Death of Heenan the Prizefighter.

Cromwell Argus, Volume V, Issue 229, 31 March 1874, Page 8

Death of Heenan the Prizefighter.

. -Ith'i, abtoowjifit teutons fftcj.(sayß ing English contemporary) that two'part? graphs on pugilism appear jin the daily papers of this week, side by side. ' One records the death of £ CV Heerian,'in''America \l Ithe other the fatal termination of a boring-match at Portsmouth. With respect to the latter unfortunate affair we have no wish at present to treat; a' strict investigation is at .present taking place, and the circumstances of the match 'will be ffllly exposed at-tbe trial; but in the case of the American pugilist there is some, romance of a manly life attached, it must be fresh in the memory of 'Londoners and others what a terrible commotion there was in sporting circles when the Sayers and H6enan fight was being arranged, and how the news of their training and the daily gossip of "their respective chances were not confined to the ordinary supporters of the P.R., but of common interest everywhere. The Times even gave a long and graphic description of the fight, and'painted each round with the figurative colouring of the most sporting sheet. The great fight came off in April 17, 1860, at Farnborough ;. men of all ranks were pjesent, and the excitement was greater than has ever been seen before or after a prizefight. Wilkes 1 Spirit states that Heonan was born in West Troy, N>Y:, in 1334, of Irish parents. When a boy he went to Benecia, California, hence his nickname, Benecia Boy. His daily work with the sledge hammer developed him into the finest man on the Californian coast. A veteran pugilist saw him and took him in hand,,and brought him east in 1857. The next year he fought Morrissey, the champion, in Canada, but being in bad condition, he was defeated in fourteen rounds. His victor had, however, such a high opinion of him, that he suggested his tackling Tom Sayers; in England.

The arrangements and result of the fight are not creditable to-some of those concerned. It was the common talk in America that Heenan's own second, M'Donald, had a heavy wager on the fight lasting over an hour, and this materially influenced his advice to Heenan to keep at-out-fighting. • The battle lasted two hours and twelve minutes, and occupied forty-two rounds ; at an early part of the fight Sayers, in warding off the repeated blows of his opponent, had his left-,arm seriously damaged,—in fact, so much so that by the thirtieth round it was almost useless, and he was obliged to receive the punishment on his instead. He, however, took it craftily, and gave to the blow, so that he was apparently knocked dowii no less than twentyseven times ; his object was to keep out-fight-ing till Heenan's hand got too pufly for hitting, and, his eyes.too swollen to see ;at the thirty-fifth, round the fight resolved itself into a mere question of time ; if Sayers could keep up a while longer Heenan would be utterly blind. In some of the, last rounds Heenan managed to get Sayers on the ropes, and to prevent his being strangled,the crowd broke into the ring and pulled up the stakes ; two or three more : rounds were; fought in a scene of indescribable confusion. Heenan rushed over and struck Sayers while sitting on his second's'knee, and half-blind he hit right and left throughout the ring at everybody, until he was taken away by his own seconds. The referee very improperly left the ring, and both men were taken away by their friends. Heenan was totally blind in half-an-hour afterwards, and his hands were so swollen as to become practically useless ; but Sayers, though very weak, could still use his right well, while his left was powerless.

The referee a day or two afterwards refused to fix another day for the fight from fear of the police authorities, and after some letters from Heenan and Sayers in the papers, it was decided to give each man a new belt. After this unfortunate termination to one of the grandest battles ever fought in the prize-ring the two men became the best of friends, and did some very lucrative sparring tours through England. Three years after, Tom King, a big sailor, was matched against Heenan for £2OOO a side. The battle was a short one ; Heenan all but knocked King out of time in one of the rounds, but King recovered, after being allowed a longer time than usual, and in the twenty-fourth round, thirty-five minutes, Heenan was unable to come up to time. It was currently reported that ho had been drugged, and his sleepy style and rapid falling off in power rather favoured this view. Mace.had, previous to this fight, already beaten King, and Heenan, seeing him at the ring-side, jocularly told him that his turn would come next, after he, Heenan, had beaten King. Tom Sayers was Heenan's second in this fight. Heenan was a wonderfully made man,-6ft. 2£in. high, weighing 14 stoiie, while Sayers stood six inches shorter and weighed three stone less ; in fact, the disparity in size of the menwas the most remarkable feature of this memorable contest. The tight with King was Heenan's last battle ; he took to bookmaking and failed, as anyone will do who is over-scrupulous ; he then set up in the States a drinking saloon, and failing in health of late years, he sought the more balmy lands of the Pacific to eke out his ebbing life. He married Ada Menken, whose figure, as Mazeppa, if not talents, made some stir in London ton years ago, and whose death, like his, took place when her form was long forgotten by the world. It is well that the prizG-ring should be stamped out, that gallant men of our flesh and blood should not be made the sport of low harpies of our rabble, or the pleasurable excitement of those who should know belter.