Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 57

Minneapolis Tribune Nov. 9, 1978 Dick Cullum Tunney Continued from page ID but their postflght careers followed sharply diverging routes. Dempsey, the beetle-browed, rough and tumble "Manassa Mauler," remained close to boxing and the sports world as owner of a popular Broadway restaurant. Tunney, "Gentleman Gene," married the socially prominent Polly Lauder, became a successful businessman and divided his time between homes in Connecticut and Arizona. One of his sons, John, became a U.S.

senator from California. Dempsey never subscribed to the contention that he had been robbed in their second fight, Sept. 22, 1927, when Dempsey floored Tunney in the seventh round but, in confusion, delayed going to a neutral corner, allowing Tunney to get a 14-second "long count." With great effort, Tunney regained his feet at the count of nine, and gave a superb exhibition of defensive boxing to survive the round. He came out strong in the eighth, sending Dempsey to the canvas with a right to the jaw, and remained in control until the end. "He was a very impressive fighter," Dempsey said in his biography, co-authored with daughter Barbara Pia-telll, "quick and smart.

Gene was a far better boxer than I expected." United Press International Gene Tunney, right, with Jack Dempsey In 1960. Tarkenton, other injured Vikings expected to play The Minnesosta Vikings came out of the Detroit game without crippling Injury but when the troops gathered for the week's first practice Wednesday, Fran Tarkenton was still talking through stitched lips and a couple of players didn't work out. Tarkenton, who cracked three teeth 3D Ch. 11 will end Stars telecasts WTCN, Channel 11, will not telecast Minnesota North Stars games after March 5 when the station becomes affiliated with NBC. Don Swartz the president of United Television, the parent company for KMSP, Channel 9, said his station is interested in picking up the telecasts.

Bob Fransen, vice president and general manager at Channel 11, said his station also had discussed dropping Minnesota Twins telecasts, but that no decision had been reached. Channel 11 televises 50 Twins games each year and the telecasts provide a sizable portion of Twins income. Swartz said his station also would' be interested In picking up the Twins telecasts. He said the station would have, or could obtain, the necessary equipment to televise the games, even though KMSP will become an independent March 5. Fransen said Midwest Federal, a sponsor of the Twins games, had broached the possibility that Twins games be shifted to Channel 9.

"The reason being," Fransen said, "that an independent could probably put together a somewhat better schedule than a network affiliate because they have a little more flexibility in their scheduling." The North Stars are scheduled to televise 25 games this season, five of them after March 5. North Stars President John Karr said the telecasts did not provide a large part of team Income. But he said it was Important to get.the games on television to build interest among fans. Swartz also said that Channel 9 had agreed to televise the state boys and girls basketball tournaments for the next two years. He said rights to the state hockey tournament were owned by KSTP, Channel 5.

Fransen said Channel 11 would carry University of Minnesota basketball games this year. Channel 11 joins NBC and Channel 9 becomes an independent March 5 as part of a three-station shuffle in the Twin Cities. KSTP, formerly an NBC affiliate, joins ABC. WCCO remains affiliated with CBS. son, and local promoters Jack Reddy in St.

Paul and Mike Collins in Minneapolis. Tunney's second fight with Dempsey in Soldier Field, Chicago, in 1927 was the first heavyweight championship that I saw. I had to tip a cop 10 to clear my press row seat which had been taken by a minor Chicago mobster. But then I was so close that I could have touched Tunney while he lay against the ropes at the start of the "14-count." There had been rumors in Chicago that the Capone mob had its referee in Dempsey's behalf. But Warren Brown, a Chicago sports editor, threatened to "blow the commission out of the water" unless It substituted an unbiased referee.

Dave Barry was chosen. This was the first important fight in which a fighter scoring a knockdown had to go to a neutral corner. Dempsey had stood over a downed opponent previously. He did so again. By the time Barry had persuaded Dempsey to go to a corner several seconds had elapsed.

Then, instead of picking up the count from the time keeper, Barry started a 10-count. Thus the controversy, which continues to this day. In his roadwork, Tunney had always turned and run a hard 100 yards backward in every few hundred yards of running, shadow boxing as he ran. Because of this he easily retreated from Dempsey's attack and survived the round. It is not always remembered that Tunney started the next round with a right-hand punch that knocked Dempsey down hard.

