CHAMPIONS OF THE RING

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 170, 19 July 1924, Page 3 (Supplement)

CHAMPIONS OF THE RING

" • V' JOHN GULLY. 1 , ,' ■ c> "POLITICIAN AND PUGILIST." a fi "Well, rming John Chilly, and what <-~ trade are you put to';' , a countryman asked the landlord's son over a. tankard of ale at a Bristol inn. ~ The young fellow addressed stood J| nearly six fort high, and had to stoop under the black oak beams of the low ', ceiling. v "Tin following my father's old trade of a butcher, but before I din I mean to : * be champion of England, the owner of I a Derby winner, and a member of i R Parliament,' , be answered, summing up I i his life's ambitions in a matter of fact i j. tone. j Naturally he was laughed at. His f father, the rubicund innkeeper, chuckled j over bis pipe. "Your flying high, my , lad," be said. "I'll be content to sec a you a prosperous knight of the cleaver j. for my part. Although you shape well \. enough with the mufflers, the man's not j yet born that can stand up against Jem Belcher, the Bristol champion." j f "There's another Bristol lad named j Harry I'earco who will be heard of o before long in the prize ring," a cus- \ tomer remarked. "Although, mind you, c I don't say he can ever hope to beat ] Jem Belcher.." j f Young Gully laughed this time. "Why,! I here's lien Pearce at the door now. t He's come round to spar with mc. We $ call him the ' Game Chicken,' because : t he will have it he was christened ' Hen ' i c Pearee, not ' Henry.' " j 1 A sturdily built young fellow entered 1 the taproom, handsome of frame, with ( curly hair and Kiniling eyes. He gave ; 1 the company a civil greeting and did not I seem to notice the close scrutiny of , '. critical eyes. Though several inches i below the young butcher's standard of ' ( height he was rpiite as muscular and , i looked to be the true boxing blend of : i whalebone and pteel. | < " Are yon ready to spar a few j: rounds ? " he asked Jack Cully. j < " As soon as you are, Hen." i " Have a turn up on the green outside," the innkeeper suggested, " then we < ' can all see. you mill through the case- j < meiit window." i The casement, fraprant with honey- ] suckle, mint and musk plants was thrown open and the landlord and his j ' cronies leaned out with their long clay j > pipes resting on the sill. Some of the j' customer* stood round in a ring whilst | ; the two young fellows stripped to the ' ' " bufT"' and donned the clumsy boxing ( gloves they called " mufflers.' , ! '• Two clever lads." everybody declared at the end of a slashing bout in which there was any amount of hard-hitting, , the two contestants shaking hands just ; as cordially after their pummelling match a* they did before it started. "Kgad! The lad's got the true fientleinan Jackson touch about him." inn- ' keeper Gully laughed, as his son bowed in acknowledgment of their applause. Jack coloured up. " A pugilist can bo as much a gentleman as a—'' he. hesitated. " As a member of Parliament, you were going to say, Jack," his father duffed. "That's right. Po T was. I've made up my mind to be both. I'll show the dandies that an innkeeper's son and butcher may vise to be a champion of England, a leader of the Corinthians and a member of Parliament without disgracthe fine, old mime of gentleman." How John Oully kept his word and became the champion of England, the owner of a racehorse that won the Derby, a colliery proprietor and M.P. for Pontefract in the first Parliament that met after the Reform Bill was carried, forms one of the most remarkable romances in the anne.ls of the old prize-ring. Jem Belcher Back in Bristol. Jem Belcher had won renown in the ring at 17 and had gone to London to become champion of Knghind. I he London mail brought news of his triumphs and sometimes he came back by stage eoadi to spend a week or two at Bristol. A line 10-do they made about Jem Belcher's homecoming and innkeeper Gully had his pewter brightened up for the occasion. Belcher, who was only two years older than Jack Ciully, put the mufflers on for the entertainment of the company with his particular pal, Hen Pearce. He already had some big prize-fights to his credit, havinp beaten Britton at the age of 17 and Pnddington Jones a year later. He was in training now for a fight with one of the cleverest