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72-445: The original owner and promoter was "Cowboy" Clarence Preston Luttrall, a former journeyman heel wrestler who once fought a widely publicized boxing match, resulting from a wrestling angle, with a forty-something Jack Dempsey . It worked but Cowboy took a severe beating. Cowboy opened the office in 1949, and Eddie Graham bought into the promotion in 1961, then took over completely in 1971, because of health reasons with Cowboy. The office

144-495: A murder–suicide , leaving behind a two-year-old son, Bruce. Dempsey was called upon to identify the bodies and was emotionally affected by the incident. During a July 21, 1927, fight at Yankee Stadium , Dempsey knocked out future heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey in the seventh round. The fight was an elimination bout for a title shot against Tunney. The fight was very competitive until the end. The fight ended controversially when Sharkey claimed Dempsey had been hitting him below

216-566: A ring announcer . When Eddie Graham committed suicide in January 1985, due to a combination of personal and business problems, responsibility for the office went to Hiro Matsuda and Duke Keomuka , both of whom bought in during the 1960s. The other remaining owners were Mike Graham, Eddie's brother Skip Gossett, Dusty Rhodes and Buddy Colt . The promotion continued losing money and merged with Jim Crockett Promotions in February 1987. Most of

288-403: A boxing magazine designed to re-enact the fight have been noted as proof that Kearns' story was false. The Ring founder and editor Nat Fleischer said he had been present when Dempsey's hands were wrapped, stating, "Jack Dempsey had no loaded gloves, and no plaster of Paris over his bandages. I watched the proceedings and the only person who had anything to do with the taping of Jack's hands

360-467: A dependent wife). After the war, Dempsey spent two years in Salt Lake City , "bumming around" as he called it, before returning to the ring. Among his opponents as a rising contender were Fireman Jim Flynn , the only boxer ever to beat Dempsey by a knockout when Dempsey lost to him in the first round (although some boxing historians believe the fight was a "fix"), and Gunboat Smith , formerly

432-529: A few years ago, after serving a long period on the county court. Scott Justice, who divides his time between Huntington and Logan, was among those who greeted Mrs. Dempsey at the Huntington Hotel yesterday. He remembers the marriage of Hiram Dempsey and Cecilia Smoot, and also recalls that the site on which the town of Holden now stands was sold by Hiram Dempsey to Mr. Justice's father when the family decided to migrate westward. According to Mr. Justice,

504-568: A fight against Billy Miske in Benton Harbor , Michigan. Miske was knocked out in three rounds. Dempsey's second title defense was in December 1920 against Bill Brennan at Madison Square Garden , New York City . After 10 rounds, Brennan was ahead on points, and Dempsey's left ear was bleeding profusely. Dempsey rebounded to stop Brennan in the 12th round. Dempsey's next defending fight was against French WW I hero Georges Carpentier ,

576-525: A fighter popular on both sides of the Atlantic. The bout was promoted by Tex Rickard and George Bernard Shaw , who claimed that Carpentier was "the greatest boxer in the world". The Dempsey–Carpentier contest took place on July 2, 1921, at Boyle's Thirty Acres in Jersey City, New Jersey . It generated the first million-dollar gate in boxing history; a crowd of 91,000 watched the fight. Though it

648-406: A four-round draw. Following these wins, Dempsey racked up 10 more wins that included matches against Sudenberg and Downey, knocking out Downey in two rounds. These wins were followed with three no-decision matches, although at this point in the history of boxing, the use of judges to score a fight was often forbidden, so if a fight went the distance, it was called a draw or a no decision, depending on

720-405: A highly ranked contender who had beaten both World Champion Jess Willard and Hall of Famer Sam Langford . Dempsey beat Smith for the third time on a second-round knockout. Before he employed the long-experienced Jack Kearns as his manager, Dempsey was first managed by John J. Reisler. One year later, in 1918, Dempsey fought in 17 matches, going 15–1 with one no-decision. One of those fights

792-820: A level necessary to enhance the territory further. In May he decided to part ways with the PWF and join the World Wrestling Federation as a wrestler. Before departing, Rhodes was defeated by The Big Steel Man on May 13, 1989 for the PWF title at an event in Sarasota, FL. His final match with the company was on May 20, where he wrestled Steel Man at an event in Fort Lauderdale. The promotion closed shortly after holding its last show June 29, 1991, in Nassau, Bahamas, which saw Tyree Pride beat Steve Keirn for

