 This is Jimmy Powers and happy to be coming your way with another Grantland rice story Hello again. This is Jimmy Powers transcribed with another chapter from the colorful keys of granny rice's famous typewriter The one that beat out the history of headline American sports for more than half a century Today we meet Gene Tony the man whose entire dedication in life was spelled in two words Jack Dempsey Gene Tony Typified by granny as a study in concentration and dedication So with a salute to the every young spirit of granny rice I take up his autobiography the tumult and the shouting and in first person pick up the narrative. I Vividly recall the first time I met Tony the New York Giants were playing at home and Haywood Bruin And I were in the press box at the polo grounds Walter Trumbull sports editor of the Old New York Post appeared in our midst with a young fellow in tow His name Gene Tony Bruin made quite a fuss over the handsome youngster What are your plans? I asked My plans are all Dempsey. He replied very interesting I said, but why not sharpen your artillery on Harry Greb carpenter or Tom Gibbons before you start hollering for Dempsey. I Suppose I'll have to beat them on the way up. Tony said but Dempsey is the one I want. I Said no more and turned my attention back to McGraw's Giants I recall Tony later volunteered that he was 23 years old I couldn't help thinking that this forthright young fellow would make a fine insurance salesman But certainly had no business having his features and brains scrambled by Dempsey's steel fists in January of 1922 Tony defeated battling Levinsky for the light heavy crown But lost it the following May to Harry Greb. It was the bloodiest fight I ever covered a great fighter or brawler Greb handled Tony like a butcher hammering a steak less than a year later They fought again and Tony won the decision in 15 rounds in 1924 he knocked out carpenter in 15 rounds and dispatched Tom Gibbons in 12 rounds in 25 After defeating a string of other tough babies like Jimmy Delaney Martin Burke Chuck Wiggins Tommy Lachron and Johnny Risco Tony again camped on Dempsey's trail That winter in Florida. I played golf with Tommy armor and Tony Gene would hit his drive toss aside his club and run down the fairway throwing phantom punches left and right hooks and muttering Dempsey Dempsey Dempsey He's obsessed observed armor. His brain knows nothing but Dempsey I should have gone along much stronger with Tommy's hunch at any rate soon after his Florida holiday Gene went to Hollywood to make a picture called the fighting Marine He didn't allow the grease paint and glitter to confuse him or his training each afternoon He'd work at the Hollywood AC where Harry Grayson now NEA's sports editor got to know him an ex-Marine himself Harry spent a lot of time with Tony and the more Harry saw the more he liked gene Six months before the fight Grayson picked Tony to beat Dempsey. He never recanted matter of fact Grayson was the only fight rider in America to go overboard on Tony. We all thought he was crazy, but that didn't faze Harry a bit Municipal Stadium Philadelphia was selected as the site of that first Dempsey Tony fight the date September the third 1926 During those roaring 20s fight camps were colorful with a heavyweights camp handling more daily paying customers than the average TV Fight of today the Tribune had Bill McGeehan Fred Hawthorne and Harry Cross beating out copy stethoscoping Tony's scholarly breathing and Blueprinting Dempsey's primeval snorting Tony went into heavy training at speculator New York about 40 miles west of Saratoga His camp was pitched near a small river and gorgeous scenery Ring lardner and I went up for a visit. He looked wonderful as for Dempsey banging away behind closed doors at Bader field Well, he didn't look like the Dempsey of the fearful fight four years earlier wealth Opulence a bride and revamped nose hadn't exactly brought Jack anything approaching soul comfort Also, he was an illegal battle with his old manager Jack Kearns Two days before the fight the sports section of the Sunday Tribune went 10 solid pages The Tribune's owner publisher Ogden Reed was amazed as the paper was going to bed Saturday night Reed said Say you're making the Tribune more of a sports paper than anything else. You could do worse. I replied trying to manage a straight face With a crowd of 135,000 contributing to the first two million dollar gate Jean Tony a superbly cool and efficient boxer marched out of his corner at the opening bell and hit Dempsey the Fighter with a high hard right hand That blow sealed Dempsey's doom It started to rain in the fourth round and by the 10th and final round It was a deluge at the end Dempsey's face was a bloody horribly beaten mask that Tony had torn up like a plowed field Speed of foot a sharp jab and a right cross that ripped Dempsey's