DEATH OF TEX RICKARD.

Shannon News, 11 January 1929, Page 3

DEATH OF TEX RICKARD.

WORLD S GREATEST BOXING PROMOTER. NEW YORK, Jan. fi. George (“Tex”) Rickard died on Sunday morning following an operation on Thursday for appendicitis. Tex Rickard was one of the most spectacular and perhaps the greatest promo tor professional sport has ever known. He was a gold miner and gambling saloon proprietor before he became a boxing promoter, and it was the Joe Gans-Battling Nelson contest that started him on his spectacular career.

His next big venture was the Ja,ck Johnson-Jim Jefferies bout at Reno in 1910, but it was not until 1919 that Rickard became a world figure. In that year he staged the world’s championship contest between Jess Willard and Jack Dempsey at Toledo. From then on, he practically monopolised the big heavyweight bouts. When Georges Carpentier met Dempsey at Jersey City the receipts were 1,623,000 dollars, of which Delnpsey received 300,000 dollars and Carpentier 200,000 dollars. Then followed the match Dempsey and Luis Firpo; for which the receipts totalled 1,177,000 dollars. The taking for the fiYst contest between Dempsey and Gene' Tunney at Philadelphia in 1926 were over 1,500,000 dollars, and in the return contest in the following year at Chicago’ the climax was reached at 2,658,660 dollars of which Tunney received 990,000 dollars and Dempsey 447,500 dollars. Over 145,000 people paid for admission. Last year Rickard lost 150,000 dollars on the Tunuey-|leeney contest, but made this amount several times during the elimination contests. For the last few years he had had the lease of the great staduim at Madison Square Garden, where lie has staged championship contests in all weights, and he had also made successful ventures in other fields of sport, notably notably athletics and ice hockey. . ■ Undoubtedly his greatest “draw” was Jack Dempsey, who not only made a huge fortune for himself, but also made Rickard a millionaire. It was Rickard’s intention to bring Dempsey back into the ring this year. ■Rickard ..was probably the most successful man in the United States at gaining publicity. All his business activities constituted news. He was a wonderful organiser, and his colourful personality and the spectacular v and risky nature of his enterprises madd him" a world-wide figure. A later cable says that Jack Dempsey helped to lay Rickard in a\ solid bronze casket, costing £3OOO. It weighed 2200 pounds and was so heavy that ten policemen and eight .firemen were required to carry it. Dempsey’s comment was that Rickard’s end was strangely unromantic for a man who dominated turbulent Alaska in the wildest Klondyke days. Jack recalled that Rickard staked his first claim at Bonanza Creek with an Indian partner, Skookum Jim. He first startled the sports worlds by piling--30,000 dollars in gold pieces in a Nevada store window as a purse for a., prize fight. He amassed another fortune . cattle ranching in Argentina. The amazing thing was that he could ; shed his fivegallon sombrero and green faro dealer’s vizor for the sleek, raiment of the New York business mail', and become the world’s greatest showman. twice in Rickard’s career did he makes guesses that were notably wrong. He lost £20,000 last summer in matching Jimmy McLarin and Sam Mandell and dropped £<50,000 over the Tuwrrey-Heeney battle.