Down . . . It Was One Hell of a Fight!


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