1896-03-02 Charles Kid McCoy W-KO15 Tommy Ryan [Empire Athletic Club, Maspeth, NY, USA]
1896-03-03 The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY) (page 10)
MC COY'S CLEVER VICTORY.
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HE LOOKED LIKE A BEATEN MAN EARLY IN THE FIGHT.
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Ryan Was Unmercifully Pounded Toward the Close, but Was Game to the Last--A Knockout in the Fifteenth Round at Maspeth.
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Tommy Ryan was defeated at Maspeth in 15 rounds last night by Kid McCoy and the battle will go down in fistic history as one of the most remarkable ever witnessed. To begin with, McCoy, although half a head taller than Ryan, and big in proportion, was uneasy and uncertain of himself from the moment that he clambered through the ropes, while Ryan threw off his wraps with an air of jaunty confidence that provoked an enthusiastic devotee of the sport in the gallery to shout: "What a beautiful cinch he's got."
Ryan's magnificent record made him easily the favorite. Lots of his friends' money went begging at rates varying from 10 to 7 to 2 to 1. And it looked at the start as if the knowing ones had fathomed the whole thing. He simply played with McCoy and when the round ended many of the spectators began to pick up their snow shoes and their overcoats in order to escape the rush of the battle to get out of the building. Then came the sensational point of the encounter.
McCoy began to find his man and he assumed some confidence. A few minutes later he opened Ryan's nose. Then he persisted in jabbing Tommy on the jaw with his long left and every tap that he gave brought the blood, until Ryan was bleeding like a stuck pig and had more trouble in getting rid of the blood that choked him and blinded him that he had in warding McCoy's blows. Ryan was knocked down three times in the fatal fifteenth round and he showed once and for all that he was game to the backbone. It took him fifteen minutes to recover and when he tottered from the ring he would have dropped if the arms of his seconds had not been around him.
All the sports for miles around were at the ringside, including Tom O'Rourke, Sam Fitzpatrick, Arthur Lumley, M. Giubal, Macon McCormick, Maxey More, P. T. Powers, Fred Peffer, Billy Crowley, Martin Dowling and hundreds of others.
Jack Downey of Brooklyn and Larry Burns of Cohoes warmed up the 3,000 spectators in an eight round bout at 125 pounds. Everybody knew Downey and picked him out as a winner, while Burns was an unknown quantity. He had a big, hearty contingent of friends with him though and they rooted while he fought till the building rang again. They began to fight at 9 o'clock sharp. Downey was handled by Tommy Butler, Pete Farrell and Joe Martin, while Burns was looked after by John McTiernan, Tommy Hunt and George Davis. Tim Hurst in his familiar navy blue sweater was the referee, as usual.
In the opening rounds Burns was slow and appeared to be somewhat afraid of Downey. Jack forced the fighting and when the third round opened there were repeated offers of 50 to 40 on his chances. It was in the fifth round that the stranger, smiling and confident, began to assert himself. At close quarters he had all the advantage. Toward the close of the sixth round he might have disposed of the popular Brooklynite, but he was slow and content to wait. Burns forced the fighting after that and the backers of Downey began to quake when he held the gloves over his face to protect himself and made no effort at attack. There were some hot exchanges in the last round. Here again Burns had a beautiful chance for a knockout but he was slow and cautious. When he did attempt to finish the job Downey's clever head averted a catastrophe. The bout ended with hot in fighting in which Downey figured to advantage. He cut open his opponent's left eye. The referee called the bout a draw and everybody applauded the verdict.
