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ROME NEW YORK DAILY SENTINEL
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1918

Rome New York Daily Sentinel newspaper dated February 2, 1918. This newspaper has a front page report on the death of boxing great John L. Sullivan. This newspaper was published the very same day of his death. Most papers did not get the news in time and had the report on the sports page the next day. The front page headine reads, "JOHN L SULLIVAN 59, DIES SUDDENLY." The article gives lots of details into the life and death of the champion boxer.

JOHN L. SULLIVAN,
59, DIES SUDDENLY

FOR TEN YEARS DOMINATED
SPORTING CIRCLES

KNOCKED OUT TWO HUNDRED
Said to Have Made Two Millions in
Fighting and Spent One in Drinks
For Himself and Admirers - Last
Years Spent Fighting For Prohibi-
bition - Defeated By Corbett.

_ Abington, Mass., Feb. 2 - John L.
_ Sullivan, formerly the heavyweight
champion of the United States, died
at his home here today.
_ Sullivan, who was 59 years of age,
had lived on a farm here for the last
10 years. He was taken ill with
heart trouble three weeks ago, but his
health quickly improved and he went
to Boston yesterday. This morning
he arose as usual and planned anoth-
er visit to the city, but during the
forenoon had an attack of the old
trouble, from which he failed to rally.
He died at noon.
_ Sullivan's wife died some months
ago.

Ten Years American Champion.

_ John Laurence Sullivan was one of
the most picturesque characters in
the history of prizefighting. For more
than 10 years, from the time he de-
feated Paddy Ryan in 1882, in a bare-
knuckle fight under the London
Prize Ring Rules, until he was de-
feated by James J. Corbett, in 1892,
his personality and methods of fight-
ing completely dominated sporting
circles in the United States.
_ Sullivan was the last champion of
the United States under the London
Prize Ring Rules. It was largely
through his achievements that the
championship title was made a prize
of great monetary value. In the early
days of his career, $1,000 a side was
looked on as a great sum. He received
only $53 for the fight that made him
a national charater in fisticuffs and
won him the right to challenge Paddy
Ryan for the championship.
_ His friends ranged all the way from
the ordinary 'fight fan' to many men of
social and financial distiction in the
United States, and it is said he was
on chumming terms with the late
King Edward VII of England.
_ He began his fighting career soon
after he was seventeen, when as the
"Boston Strong Boy" he took part in
amateur boxing contests in several
cities in Massachusetts

His Fight With Paddy Ryan.

_ After his nine-round fight with Pad-
dy Ryan, on the strip of greensward
on the Gulf of Mexico, the word
"knockout" was manufactured by
Billy Madden, Sullivan's trainer, to
describe the effect of his blows when
properly delivered.
_ His hardest fight was with Jake
Kilrain. It was fought near New Or-
leans and lasted for seventy-five
rounds. That was the last champion-
ship contest in the United States to
be fought with bare knuckles, under
the old rules.
_ That fight practically decided the
uselessness of trying to beat Sulli-
van by combatting him in his own
sledge hammer style. A thirty-nine
round fight with Charley Mitchell, a
wary and skillful boxer, seemed to
show fighting managers that the great
John L. might be vulnerable to a man
who could box well and stay with him
long enough to wear him down. The
opportunity to try this method on the
champion fell to James J. Corbett.
The purse was the largest ever put
up in a ring battle up to that time.
The purse was $25,000 and the stakes
$20,000.

Fighting Spirit to the End.

_ Sullivan's old fighting spirit re-
mained with him to the end. The first
fainting spell left him unconscious
for ten minutes, and when he rallied,
George M. Bush, a friend who lived
with him, was applying ice bags to
his head. Bush told the former
champion to keep quiet, that he had
sent for a doctor.
_ "I don't want any doctor," John L.
said. "I've listened to a lot of them
in my life, and I know I am all right
and can doctor myself."
_ He protested when Dr. Rann, who
had been summoned by Bush, told
him he had better go to bed for a
couple of hours. When Dr. Rann
left, Sullivan beckoned Bush.
"Is the bath room warm, George?"
he asked. "Yes." "Well that's fine.
I want to take a bath."
_ Ten minutes later he was dead.
William Kelley, a 15-year-old boy,
who had been adopted by Sullivan,
and Bush, his faithfull friends, were
with him when he passed away.

Newspaper is 17"x 21"



THE MORNING STAR
FEBRUARY 3, 1918
DEATH KNOCKS OUT JOHN L. SULLIVAN

THE OHIO STATE JOURNAL
SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 3. 1918
JOHN L. SULLIVAN TAKES LAST COUNT

THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION
FEBRUARY 3, 1918
JOHN L. SULLIVAN IS DEAD


Source: wikipedia: John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 - February 2, 1918) was recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing from February 7, 1882 to 1892, and is generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring rules.

He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts (now a part of Boston) to Irish emigrant parents, Michael Sullivan from Abbeydorney, County Kerry and the former Catherine Kelly from Athlone, County Westmeath. Sullivan was nicknamed The Boston Strongboy. As a youth he was arrested several times for participating in bouts where the sport was outlawed, and he went on exhibition tours offering people money to fight him. In 1879, he challenged anyone in America to fight him for $500, Sullivan had had won over 450 fights in his career.

In 1883 - 1884 Sullivan went on a coast-to-coast tour by train with five other boxers. It was scheduled to comprise 195 performances in 136 different cities and towns over 238 days. To help promote the tour, Sullivan announced that he would box anyone at any time during the tour under the Queensberry Rules for $250. He knocked out eleven men during the tour.

Historic boxing newspapers and articles.