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864-513: A number of deep fractures to his facial bones. This aroused suspicion that Dempsey had cheated, with some questioning how the force capable of causing such damage had been transmitted through Dempsey's knuckles without fracturing them. Other reports, however, failed to mention Willard suffered any real injuries. The New York Times ' account of the fight described severe swelling visible on one side of Willard's face, but did not mention any broken bones. A still photograph of Willard following

936-556: A short time, Dempsey was a part-time bodyguard for Thomas F. Kearns, president of The Salt Lake Tribune and son of Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns . Dempsey often fought under the pseudonym, "Kid Blackie", although during his stint in the Salt Lake City area, he went by "Young Dempsey". Much of his early career is not recorded, and stated thus, in The Ring Record Book as compiled by Nat Fleischer . He first competed as "Jack Dempsey" (by his own recollection) in

1008-539: A year later. Dempsey attempted a boxing comeback in 1940 at the age of 45, setting a match against Cowboy Luttrell on July 1. The fight resulted in Dempsey knocking Luttrell out in the second round. Dempsey won two more exhibitions with early knockouts before deciding to call off the comeback and retire for good. The Riviera del Pacifico Cultural and Convention Center in Ensenada, Baja California , Mexico, built in 1930,

1080-632: A young man, having been employed by the Gay Coal and Coke Company as late as 1913, and then went west alone to seek pugilistic fortune. He met Jack Kearns on the Pacific coast, from which point his spectacular climb to the pinnacle of the heavyweight division furnished the sport with one of its most romantic episodes." In January 1924, the Banner reported on Dempsey's trip from New York to Florida , stating that he "used to call Logan home." In August 1926,

1152-422: The Banner reported how local boxer Bear Cat Clemons sparred two rounds per day with Dempsey at Saratoga Lake, New York , remarking: "When Dempsey and Clemons face each other in the squared circle, it is Logan county versus Logan county." The Banner , in a small September 1926 item, provided more history about Dempsey's Logan County roots: "The Dempsey family at one time lived on Mud Fork and another period near

1224-738: The Irish Worker League (IWL). The IWL was a Soviet -backed Communist group founded in Dublin by Irish labour leader Jim Larkin . In September 1926, Dempsey fought the Irish American and former U.S. Marine Gene Tunney in Philadelphia , a fighter who had only lost once in his career. In spite of his record and Dempsey's inactivity, Tunney was considered the underdog against Dempsey. The match ended in an upset, with Dempsey losing his title on points in 10 rounds. When

1296-787: The live broadcast of sporting events in general, and boxing matches in particular. Dempsey is ranked sixth on The Ring magazine's list of all-time heavyweights and fourth among its Top 100 Greatest Punchers, while in 1950 the Associated Press voted him as the greatest fighter of the past 50 years. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame , and was in the previous Boxing Hall of Fame . Born in Manassa, Colorado , in 1895, he grew up in Colorado and West Virginia . The son of Mary Celia, who

1368-451: The "loaded gloves theory". In the interview, Kearns said he had informed Dempsey he had wagered his share of the purse favoring a Dempsey win with a first-round knockout. Kearns further stated he had applied plaster of Paris to the wrappings on the fighter's hands. Boxing historian J. J. Johnston said, "the films show Willard upon entering the ring walking over to Dempsey and examining his hands." That, along with an experiment conducted by

1440-551: The Aracoma Hotel. Her departure yielded an additional story: "By the time they reached Sharples Mrs. Dempsey missed a hatbox containing a $ 3500 watch, a gift from her famous son, and two valuable rings. They returned at once to Logan and after an anxious search found the missing box with contents undisturbed alongside the Washington apartments. Evidently it had fallen into the street and some passerby had placed it against

1512-534: The Carpentier and Firpo bouts, the fight brought in a record-setting $ 2 million gate. Reportedly, gangster Al Capone offered to fix the rematch in his favor, but the referee was changed to prevent that from happening. Millions around the country listened to the match by radio while hundreds of reporters covered the event. Tunney was paid a record one million dollars for the rematch. Today's equivalent in U.S. currency would be approximately $ 17,540,000.00. Dempsey