The clock pointed to 10 o'clock as Tom Ryan pushed his way into the ring, smiling and confident. He was pioneered by Charley White, Tom Cawley, Kid Lavigne and Sam Fitzpatrick. The cheers that greeted the young fellow, who had claimed the middleweight championship of the world, had scarcely died away when Kid McCoy was seen struggling through the enthusiastic crowd, surrounded by Steve O'Donnell, Maurice Hagstrom and Brooklyn Jimmy Carroll. Presently the memorable battle began. McCoy appeared to be feverishly anxious to find out what there was in Ryan that had given him his reputation and he tried to hit him on the face. Several of his leads went harmlessly over his head. Once, in ducking, though, the big kid caught Ryan a clip on the jaw and his friends cheered enthusiastically. Then Ryan let himself loose. He smashed McCoy on the face and body with right and left, cleverly kept his head out of the kid's attempted returns and there were frequent clinches, and when the round ended the betting was 100 to 50 on Ryan. There was a slightly different color given to the affair in the next round. McCoy was a trifle more confident and Ryan began to sprint. The kid smashed Tommy viciously over the heart. Then they clinched and McCoy emerged smilingly with the honors of the encounter. Ryan began to fight in the third round. He landed cleverly a couple of times on McCoy's jaw and then he ran round the ring. The kid followed him, and as Tommy tried to duck he gave him a left hand punch on the jaw. Ryan turned upon his man after that. He was nettled at having been caught so easily and in some fierce infighting he had all the better of it. Ryan planted two heavy body blows in the fourth round but had to take two vicious right hand hooks on the jaw in return. Ryan swung his right heavily on the big kid's jaw and McCoy tottered. If the round had lasted half a minute longer Tommy Ryan would to-day be the middle weight champion of the world. McCoy was very weak about the legs. He pushed his gloves weakly in Ryan's face, and, obeying the instructions of his seconds, clung round Ryan's neck as long as he dared. Ryan forced the fighting in the fifth round again and his vicious pokes on the body and his swings on the jaw soon had McCoy staggering and dazed. The kid, however, continued to slip in a pretty left hand upper cut. Ryan sprinted again, but was caught with another clip behind the ear from the force of which he went down. No damage was done, however, and it was still Ryan's fight. The battle was fast and furious in the seventh, with the honors fairly even. McCoy poked his left four times savagely into Ryan's ribs. Ryan looked a bit worried. He feinted and then he flung out his right. It caught the Kid squarely over the heart and twisted him round as if he had been working on a pivot. It seemed again as if another punch would dismiss McCoy, but he was in rare fettle and kept himself as cool as a cucumber. He jabbed Ryan repeatedly on the face with his left, brought the blood freely and finally gave Tommy a punch that knocked him down. The fight was now a guessing match. McCoy surprised every man in the building by his coolness, his cleverness, his swiftness and his terrific hitting powers. It was in the ninth round that Ryan's star began to wane. He sprinted. McCoy ran after him and, catching up on his man, smashed him from behind with his right and left. Ryan then mixed it up hotly and got in several heavy body blows. McCoy flung out his long left repeatedly, jabbed Ryan on the nose, cut it open and closed up an eye. McCoy continued to jab in the next round, the tenth. Ryan was bleeding, profusely cut, lips swollen, eyes swelled, and was a beaten man but he was as game still as a fighting ****. He was a perfect glutton for punishment and he got it. McCoy, just as the round ended, got his man against the ropes. He held Tommy out with his long left arm and brought his right viciously over his helpless opponent's jaw.
The fight still went on, although Ryan was a badly beaten man. McCoy was as quick and as strong as he had been at the beginning. He punched Ryan at will, jabbed him at will on the face and body and again opened up the damaged nose and the abnormally swollen lips. Ryan stood up to his punishment like a man till he was knocked squarely off his feet with a savage right hand uppercut. This was in the twelfth round. Ryan tried to get a few minutes' breathing space in the thirteenth round, but McCoy kept at him and floored him twice. In the next Ryan stepped up to the kid stronger and fresher than in the preceding half dozen rounds and his clever and effective work began to impress his friends with the idea that he still had a fighting chance. But McCoy's pitiless jabs were thrown without cessation into his face.
The end came in the fifteenth round. Ryan was very weak, but still able to run. He did try to sprint out of the way of McCoy's wicked jabs, but the kid followed him up closer and gave him a left hand punch on the jaw, flooring Tommy. The latter struggled to his feet before he had been counted out with the blood streaming from his face. McCoy was waiting for him, and gave him a thump with his right on the jaw that knocked Tommy down again. All this was against the ropes. Ryan staggered to his feet again as Tim Hurst stood over him and, willing as ever, held his hands out blindly as he stumbled to the middle of the ring. There again McCoy was waiting for him with his pitiless right ready. Everybody was glad when he shot it out and brought Ryan down for the third time with a clip in the ear. Ryan had been hopelessly beaten long before and the spectators simply waited to see a satisfactory finish. They got it. When Ryan fell on his back he was senseless and a quarter of an hour passed before he was able to leave the ring with the arms of his seconds around him.
