Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
This is Jimmy Powers, and happy to be coming your
way with another Grantlan Rice story.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Of Hello again.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
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 Tunny, the
man whose entire dedication in life was spelled in two words,
Jack Dempsey. Gene Tunney typified by Granny as a study
in concentration and dedication. So, with a salute to the
(02:03):
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 Tunny. The New York Giants were playing at home,
(02:23):
and Heywood Bruin and I were in the press box
at the Polo grounds. Walder Trumbull, sports editor of the
Old New York Post, appeared in our midst with a
young fellow in tow his name, Gene Tunney. Brune made
quite a fuss over the handsome youngster. What are your plans,
I asked, My plans are all Dempsey? He replied, very interesting,
(02:45):
I said, but why not sharpen your artillery on Harry Grebb,
Carpenter or Tom Gibbons before you start hollering for Dempsey.
I suppose I'll have to beat them on the way up,
Tunney said, but Dempsey is the one I want. He
said no more and turned my attention back to McGraw's giants.
I recall Tunny later volunteered that he was twenty three
(03:06):
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 nineteen twenty two, Tonny defeated
Battling Levinsky for the Light Heavy Crown, but lost it
the following May to Harry Grebb. It was the bloodiest
(03:27):
fight I ever covered a great fighter or brawler. Greb
handled Tunny like a butcher hammering a stake. Less than
a year later they fought again, and Tunny won the
decision in fifteen rounds. In nineteen twenty four, he knocked
out Carpenter in fifteen rounds and dispatched Tom Gibbons in
twelve rounds. In twenty five, after defeating a string of
(03:48):
other tough babies like Jimmy Delaney, Martin Burke, Chuck Wiggins,
Tommy Lochran, and Johnny Riscoe, Tunny again camped on Dempsey's trail.
That winter in Florida. I played GoF with Tommy, Armor
and Tunny. Jean 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 Armer.
(04:15):
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, Jean 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 A c where Harry Grayson,
now nya's sports editor, got to know him. A next
(04:38):
marine himself. Harry spent a lot of time with Tunny,
and the more Harry saw, the more he liked Jean.
Six months before the fight, Grayson picked Tunny to beat Dempsey.
He never recanted. Matter of fact, Grayson was the only
fight rider in America to go overboard on Tunny. We
all thought he was crazy, but that didn't FaZe Harry
(04:58):
a bit. Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia was selected as the site
of that first Dempsey Tunny fight. The date September third,
nineteen twenty six. During those Roaring twenties, fight camps were colorful,
with a heavyweights camp handling more daily paying customers than
the average TV fight of to day. The Tribune had
Bill mcgeean, Fred Hawthorne, and Harry Cross beating out copy
(05:21):
stethoscoping Tunney's scholarly breathing and blue printing Dempsey's primeval snorting.
Tunny went into heavy training at Speculator, New York, about
forty 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 badar Field, well, he
(05:45):
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 Kerns. Two
days before the fight, the sports section of the Sunday
Tribune went ten solid pages. The Tribune's owner, publisher Ogden Reed,
(06:08):
was amazed. As the paper was going to bed Saturday night,
Reid 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
one hundred and thirty five thousand contributing to the first
two million dollar gait, Gene Tunney, a superbly cool and
(06:30):
efficient boxer, marched out of his corner at the opening
bell and hipped 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 tenth and
final round it was a deluge. At the end, Dempsey's
face was a bloody, horribly beaten mask that Tunny had
(06:50):
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 were going for Tunny that night
against a man who, despite a rocky training period, had
been installed a four and five to one favorite. Tunny
at twenty nine had arrived on his toes. Dempsey, at
(07:11):
thirty one, departed flat footed. Dempsey had never been knocked out,
but had the fight gone fifteen 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
(07:34):
tear him down and bury him. I had intended to
give Tunny 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 ex
(07:55):
lightweight champion back at the hotel. A raging sore throat
and too little sleep had me in bad shape. I'll
file your overnight, said Lardner. Leonard, a Dempsey man told
Lardner that he suspected the fix had been in for
Tunny to win. The story appearing next day under my
byline blistered the hide off. Both Tunny and Dempsey neither
(08:18):
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
Tunny over Jack Dempsey in their first fight, Harry Grayson.
It's nice to see you.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Great to be here, Jimmy, especially because it had to
do with Grant.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And Rice's and he was quite a guy, wasn't he.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Harry.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
You're the sports center of Anya. How many papers do
you service?