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1584-580: The Dempsey–Tunney rematch remains known as " The Long Count Fight ". Dempsey retired from boxing following the Tunney rematch, but continued doing exhibition bouts with over one hundred matches between 1930 and 1931 alone. Following retirement, Dempsey became known as a philanthropist. In June 1932, he sponsored the "Ride of Champions" bucking horse event at Reno, Nevada , with the "Dempsey Trophy" going to legendary bronc rider Pete Knight . In 1933, Dempsey

1656-566: The Firpo fight. There was pressure from the public and the media for Dempsey to defend his title against Black contender Harry Wills . Disagreement exists among boxing historians as to whether Dempsey avoided Wills, though Dempsey claimed he was willing to fight him. When he originally won the title, however, he had said he would no longer fight Black boxers. Instead of continuing to defend his title, Dempsey earned money with boxing exhibitions, product endorsements, and by appearing in films, such as

1728-646: The Giant , Jim Duggan , Butch Reed , Rick Steiner , The Freebirds , Cactus Jack , Scott Hall , Terry Allen (later more famous as Magnum T. A. ), Percy Pringle (later more famous as Paul Bearer ), Luna Vachon , Jimmy Garvin , Adrian Street , Héctor Guerrero , Chavo Guerrero Sr. , Oliver Humperdink , One Man Gang , J. J. Dillon , Gary Hart (wrestler) , Bob Roop , Mark Lewin , Dutch Mantel , Mike Graham (Eddie's son), The Sheepherders , Kevin Sullivan – whose cult-like Army of Darkness got tremendous heat from

1800-619: The Great Malenko (Larry Simon), Johnny Valentine , Hiro Matsuda , Bob Orton Sr. and later Bob Orton Jr. , Joe Scarpa (later known as Chief Jay Strongbow), Wahoo McDaniel , the Funks ( Terry and Dory Jr. ), the Briscos ( Jack and Jerry ), Buddy Colt (Ron Read), Dusty Rhodes , Blackjack Mulligan , Bruiser Brody , Kendall Windham , Barry Windham , Mike Rotunda , Lex Luger , Rick Rood (later Rick Rude ), Harley Race , André

1872-762: The Logan-Mingo line. Many relatives live in the two counties; and they as well as his former friends have taken pride in his prowess and successes. As a boy Jack and O.D. Avis, sports editor of The Banner, used to set up pins in a bowling alley on the Main street corner now occupied by the Logan garage." In June 1927, former Logan County sheriff Don Chafin traveled to New York to watch the Dempsey-Sharkey fight. The Logan Banner reported: "Mr. Chafin has attended every fight in which Dempsey has participated since he won

1944-571: The PWF Florida Championship. CWF filmed and later taped its weekly TV wrestling show at the famed Sportatorium at 106 N. Albany in Tampa, Fla., which was in reality a small television studio with seating for a live audience of about 100 people (1/40th of the seating capacity of its Dallas counterpart ), with the wrestling office and gym in the same building. Arena footage was always also used, and full arena show broadcasts began in

2016-611: The WWF). Dusty Rhodes made his debut for the company on March 4, 1989 at an event in Titusville, FL when he teamed with Steve Keirn to defeat the duo of The Big Steel Man and Dick Slaytor. A week later at the PWF Homecoming event in Tampa, FL he pinned Big Steel Man to become the first PWF Heavyweight Champion. Later that spring as the PWF began to grow Rhodes received a surprise backstage visit from Bobby Heenan , who inquired on

2088-410: The adventure film serial Daredevil Jack . Dempsey also did a lot of traveling, spending, and partying. During this time away from competitive fighting, Dempsey married actress Estelle Taylor in 1925 and fired his long-time trainer/manager Jack "Doc" Kearns. Kearns repeatedly sued Dempsey for large sums of money following his firing. In April 1924, Dempsey was appointed to an executive position in

2160-544: The balance of his personal property while his six children receive an equal share of his real estate. His last will and testament, as witnessed by Estella, John, and Hiram Dempsey, was presented to the Logan County clerk on August 10, 1875. Hiram and Celia Dempsey, parents to Jack, left West Virginia in 1887. One newspaper referred to them as "active workers" for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Dempsey

2232-479: The belt. When Sharkey turned to the referee to complain, he left himself unprotected and Dempsey crashed a left hook onto his foe's chin. Sharkey was unable to beat the ten-count. At the time of the knockout, Dempsey was leading on the scorecards. The Dempsey–Tunney rematch took place in Chicago, Illinois , on September 22, 1927 – one day less than a year after losing his title to Tunney. Generating more interest than