pugilists in the London ring, Jack Bartholomew by name, and would have to beat him to have any claim on- the championship. But none of the Briatolians doubted their " pet" would carry off the champion's belt. Jem Belcher's presence brought hundreds of visitors to the inn. He was a slim lad of sft 11 in, with another halfinch to grow, and his weight was well under the 12st he reached later on. But be bad a style of boxing all his own. being a born fighter, whose ringcraft seemed to be a naturally developed sixth sense. Although much shorter, the " Game Chicken" was magnificently built, and I the Bristolians might well be proud of the two young fellows who stood on the springy turf for a friendly mill one sura- [ mer morning in 171 M). : Three Coming Champions. ■Belcher won. but Hen Pearce did him- j self credit, and was hailed as the next j ! best lad in Bristol. He would not have 1 it though. "There's Jack Gully to have a turn first." he said. " They're more of a ' size and you'll see him stand up better '' to Jem Belcher than I did." Flushed with pride, but not in any degree flustered by the honour accorded [ him, young CJully nut the gloves on. ■ He fought Jem Belcher aggressively, [ and took his punishment smilinelv. He could not beat the Bristol champion, but 1 he gave him some hard work to do. At 5 the end of the bout his friends fathered [ round him, cheering him and clapping him on the lineV. " What did I tell you ? " Hen Pearcp cried. "Ho hnxed better than T did." f "I know hotter than that." Jack Onllv i on id. " Ask Jem Belcher which of us is , lli« l'e*t man." , BeVber hiu<"led and put his hand on Pearee's shoulder. A Hush wont round at this free and easy disposal of the championship, which was not yet won. Jem Belcher's fiaht with Jnck Tlnriholomew, which took place the following Auarust ended in a i draw, and was a bit of a set-Tiaek for : the Bristol boy. But he made un for it - by beating Bartholomew decisively on their second meetincr. May 15, ISOO. At 1 Christmas time in the same year he l>eat. 1 Bourke. and became champion of Eng- • land at the cerlv aqre of twenty-one. . Twice in ISO 2 Belcher repeated his vietonr over Bourke. Then came, thn t fatal game of rackets with a gentleman named Seymour, which ruined Jem

cither's future. At the height of his f\ ime, when hr was barely twenty-two \J ears of age, .lem Belcher's left eve was rcidentally destroyed by tlie smashing low of a'rarkpt ball, and his brilliant p ireer in the prize-ring abruptly terniintpd although later on ho fought, losing ghts with his own nominee and Tom ribb, £ The Chicken Becomes Champion. "When the London Timil rami , into Bristol a few clays later it rarried a ?tter from .7cm Belcher to Hen I'earcc, sking him to conic to London at once. Vhen he readied Belcher's lodging, Jem, nth a shade and bandage over his rye, xplained what had happened. "I'm done or in tho ring. Hen." he said, "but I'm etermined that none hut a Bristol lad hall step into my shors. That's why fr 'ye 6ent for you to be champion of m England." The next day tho '"Game Chicken" P roni Bristol was introduced to the N ..ondon Fancy with Jem Belcher's hall- N nark of approval. He showed such ptitudo with the gloves that he 6oon N iad a backing, and one midnight he was w mocked up at his lodgings to fight L 'oe Berks, Jem Belcher's old opponent. They fought by candlelight in a room if tho One Tun tavern in Jerwyii Street, foe Berks claimed the championship in a ■ase Belcher declined it, and being the T )est knqwn bruiser in England he was o lager to finish off Belcher's Bristol boy. si •"lushed with drink he set about making ihort work of Hen Pearce, but to every>ody's amazement the young Bpetolian urned Joe Berks into a chopping-bloek md battered him so unmercifully that he flow of claret spoilt the white waistoats of the Corinthians assembled at he back of the candles. They were, lowcver, so pleased by the "Game Jhiekon's" performance that he was jacked to beat Berks in the roped arena, he Btakes being 100 guineas a side, l'hey met on Putney Common, January !3, ISO 4, and Joe Berks' claim to the :hampionship was finally disposed of in i hard battle which lasted 77 minutes. Jem Belcher's Bristol protegu now be•ame the pet of the Fancy and within i few months he had knocked out two , >t the strongest