Tunney finished the fight by clearly outboxing Dempsey. Through the 10th and last round Bill Duffy, Dempsey's chief second, shouted, "This is a million-dollar round, Jack." But Dempsey couldn't rally. If it had been a 15-round fight as is now required, Dempsey could not have survived. Dick Cullum, whose column appears Thursdays, is a retired Minneapolis Tribune sports writer. The death of Gene Tunney must stir the memories of older boxing fans in this area.

Tunney is generally regarded as one of the world's five great champions. His two decisions over aging Jack Dempsey contributed to this, but there were other reasons. He is identified with the Twin Cities because of some important fights here. His knockout of pretty good Bartley Madden In the Minneapolis Arena and a victory over Johnny Rlsko in Cleveland were the two fights that qualified him for his unexpected victory over Dempsey for the championship. Tunney first came to prominence by winning the AEF light heavyweight championship.

He later won the American light heavyweight championship by defeating Battling Le-vinsky, but he lost it to Harry Greb. Tunney was beaten severely, but he took most of a year off to condition himself in his determination to even that score. Ten months later he defeated the great Greb, then he outpointed Greb again in Cleveland. He had bis fourth fight with Greb in the St. Paul Auditorium.

After losing that fight Greb said, "That's enough. I'll never fight that guy again." After that fight Tunney knocked out St. Paul's Tommy Gibbons in New York. Earlier Tunney had outpointed clever Jimmy Delaney in St Paul. By the time Tunney fought Madden in Minneapolis he had become a heavyweight.

He weighed 189 pounds when he beat Dempsey. New York newspapers tried to make a scandal of the Tunney-Madden fight. "Why would they have taken that important fight to Minneapolis unless Tunney's victory had been arranged?" they said. But this was not a dive. As Madden lay on the canvas his legs quivered; goose pimples broke out over his body.

He col-, lapsed again on the way to his dress- ingroom. Tunney's several appearances in the Twin Cities were due to the friendship between his manager, Billy Gib caps and took 60 stitches In the mouth Sunday after he was hit by Detroit's Dave Pureifory, was injured by the face mask of his own helmet "Quarterbacks are always talking and they wear their chinstraps real loose," Bud Grant said. "The force of the hit drove Tarkenton's face bar into his mouth. He probably had a loose chin strap." Grant said that Tarkenton will have most of his stitches removed today. Tarkenton did not practice with the team yesterday but he is expected to work out today.

"Tarkenton feels fine," said offensive Coach Jerry Burns, "but it was one of the quietest film sessions we've had in a long time. I like it better when Francis is talking." Punt returner Kevin Miller was absent yesterday, still nursing a char- ley horse suffered against the Lions. Jim Marshall and Chuck Foreman had the flu and Sammy Johnson, who practiced, favored a slightly sprained ankle. All of the injured players are expected to play Sunday against the Chicago Bears in a 1 p.m. game at Metropolitan Stadium.

That game originally was scheduled for a 3 p.m. start. Beattie, Folstad hurt; Nov. 16 bouts delayed Tunney always insisted that he was not dazed by the Dempsey blow and could have risen at the count of two. Tunney retired undefeated as champion just two years, and two bouts, after taking the championship from Dempsey.

His retirement at age 30 stunned the boxing world. But the champion, who had won $2 million, had no regrets. In contrast to other fighters whose earnings slipped away, Tunney managed to hold onto much of his winnings and enjoyed a later career as a successful executive and officer of several corporations and banks. In addition to his sen John, Tunney is survived also by his wife, Polly; two other sons, Gene L. and Jonathon R.

Tunney, and a daughter, Joan Tunney Cook. Tunney, who earned $990,445 for his first bout with Dempsey, collected his first paycheck of $5 as an office boy in New York. Educated only in the public schools, he rose to an eminence that saw him lecture on Shakespeare at Yale. Tunney was born in New York City on May 25, 1898, one of five children. His family moved to Greenwich Village when he was 3 months old.

There Gene attended school until he was 16, when he went to work. In his leisure he engaged in a variety of athletic activities but showed a preference for boxing. Tunney fought twice professionally as a middleweight before joining the U. S. Marines in 1917.

During his service in France, he participated in boxing programs, showing a skill and strength that enabled him to rise to the light-heavyweight championship of the American Expeditionary Force in 1918. After returning home, he resumed his professional career, and in 1922 he captured the light-heavyweight championship of the United States from Battling Levinsky. But he lost the title the same year to Harry Greb in a one-sided 15-rounder. It was the only setback ever experienced by Tunney in a professional ring career of 65 fights. The defeat by Greb was only a temporary setback, however, and Tunney soon fought Greb again, this time winning easily.

