IF YOU BUILD IT BIG, THEY WILL COME
Jack Petersen (’34) and Jock McAvoy (’39) drew 90,000 apiece (though some sources say 70,000 for the Petersen bout). In 1934, Schmeling fought another German heavyweight, Walter Neusel, at an outdoor “dirt track” in northern Hamburg. Though Nazi propagandists claimed the fight drew more than 100,000 fans, historians believe 75,000 is a more accurate figure. And long before Primo Carnera won the heavyweight championship, the Italian Goliath headlined hugely attended stadium bouts in Spain and England. We can’t get out of a story like this without mentioning the August 1941 contest between Tony Zale and Billy Pryor. This otherwise unremarkable bout sits in the Guinness Book of World Records for drawing a jaw-dropping 135,132, the largest-ever attendance for a fight. The huge turnout was down to one factor – free admission. The event was part of a program helmed by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, a group responsible for making Mother’s Day a national holiday and advocating for the 1935 Social Security Act. The Eagles were holding their annual convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and, to draw interest, proposed a boxing card in Juneau Park as part of the entertainment. Zale, the middleweight champion, agreed to take part if it was a non-title affair; he didn’t want to train too hard or make weight for a glorified charity bout. After a few opponents dropped out, Pryor, a journeyman, agreed to face Zale a mere eight days before the fight date. Jack Dempsey signed on as the referee, while the Pabst Brewing Company covered the costs. On a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, Zale toyed with Pryor before knocking him out in the ninth. Described by the Associated Press as “a slow-moving battle which saw Pryor hit the floor nine times,” it was
Jack Dempsey dethroned champion Jess Willard in Toledo, Ohio.
44 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker