HE WAS A TRIER—AND WENT DOWN GAME

NZ Truth, Issue 1183, 2 August 1928, Page 1

HE WAS A TRIER —AND WENT DOWN GAME

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Story of Epic Struggle Comes Through Direct From Yankee Stadium To Old Folks At Home TOM'S SPIRIT WAS THE STUFF THAT COUNTED MOST .1 m n > , """!"|"I,i;"""",S i"« nm iintiniini iiiiiiiiiii niniiiniiii mil minim mil iiniiiliiMiliinicf = F| ' . II 1 1 (From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Representative.) || || PUT IT THIS WAY. If you had spent three months of hopeful expectation for one day, and had stock- j| It ed up the cellar and filled the larder preparatory to hearing that glory was coming your way, and then the || || crackle of electric sparks told you that the issue had swung m the other direction, what would you do ? || || Would you don crepe, lock the cellar and go brooding—or would you take your cue from little Gisborne || I and say; "Well, a trier who dies game is always a hero " ? And Gisborne, which gave to the world the one || 1 ' and only Tom Heeney, knows how to embrace a hero. '.'.."■ !!

1|.,, , m nimnmmii,i«i(miti.imiiimimimiiH l imi.mi,miiiiiiii.iiiiiniimi»n.mjm|mnm|iimii gmiimim iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiniiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit > imiiiiniiiniiiiiimiiiiiiira A MAN who can punch his way through the surging current of adverse circumstances to the second place m world honors is more than a fighter. He is a pioneer. And a thousand Tunneys could not lower the pride or weaken tha spirit of a Tom Heeney. .Gisborne, so notoriously ardent m its worship at the . shrine of Great Outdoor, had 1/ved and dreamed and hoped for success m this epic battle at the Yankee Stadium. But, like Mahomet and the mountain, Gisborne could not go to New York, so New York had to be coaxed, through the ether, to come along to Gisborne. The- great du.t-.back^ -"went hang" for the day. 'The 'chickens r Weren't fed, the sheepdogs were 'called off, the idle cows left lowing and the cat missed its milk. ' . The roads that converged on Gisborne rattled with traffic as weird and as wonderful and as picturesque^ as ever turned out for any circus parade. Gisborne lost its identity m the mist of hope and melted through a mirage into a stadium somewhere m New York. The loud-speakers, slung up everywhere m the town, became the ringside. And who stayed at home that day? In and put of the houses, they came; Young folk, old folk, all the same. And every blow at Heeney was a blow at Gisborne. It was not merely

!S!!!S!!!!S their son was faring at the hands 1 "Heeney has knocked Tunney of : a world, champion. through the ropes," said an_ essentially ' • American voice, armd a whirr of atSimple, honest folk, .unaccustomed to mospherics and , cheers. < the limelight and worried almost to But, other than a little wide-eyed desperation by the attention of photo- nod 'at each other,, there was no sign graphers and pressmen from all over o f : any extraordinary- elation on the the country, quite naturally they part of those two who had given to; sought the .quieter places; friend the world the battler, Tom Heeney. : O'Meara very Considerately arranged .Neither was there any apparent that they should, have a p^aceful^eat • ' whence decision - m .his. little. radiOrroom... >; • - WaV announced' Mrs Heeney sat fitting , there, .patiently li S tening : .tp Se^rec{"^if ™hV tensioV? h\d the -news,, hearing .their son glackened : hi ie r T O m* S father made Dreathe, ,and all .but yisualising. the a '^ dive for f his ;:j,ipe a 'hd lit up again, fierce struggle v for supremacy, they. tie fiaht was-'over presented a remarkable study-r^the sorJt^ . l ; l X e T' 9 "^ W ? • °;^ ■,-/. , .... „- 7 of, thing 'a, ; sti(clentSSof; hai^ire^andita; ;< inan: ; ,can^ do ; nvore .than stuaentJof 'art^^^ia^etp;;!)]^ ty\tti, ; his>bejft^ < Tpin; watjia^tner-and^h^went Mrs. Heeney.; : a littje" flushed,^^ sat be.- down fighting.'? That was .practically side', her husband/? with lips • firmly all, Tom'g father had to say. r ■.

compressed, and only now and again gave a little appreciative nod when her Tom was giving the American something to think about. Heeney, senr., a staunch, upright, fearless type, strained forward as the rounds progressed, and, although an inveterate smoker, found it necessary to "douse" the pipe and ram it deep into his pocket while he gave all his attention to Tom. Never once did either speak, but went on waiting and hoping, Mrs. Heeney with eyes a little misty, and her husband with fixed, penetrating gaze on the wonderful instrument that was bringing the story first-hand from the Yankee Stadium.

"We're sorry, but it can't be helped," I and he went on to thank "New Zealand Truth's", special representative, who went up from Wellington, for the staunch support and keen interest the paper had manifested m their Tom. The parents tendered a very successful party m honor of their son after the fight, the father of the fighter making sure of the function beforehand by imposing the condition that it would take place only if Heeney won, lost or drew. The position elsewhere m Gisborne was that, having prepared to celebrate' the "arrival" of Tom Heeney, there was really no harm 'in honoring a little

itiiiiMiiiuitiiitiiuniiiMiiititiiiiititiiiiiiitiiiuitiiiMtit!MiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiNiiiiiiiiitiniiniiiiiiiiniitiiiriuiiii> = delay, believing that — sooner or later — he would "arrive." With a spirit like that about, % the "welcome" on every mat and the feel^ing (for a great many) that it was a long time between fights, it was probably natural that feelings should ease springs. The Maoris certainly made it a day out. Near one loudrspeaker, two Maoris provided a great laugh. Both had been celebrating a little. : "Gorry," said one, "I let Tunney bash me to death for twenty thousand quid." In the absence of clearer enunciation, though, it can;. only be c presumed that. Bf6¥i would expect' the" twenty 'tKpusand" quid" before the tragic encounter.There were one or two frefe fights down the back streets — and it cannot be thought for a moment that these had their origin over the weather. The hotels undoubtedly recorded . a phenomenal bar trade. As to the reason for this, it must not be forgotten that it was also race week. As to the fight itself, the world has been told the story round for round, although it may not generally be realized that Tunney's knowledge of the weakness of one of Heeney's eyes enabled him to exploit this with telling effect for all he was worth. Another point has now been cleared up by the announcement that Heeney suffered a broken thumb before the great fight.