Speaker 3 (08:44):
We serviced about eight hundred, Jimmy.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
The United States and Canada, Philippine, South America, Benzuweela.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Good Harry. You heard from Granny's narrative on Tunny that
you were the only major fight writer in America who
liked Tunny sufficient to pick him against Dempsey in their
Philadelphia fight. What were the circumstances of that pick.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Well, Jimmy was this way in the first place. Dempsey
hadn't boxed in three years. I was very close to
Jack and still am and Tunny came to Los Angeless
early in nineteen twenty six to make a picture.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
Billy Gibson was with him.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
And the first time I ever saw Jeene Tunny was
in the gymnasium of the Hollywood Athletic Club.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
And I liked his looks. I liked his chin. I
watched him work out.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
He didn't box his 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 it Tunny,
the better I liked him. I figured, here's a fellow
licked Harry Greb, and anybody can lick Greb can lick anybody.
And then the more I saw him in workouts, I
(09:49):
liked the color of his skin. I liked the way
he moved, I liked his jab. I knew he was
a dead game guy. He couldn't gone that first fifteen
rounds with Greb, and I just yep, piling this on
until I finally picked him. I remember my lead tonight,
Gene Tunney will win every second of every minute of
every round from Jack Dempsey and might knock him out
(10:11):
in the first round, and he nearly.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Did did Harry Grayson. You've seen a lot of fighters
through the years. You must have had some pets in
addition to Tunney, just as Grant Rice did and his
great book, The Tumult and the Shouting. Who were some
of your favorite fighters and other divisions besides heavyweight?
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Perhaps my favorite fighters down through the years were Benny Leonard,
who was the greatest manufactured fighter I ever saw.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
I think another favorite mine was Ace Hudkins. I always
admired his courage. You 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.
Greb was a great fighter. I thought one of the
greatest fighters I ever saw was Greb and Walker. Ay,
but Tell must have been a great fighter.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Well that's not only your opinion, it's his as well.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
The greatest.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
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 talking at Madison Square Garden about Jim Driskell,
who must have been a wonder too. And we talked
these fight managers, and there was a fellow from England
here and they talked to Jim Driscoll all afternoon and
waiting in the evening, and everybody agreed that Jim Driscoll
(11:26):
was the greatest fighter they'd ever seen. And just about
that time in walked old Charlie Harvey, who managed Jim Driscoll.
And that's 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, the greatest
fighter I ever saw, beyond any question of doubt was
able to.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Tell, oh wonderful. Well, thank you very much, Harry Grayson.
And that's it for today, folks, until next time. This
said Jimmy Powers, transcribed saying ostill of Easter
This is Jimmy Powers, and happy to be coming your
way with another Grantlan Rice story.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Of Hello again.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
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 Tunny, the
man whose entire dedication in life was spelled in two words,
Jack Dempsey. Gene Tunney typified by Granny as a study
in concentration and dedication. So, with a salute to the
(02:03):
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 Tunny. The New York Giants were playing at home,
(02:23):
and Heywood Bruin and I were in the press box
at the Polo grounds. Walder Trumbull, sports editor of the
Old New York Post, appeared in our midst with a
young fellow in tow his name, Gene Tunney. Brune made
quite a fuss over the handsome youngster. What are your plans,
I asked, My plans are all Dempsey? He replied, very interesting,
(02:45):
I said, but why not sharpen your artillery on Harry Grebb,
Carpenter or Tom Gibbons before you start hollering for Dempsey.
I suppose I'll have to beat them on the way up,
Tunney said, but Dempsey is the one I want. He
said no more and turned my attention back to McGraw's giants.
I recall Tunny later volunteered that he was twenty three
(03:06):
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 nineteen twenty two, Tonny defeated
Battling Levinsky for the Light Heavy Crown, but lost it
the following May to Harry Grebb. It was the bloodiest
(03:27):
fight I ever covered a great fighter or brawler. Greb
handled Tunny like a butcher hammering a stake. Less than
a year later they fought again, and Tunny won the
decision in fifteen rounds. In nineteen twenty four, he knocked
out Carpenter in fifteen rounds and dispatched Tom Gibbons in
twelve rounds. In twenty five, after defeating a string of
(03:48):
other tough babies like Jimmy Delaney, Martin Burke, Chuck Wiggins,
Tommy Lochran, and Johnny Riscoe, Tunny again camped on Dempsey's trail.
That winter in Florida. I played GoF with Tommy, Armor
and Tunny. Jean 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 Armer.
(04:15):
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, Jean 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 A c where Harry Grayson,
now nya's sports editor, got to know him. A next
(04:38):
marine himself. Harry spent a lot of time with Tunny,
and the more Harry saw, the more he liked Jean.
Six months before the fight, Grayson picked Tunny to beat Dempsey.