face like a can opener We're going for Tony that night against a man who despite a rocky training period had been installed a four and five to one favorite Tony at 29 had arrived on his toes Dempsey at 31 departed flat-footed Dempsey had never been knocked out but had the fight gone 15 rounds the referee would have had to stop it Blinded by the final bell Dempsey grabbed one of his seconds and said take me to him I want to shake his hand It's fine to help build a champion But when his time comes to step down as it always will it's unpleasant to tear him down and bury him I had intended to give Tony a fitting tribute in my overnight story that historical night and go as easy on Dempsey as I Possibly could but I did neither Due to the rain it was impossible to use a typewriter So I dictated the description of the fight to my wireman with me that night were ring lardner and Benny Leonard the X lightweight champion Back at the hotel a raging sore throat and too little sleep had me in bad shape I'll file your overnight at lardner Leonard a Dempsey man told lardner that he suspected the fix had been in for Tony to win The story appearing next day under my bar line Blistered the hide off both Tony and Dempsey Neither spoke to me for several months. I couldn't blame either, but I couldn't open my mouth. I'd had a ghost Now as Jimmy Powers once again I'd like to introduce you to the only fight writer in America to pick Gene Tony over Jack Dempsey in their first fight Harry Grayson, it's nice to see you great to be here Jimmy, especially because it had to do with Granton Rice He was quite a guy wasn't he Harry? You're the sports editor of NEA. How many papers do you service? We service about 800 Jimmy United States and Canada, Philippines, South America, Venezuela Harry you heard from granny's narrative on Tony that you were the only major fight writer in America who liked Tony sufficiently to pick him against Dempsey in their Philadelphia fight. What were the circumstances of that pick? Well, Jimmy was this way in the first place Dempsey had in box in three years I was very close to Jack and still am and Tony came to Los Angeles early in 1926 to make a picture Billy Gibson was with him and the first time I ever saw Gene Tony was in the gymnasium of the Hollywood Athletic Club And I liked his looks. I liked his chin I watched him work out. He didn't box. He shadow box and he punched the bag and he asked me He said Harry, you know Dempsey well, do you think I have a chance? And I said certain you've got a chance the more I thought of Tony the better I liked him. I figured here's a fellow licked Harry grab and anybody can lick grab can lick anybody and then no more I saw him in workouts. I like the color of his skin. I like the way he moved. I liked his jab I I knew he was a dead game guy He couldn't gone that first 15 rounds with grab and I just kept Piling this on until I finally picked him. I remember my lead tonight Gene Tony will win every second of every minute of every round from Jack Dempsey and might knock him out in the first round And he nearly did Harry Grayson. You've seen a lot of fighters through the years You must have had some pets in addition to Tony Just as Grant Rice did in his great book the tumult and the shouting Who were some of your favorite fighters and other divisions besides heavyweight perhaps my favorite fighters down through the years were Benny Leonard who was the greatest manufactured fighter I ever saw. Oh, I think another favorite mine was ace Hudkins I always admired his courage. He should have been the middleweight champion I thought he beat Walker both times, but he didn't get the decision But Hudkins just relish fighting. How about Mickey Walker? There's another great fighter He was a great fighter. Greg was a great fighter I thought one of the greatest fights I ever saw was grab and Walker. Ava tell must have been a great fighter Well, that's not only your opinion. It's his as well. He Was the greatest. Well, he was all right. I'll tell you one quick story I think it was the greatest compliment ever paid to anybody and We were we were talking at Madison Square Garden about Jim Driscoll who must have been a wonder too and We talked despite managers and there was a fellow from England here and they talked Jim Driscoll all afternoon and way in the evening and and everybody agreed that Jim Driscoll was the greatest fighter they'd ever seen and Just about that time in walked old Charlie Harvey who managed Jim Driscoll and I said well Here's a fellow who should know I said Charlie Who was the greatest fighter you ever saw and the old man stood for a second and said Greatest fighter I ever saw beyond any question of doubt was able to tell oh wonderful. Well. Thank you very much Harry Grayson and that's it for today folks until next time. This is Jimmy Powers transcribe saying Ostal Avista