"HEAVY" CHAMPIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 18, 21 July 1934, Page 23

"HEAVY" CHAMPIONS

NEARIIY ALL AMERICANS

■When Max Schmeling won the world's heavyweight boxing championship, and later Primp Camera regained it for Europe after the German had lost the crown to Jack Sharkey, they were the'first other than Americans to win the title since the /days ; when 'Tommy Burns lost it to Jack: Johnson in 190S (writes Nat Fleischer in "The Eing';). Prom the days of John L. Sullivan to the present there have been only three heavyweight kings who were not either native-born Americans or naturalised in this country (United States).

John L. Sullivan'■was-torn in Massachusetts of Irish, parents. James J. Corbett was a native-born Californian whose parents were Irish. Bob Fitzsimmons was born in Cornwall, England, tout- lived all his £ou.tli jn, AU.&-,

tralia, and when, he won the title from Corbett he was a naturalised citizen. . . '.. \ - :

James J. Jeffries was born in Ohio, and his parents wei'e of Scotch and: Dutch descent. Tommy Burns was a Canadian by birth, but lived most of his life in America. Jack John-: son was: born in Galveston, Jess "Willard was a Kansas-bred' lad "whose parents were Scotch-Indian-American. Jack Dempsey had more mixed stock in him than, any other fightei-, and some claim it was his combination of Scotch, American Indian, Hebrew, and ;Irish blood- that made him the fighting man he was. . ■'.-.-■

Gene Tunney, like Corbett-and Sullivan, was a native-born American whose folks had migrated, from Ireland. Then came Schmeling, the German Sharkey, the American of Polish, descent, Camera, a; full-blooded, nativeborn Italian, and the present ckam--pion, Max Baer, who "was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Baer's father is a German Jew and his mother a Frenchwoman. California claims him as its third heavyweight champion, as he has lived in that State since he was nine years old. ~ ■. ■