1896-03-03 The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY) (page 10)
MC COY'S CLEVER VICTORY.
--------
HE LOOKED LIKE A BEATEN MAN EARLY IN THE FIGHT.
--------
Ryan Was Unmercifully Pounded Toward the Close, but Was Game to the Last--A Knockout in the Fifteenth Round at Maspeth.
--------
Tommy Ryan was defeated at Maspeth in 15 rounds last night by Kid McCoy and the battle will go down in fistic history as one of the most remarkable ever witnessed. To begin with, McCoy, although half a head taller than Ryan, and big in proportion, was uneasy and uncertain of himself from the moment that he clambered through the ropes, while Ryan threw off his wraps with an air of jaunty confidence that provoked an enthusiastic devotee of the sport in the gallery to shout: "What a beautiful cinch he's got."
Ryan's magnificent record made him easily the favorite. Lots of his friends' money went begging at rates varying from 10 to 7 to 2 to 1. And it looked at the start as if the knowing ones had fathomed the whole thing. He simply played with McCoy and when the round ended many of the spectators began to pick up their snow shoes and their overcoats in order to escape the rush of the battle to get out of the building. Then came the sensational point of the encounter.
McCoy began to find his man and he assumed some confidence. A few minutes later he opened Ryan's nose. Then he persisted in jabbing Tommy on the jaw with his long left and every tap that he gave brought the blood, until Ryan was bleeding like a stuck pig and had more trouble in getting rid of the blood that choked him and blinded him that he had in warding McCoy's blows. Ryan was knocked down three times in the fatal fifteenth round and he showed once and for all that he was game to the backbone. It took him fifteen minutes to recover and when he tottered from the ring he would have dropped if the arms of his seconds had not been around him.
All the sports for miles around were at the ringside, including Tom O'Rourke, Sam Fitzpatrick, Arthur Lumley, M. Giubal, Macon McCormick, Maxey More, P. T. Powers, Fred Peffer, Billy Crowley, Martin Dowling and hundreds of others.
Jack Downey of Brooklyn and Larry Burns of Cohoes warmed up the 3,000 spectators in an eight round bout at 125 pounds. Everybody knew Downey and picked him out as a winner, while Burns was an unknown quantity. He had a big, hearty contingent of friends with him though and they rooted while he fought till the building rang again. They began to fight at 9 o'clock sharp. Downey was handled by Tommy Butler, Pete Farrell and Joe Martin, while Burns was looked after by John McTiernan, Tommy Hunt and George Davis. Tim Hurst in his familiar navy blue sweater was the referee, as usual.
In the opening rounds Burns was slow and appeared to be somewhat afraid of Downey. Jack forced the fighting and when the third round opened there were repeated offers of 50 to 40 on his chances. It was in the fifth round that the stranger, smiling and confident, began to assert himself. At close quarters he had all the advantage. Toward the close of the sixth round he might have disposed of the popular Brooklynite, but he was slow and content to wait. Burns forced the fighting after that and the backers of Downey began to quake when he held the gloves over his face to protect himself and made no effort at attack. There were some hot exchanges in the last round. Here again Burns had a beautiful chance for a knockout but he was slow and cautious. When he did attempt to finish the job Downey's clever head averted a catastrophe. The bout ended with hot in fighting in which Downey figured to advantage. He cut open his opponent's left eye. The referee called the bout a draw and everybody applauded the verdict.