He never recanted. Matter of fact, Grayson was the only
fight rider in America to go overboard on Tunny. We
all thought he was crazy, but that didn't FaZe Harry
(04:58):
a bit. Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia was selected as the site
of that first Dempsey Tunny fight. The date September third,
nineteen twenty six. During those Roaring twenties, fight camps were colorful,
with a heavyweights camp handling more daily paying customers than
the average TV fight of to day. The Tribune had
Bill mcgeean, Fred Hawthorne, and Harry Cross beating out copy
(05:21):
stethoscoping Tunney's scholarly breathing and blue printing Dempsey's primeval snorting.
Tunny went into heavy training at Speculator, New York, about
forty 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 badar Field, well, he
(05:45):
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 Kerns. Two
days before the fight, the sports section of the Sunday
Tribune went ten solid pages. The Tribune's owner, publisher Ogden Reed,
(06:08):
was amazed. As the paper was going to bed Saturday night,
Reid 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
one hundred and thirty five thousand contributing to the first
two million dollar gait, Gene Tunney, a superbly cool and
(06:30):
efficient boxer, marched out of his corner at the opening
bell and hipped 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 tenth and
final round it was a deluge. At the end, Dempsey's
face was a bloody, horribly beaten mask that Tunny had
(06:50):
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 were going for Tunny that night
against a man who, despite a rocky training period, had
been installed a four and five to one favorite. Tunny
at twenty nine had arrived on his toes. Dempsey, at
(07:11):
thirty one, departed flat footed. Dempsey had never been knocked out,
but had the fight gone fifteen 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
(07:34):
tear him down and bury him. I had intended to
give Tunny 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 ex
(07:55):
lightweight champion back at the hotel. A raging sore throat
and too little sleep had me in bad shape. I'll
file your overnight, said Lardner. Leonard, a Dempsey man told
Lardner that he suspected the fix had been in for
Tunny to win. The story appearing next day under my
byline blistered the hide off. Both Tunny and Dempsey neither
(08:18):
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
Tunny over Jack Dempsey in their first fight, Harry Grayson.
It's nice to see you.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Great to be here, Jimmy, especially because it had to
do with Grant.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And Rice's and he was quite a guy, wasn't he.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Harry.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
You're the sports center of Anya. How many papers do
you service?
Speaker 3 (08:44):
We serviced about eight hundred, Jimmy.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
The United States and Canada, Philippine, South America, Benzuweela.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Good Harry. You heard from Granny's narrative on Tunny that
you were the only major fight writer in America who
liked Tunny sufficient to pick him against Dempsey in their
Philadelphia fight. What were the circumstances of that pick.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Well, Jimmy was this way in the first place. Dempsey
hadn't boxed in three years. I was very close to
Jack and still am and Tunny came to Los Angeless
early in nineteen twenty six to make a picture.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
Billy Gibson was with him.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
And the first time I ever saw Jeene Tunny was
in the gymnasium of the Hollywood Athletic Club.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
And I liked his looks. I liked his chin. I
watched him work out.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
He didn't box his 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 it Tunny,
the better I liked him. I figured, here's a fellow
licked Harry Greb, and anybody can lick Greb can lick anybody.
And then the more I saw him in workouts, I
(09:49):
liked the color of his skin. I liked the way
he moved, I liked his jab. I knew he was
a dead game guy. He couldn't gone that first fifteen
rounds with Greb, and I just yep, piling this on
until I finally picked him. I remember my lead tonight,
Gene Tunney will win every second of every minute of
every round from Jack Dempsey and might knock him out
(10:11):
in the first round, and he nearly.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
Did did Harry Grayson. You've seen a lot of fighters
through the years. You must have had some pets in
addition to Tunney, just as Grant Rice did and his
great book, The Tumult and the Shouting. Who were some
of your favorite fighters and other divisions besides heavyweight?
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Perhaps my favorite fighters down through the years were Benny Leonard,
who was the greatest manufactured fighter I ever saw.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
I think another favorite mine was Ace Hudkins. I always
admired his courage. You 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.
Greb was a great fighter. I thought one of the
greatest fighters I ever saw was Greb and Walker. Ay,
but Tell must have been a great fighter.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Well that's not only your opinion, it's his as well.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
The greatest.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
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 talking at Madison Square Garden about Jim Driskell,
who must have been a wonder too. And we talked
these fight managers, and there was a fellow from England
here and they talked to Jim Driscoll all afternoon and
waiting in the evening, and everybody agreed that Jim Driscoll
(11:26):
was the greatest fighter they'd ever seen. And just about
that time in walked old Charlie Harvey, who managed Jim Driscoll.
And that's 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, the greatest
fighter I ever saw, beyond any question of doubt was
able to.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Tell, oh wonderful. Well, thank you very much, Harry Grayson.
And that's it for today, folks, until next time. This
said Jimmy Powers, transcribed saying ostill of Easter
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.