and heaviest bruisers * ia the ring. About this time Hen Pearce heard visually that his boyhood's friend. John t iully, "had come up to London to make c liiK fortune and landed in the Marsholsea v } (irisoii for debt. He forthwith went to see him and not j :inly obtained his release, but spread his j fistic fame abroad, (iully iijdield it with tho gloves. Although Gully was practic- j aily unknown it was conceded that on his showing before the Corinthians and upon the recommendation of the "Game thicken" he was the best man obtainable and they met on October 8, 1805, in a Sussex ring for the championship. . The "Game Chicken" stood only oft ' 94in and sealed 12.7, but he was a model for a sculptor in build and to have "a (heist like the Chickens became pro- . verbial. Gully nearly touched the Oft ' notch and weighed 14st. The two old friends shook hands smilingly and then ' the light of hattle hardened in their eves. Jt was one of the most magnificent battles ever fought; in fact it lives aa a classic of the old prize-ring. The first four rounds were all in favour of I'earce. Then to everybody's amazement Gully knocked the "Game Chicken" clean off his pins. lie was knocked down himself in the next round, but recovered ' and put up a tremendous light. There ' never was such a light for excitement. Nobody knew who would win. Kingsiders wept and raged when one or the other was down. London roughs climbed drays and coaches to see better and ' mixed unnoticed with the aristocratic Corinthians. Shouts and cheers of encouragement were mingled with moans and even sobs of poignant distress. John Gully that day worked his supporters up to a fury of enthusiasm. I'Yoin the 17th to the 28th round the battle seemed to be his. But dazed, buttered and staggering, the "Game Chicken" was saved by hia very gameness and superiur knowledge of the ring. In the 20th round Gully, off his guard for a moment, gave Pearce his opportunity. The result was a knock-down blow that turned the tables. But Gully would not give in and he held out until the <i4th round when his friends threw up the sponge for him. The "Chicken" held out his hand. "Jack Gully," he said, "you're a good "un and the only man who's stood up to mc." Two swollen hands with broken knuckles met in a cementing grasp of i friendship. The fight lasted 1 hour 10 minutes, and never was a champion so nearly deprived of his honours as Hen Pearce by his old friend. After that he had to defend the title against his patron Jem Belcher, who vainly imagined he could come back. After tliis light the "Game Chicken's" health began to fail. IJe retired from the ring and died some few years later at the Coach and Horses, St. Martin's Lane—Ben CaunVs house in later years. It may be mentioned that one of the men whom Pearee defeated was a pugilist named Blythe, of Notts, who put up a good fight against him. Champion of England. John Gully's great ambition was realised on the retirement of Pearce, for he was acclaimed champion of England. At the time he kept the Plough Lin, Carey Street, Lincolns Inn Fields, ' and he was eoou called on to defend his title against a gigantic Lancashire bruiser named Gregson, who stood about Oft 2in and was possessed of prodigious strength. He knocked Gregson out in the 36th round, however, and at their second meeting beat him thoroughly under an hour. The future career of John Gully, exehampion of England, was remarkable and romantic in the extreme. During his tenancy of the Plough, lie followed the Turf and displayed as much skill ! and judgment at Tattersall's as he did in the prize ring. His knowledge of racing matters was seldom at fault and he amassed a sufficient fortune to become the purchaser of Ware Park, Hertfordshire, ijot far distant from the scene of his last prize-fight. The county , families were sporting in the good old days. John Gully found ready admittance into hunting and sporting circles and became one of the landed gentry. He took to horse breeding, became the owner of a racing stud and one of his horses won the Derby in the late 'twenties. He was returned to Parliament as M.P. for Poiuefraet in 1832. Hid business undertakings were as successful as his turf speculations, and he j acquired extensive colliery interests. I Mr. Gully died at Durham on March 5, 18G3. in his SOth year.