The clock pointed to 10 o'clock as Tom Ryan pushed his way into the ring, smiling and confident. He was pioneered by Charley White, Tom Cawley, Kid Lavigne and Sam Fitzpatrick. The cheers that greeted the young fellow, who had claimed the middleweight championship of the world, had scarcely died away when Kid McCoy was seen struggling through the enthusiastic crowd, surrounded by Steve O'Donnell, Maurice Hagstrom and Brooklyn Jimmy Carroll. Presently the memorable battle began. McCoy appeared to be feverishly anxious to find out what there was in Ryan that had given him his reputation and he tried to hit him on the face. Several of his leads went harmlessly over his head. Once, in ducking, though, the big kid caught Ryan a clip on the jaw and his friends cheered enthusiastically. Then Ryan let himself loose. He smashed McCoy on the face and body with right and left, cleverly kept his head out of the kid's attempted returns and there were frequent clinches, and when the round ended the betting was 100 to 50 on Ryan. There was a slightly different color given to the affair in the next round. McCoy was a trifle more confident and Ryan began to sprint. The kid smashed Tommy viciously over the heart. Then they clinched and McCoy emerged smilingly with the honors of the encounter. Ryan began to fight in the third round. He landed cleverly a couple of times on McCoy's jaw and then he ran round the ring. The kid followed him, and as Tommy tried to duck he gave him a left hand punch on the jaw. Ryan turned upon his man after that. He was nettled at having been caught so easily and in some fierce infighting he had all the better of it. Ryan planted two heavy body blows in the fourth round but had to take two vicious right hand hooks on the jaw in return. Ryan swung his right heavily on the big kid's jaw and McCoy tottered. If the round had lasted half a minute longer Tommy Ryan would to-day be the middle weight champion of the world. McCoy was very weak about the legs. He pushed his gloves weakly in Ryan's face, and, obeying the instructions of his seconds, clung round Ryan's neck as long as he dared. Ryan forced the fighting in the fifth round again and his vicious pokes on the body and his swings on the jaw soon had McCoy staggering and dazed. The kid, however, continued to slip in a pretty left hand upper cut. Ryan sprinted again, but was caught with another clip behind the ear from the force of which he went down. No damage was done, however, and it was still Ryan's fight. The battle was fast and furious in the seventh, with the honors fairly even. McCoy poked his left four times savagely into Ryan's ribs. Ryan looked a bit worried. He feinted and then he flung out his right. It caught the Kid squarely over the heart and twisted him round as if he had been working on a pivot. It seemed again as if another punch would dismiss McCoy, but he was in rare fettle and kept himself as cool as a cucumber. He jabbed Ryan repeatedly on the face with his left, brought the blood freely and finally gave Tommy a punch that knocked him down. The fight was now a guessing match. McCoy surprised every man in the building by his coolness, his cleverness, his swiftness and his terrific hitting powers. It was in the ninth round that Ryan's star began to wane. He sprinted. McCoy ran after him and, catching up on his man, smashed him from behind with his right and left. Ryan then mixed it up hotly and got in several heavy body blows. McCoy flung out his long left repeatedly, jabbed Ryan on the nose, cut it open and closed up an eye. McCoy continued to jab in the next round, the tenth. Ryan was bleeding, profusely cut, lips swollen, eyes swelled, and was a beaten man but he was as game still as a fighting ****. He was a perfect glutton for punishment and he got it. McCoy, just as the round ended, got his man against the ropes. He held Tommy out with his long left arm and brought his right viciously over his helpless opponent's jaw.
The fight still went on, although Ryan was a badly beaten man. McCoy was as quick and as strong as he had been at the beginning. He punched Ryan at will, jabbed him at will on the face and body and again opened up the damaged nose and the abnormally swollen lips. Ryan stood up to his punishment like a man till he was knocked squarely off his feet with a savage right hand uppercut. This was in the twelfth round. Ryan tried to get a few minutes' breathing space in the thirteenth round, but McCoy kept at him and floored him twice. In the next Ryan stepped up to the kid stronger and fresher than in the preceding half dozen rounds and his clever and effective work began to impress his friends with the idea that he still had a fighting chance. But McCoy's pitiless jabs were thrown without cessation into his face.
The end came in the fifteenth round. Ryan was very weak, but still able to run. He did try to sprint out of the way of McCoy's wicked jabs, but the kid followed him up closer and gave him a left hand punch on the jaw, flooring Tommy. The latter struggled to his feet before he had been counted out with the blood streaming from his face. McCoy was waiting for him, and gave him a thump with his right on the jaw that knocked Tommy down again. All this was against the ropes. Ryan staggered to his feet again as Tim Hurst stood over him and, willing as ever, held his hands out blindly as he stumbled to the middle of the ring. There again McCoy was waiting for him with his pitiless right ready. Everybody was glad when he shot it out and brought Ryan down for the third time with a clip in the ear. Ryan had been hopelessly beaten long before and the spectators simply waited to see a satisfactory finish. They got it. When Ryan fell on his back he was senseless and a quarter of an hour passed before he was able to leave the ring with the arms of his seconds around him.
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