Old School Story - Tribute To The Bull Dog. The Big Book Of Booking. Vol. 1, Number 1

On the warm night of August 30, 1937, the largest assortment of champions, ex-champions and almost-champions ever assembled in one place stood side by side under the sweltering lights of a Yankee Stadium ring. As each celebrity was introduced by announcer Harry Balough, thunderous cheers went up from the crowd of about 60,000. The sight of Jack Johnson brought back vivid memories of the generations, and when Johnson brushed past the corner of Joe Louis he substantiated the rumor that Jack and Joe weren’t getting along. All this took place a few minutes before Louis stepped from his corner to make his FIRST defense of the heavyweight title he had won from Jimmy Braddock only two months before. His opponent: Tough Tommy Farr. But the audience was so carried away with nostalgia as Benny Leonard and Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney and Jimmy Braddock and all the others took their bows that they momentarily forgot about Louis and Farr. As usual, Dempsey got the loudest round of applause. The cheers for Max Bear were mixed with boos because the people never forgave Max for allowing himself to take the full count while sitting on the floor in his fight with Joe Louis. The only man introduced that evening who got nothing but boos and hisses was Max Schmeling. But Schmeling was a German, and everything German in per-was year of 1937 was suspect. Besides, Schmeling had knocked out Louis the year before and now was back in New York demanding another crack at the Brown Bomber and vowing to take the title back to the Fatherland. Every red-blooded American had to boo Herr Max! Schmeling appeared annoyed when he stepped into the ring. He glanced at some old familiar faces: Jack Sharkey, from whom he had won the heavyweight championship from on a foul, Max Bear, who had knocked him out in 1933, and Jack Dempsey, who befriended him when he first came to America in late 1920’s. Max eased himself into position Bear and former great featherweight champion Jonny Dundee and stood soilder-straight and expressionless, gazing out at the vast crowd. Bear tried to loosen him up by cracking a joke, but Schmeling remained ill at ease. Then Max turned his head to the right and noticed a face half way down the ring that magically made him forget the coldness of his welcome. Schmeling extended his hand in a gesture of camaraderie and walked quickly past Bear, Marcel Thil, Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney towards his objective. As Schmeling approached him, Micky Walker, dwarfed by the towering heavyweights around him, grinned from ear to ear and met Maxie’s hand with his own.’How are you, Max?’ Mickey asked. ’Very fine. Very Fine,’ the German answered as he squeezed Mickey’s hand and patted him on the shoulder. They exchanged a few words before Harry Balough asked for quiet. Schemling tried to squeeze in next to Walker, but there wasn’t enough room and he had to return to his original place between Bear and Dundee. Schmeling’s special tribute to Walker eased the crowd’s hostility and even won him a light round of applause. What Max was saying, in effect, was that this little man with smiling Irish eyes and bulbed nose was the most courageous of them all. Schmeling knew all about Walker’s bull-dogged courage from personal experience. When they fought in 1932, Mickey, a bloated middleweight, kept getting knocked down by the former Heavyweight Champion untill it got monotonous. But he also kept getting up. His face was pounded out of shape and bees were buzzing around in his head, but he kept fighting on instinct alone. Schmeling himself was so touched by Walker’s gameness that he warned the referee that if he didn’t stop the fight he would not hit Walker again! Walker was still swinging after it was finally stopped in the 8th round! The following day, Schmeling issed his formal challenge to Joe Louis, who had outpointed Farr. At the press conference, one reporter, recalling Max’s homage to Walker the previous night, asked him how he thought Louis would have made out with Walker when Walker was in his prime. The German answered : ’’ I cannot say. But I know for sure that Louis could not keep Mickey down. No man could do that.’