After a 15-round defeat of Georges Carpentier on July 24, 1924, and a 12-round knockout of Tommy Gibbons on June 5, 1925, Tunney emerged as one of the challengers for Dempsey's heavyweight crown. A title fight was arranged for Sept. 23, 1926, in Philadelphia, and turned out to be one of the most successful promotions in boxing's history. A crowd of 118,736 paid a total of $1,895,723 to watch the methodical Tunney win a decisive victory over the defending champion, who was the 4-to-l favorite. A rematch was widely demanded by fight fans who refused to believe Dempsey could be defeated.

It was arranged by promoter Tex Rickard and held in Chicago. This fight, Sept. 22, 1927, was even more successful than the Philadelphia one. It drew a crowd of 102,450 and receipts of $2,658,660 at Soldier Field. Its climax was the matter of the "long count" For this fight Tunney was paid $990,445.

He engaged in only one more contest after that, defeating Tom Heeney of New Zealand at Yankee Stadium on July 26, 1928. Tunney, the champion, enjoyed little popularity among fight fans. He was a boxer in a time when Dempsey-like punchers were idolized. After his retirement the fans resented his blandness, his literacy, his wealth and his decision to retire undefeated. Tunney had a genuine love for learning, and read extensively.

He was a Shakespeare enthusiast in his fighting days, and while he held the title he lectured on the Bard before 200 students at Yale, where he was made an honorary member of Pundits, the society of wits and scholars. Jack Sharkey, another former heavyweight champion (he won the title in 1932), said Tunney's death "makes me think that it's too bad. We all get along and the Good Lord takes us." Walters leads media cagers Charley Walters of the St. Paul Dispatch-Pioneer Press sank 12 of 20 field goal attempts and scored 25 points to lead the Media All-Stars over the University of Minnesota women's basketball team 59-56 Wednesday night at Williams Arena. Chris Durand scored 17 for the Gophers.

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sMimrltanttfwt Tfl ST. PAUL tintst much dissatisfaction with the present board, promises some drastic changes. Dick Cullum is a retired Minneapolis Tribune sportswriter. Austin tops Junior Stars 9-3 The Austin Mavericks beat visiting Bloomington 9-3 Wednesday night their third straight victory over the Junior Stars. The victory gives the Mavericks the lead in the Central Conference of the United States Hockey League with a 7-3-1 record.

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Central Arkansas 7-1-0 193 4. Concord 8-1-0 171 5. Cross -l-0 154 4. Elon 7-1-1 149 7. Cameron, Okla 7-1-1 in St 7-1-1 102 (tie) Grand Valley St 7-2-0 93 Southwest Texas 6-2-0 3 Other 17.

Claire 7-2-0 25 DIVISION II 1. Llnfield 1-0-0 237 J. Carrol, Mont. 1-0-0 20S I 9-1-0 202 4. Northwestern, Iowa 9-1-0 176 4.

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fi ustavus Adolphus 7-2-0 8 1979 CUTLASS OEUtSQt WAGON By Dick Cullum A second discouraging mishap has compelled promoter Ben Sternberg to postpone a boxing card planned for Metropolitan Sports Center Nov. 16. A small broken bone in his foot suffered during training last week will prevent heavyweight Jim Beat-tie from boxing heavyweight Duane Bobick on that date. Tuesday Rick Folstad dislocated a thumb while sparring, necessitating a delay of his fight with junior welterweight Johnny Copeland. Copeland had outfought Folstad earlier, but a rematch had been eagerly awaited.

Sternberg plans to present the same main event at a later date, depending on the recovery of the two injured boxers. Sternberg said, "Beattie's injury is mending rapidly. He may be able to resume training in a little while and be fully ready sometime in December. It is too early to decide the extent of Folstad's injury. His thumb is in a cast.

We'll know more about that in a few days." Sternberg expressed disappointment at the delay, saying "We have been having a great ticket sale. It looks as if we had a blockbuster." There is another new bearing on boxing. The election of Republican Al Quie as Governor threatens the membership of the DFL board of boxing. State law holds that boxing commissioners are chosen "at the pleasure of the Governor." When Quie has time from more urgent duties he will be strongly pressed to reorganize the boxing board. It now holds members who have been active in DFL politics.

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