Championship Wrestling from Florida - Misplaced Pages Continue

2304-544: The building, presumably without knowledge or curiosity as to the nature of its contents. While Mrs. Dempsey seemed to have enjoyed her visit in West Virginia and expressed a hope that she could come back next year for a longer stay, she said she wouldn't want to live back here again because of the difference in climate. However, the people are more sociable here, she added, and are much more friendly upon first acquaintance." Because his father had difficulty finding work,

2376-415: The championship. I have had my fling with the title. I was champion for four years and I assure you that they'll never have to give a benefit for me. I have invested the money I have made". Willard later said he had been defeated by " gangsterism ". After being fired by Dempsey, manager Jack Kearns gave an account of the fight in the January 20, 1964, issue of Sports Illustrated that has become known as

2448-551: The defeated Dempsey returned to his dressing room, he explained his loss to his wife by saying, "Honey, I forgot to duck." Fifty-five years later president Ronald Reagan borrowed this quote when his wife Nancy visited him in the emergency room after the attempt on his life . Following his loss of the heavyweight title, Dempsey contemplated retiring but decided to try a comeback. It was during this time period that tragedy struck his family when his brother, John Dempsey, shot his estranged wife Edna (aged 21) and then killed himself in

2520-631: The dormant CWF territory. Once Dusty departed from WCW they reached out to him, and ultimately partnered to launch the new Professional Wrestling Federation in February 1989. Rhodes had larger visions for the fledgling regional territory, which included a name change from FCW to the non-regional PWF. The new startup promotion featured a raft of current and future stars, including Terry Funk , Dick Slater , Bam Bam Bigelow , Al Perez , The Nasty Boys , Scott Hall , Dustin Rhodes , Mike Awesome , Dallas Page and The Big Steel Man (who would become Tugboat in

2592-436: The early '80s. CWF Spin-off shows were Championship Wrestling Superstars , Global Wrestling , North Florida Championship Wrestling , United States Class Wrestling , American Championship Wrestling and Southern Professional Wrestling . In 1960, Gordon Solie became the lead announcer for CWF's Saturday morning television shows, a spot he would occupy for the next quarter-century. In 1980, he hired singer Barbara Clary, who

2664-477: The fall of 1914, in Cripple Creek, Colorado . His brother, Bernie, who often fought under the pseudonym "Jack Dempsey"—this a common practice of the day, in fighters' admiration of middleweight boxer and former champion, Jack "Nonpareil" Dempsey —had signed to fight veteran George Copelin. Upon learning Copelin had sparred with then current world heavyweight champion Jack Johnson , and given Bernie Dempsey

2736-497: The family traveled often and Dempsey dropped out of elementary school to work and left home at the age of 16. Due to his lack of money, he frequently rode the rods and slept in hobo camps. Desperate for money, Dempsey would occasionally visit saloons and challenge for fights, saying "I can't sing and I can't dance, but I can lick any SOB in the house." If anyone accepted the challenge, bets would be made. According to Dempsey's autobiography, he rarely lost these bar room brawls. For

2808-404: The fans – and, in the words of the promotion's legendary commentator and a star in his own right Gordon Solie , 'a host of others'. Solie's deadpan interviewing style often buoyed the outlandish behavior and actions of Sullivan and his minions, bringing a legitimacy to the on-air segments no matter what depths Sullivan would descend to. Dusty Rhodes stands out among the noted performers because of

2880-423: The fight appears to show discoloration and swelling on his face. Following the match, Willard was quoted as saying, "Dempsey is a remarkable hitter. It was the first time that I had ever been knocked off my feet. I have sent many birds home in the same bruised condition that I am in, and now I know how they felt. I sincerely wish Dempsey all the luck possible and hope that he garnishes all the riches that comes with

2952-424: The first round, thinking the fight was over. This was seen as a violation of the rules, however Willard's corner did not ask for enforcement in order for the referee to disqualify Dempsey. Following his victory, Dempsey traveled around the country, making publicity appearances with circuses, staging exhibitions, and appearing in a low-budget Hollywood movie. Dempsey did not defend his title until September 1920, with

Championship Wrestling from Florida - Misplaced Pages Continue

3024-639: The name change, Dempsey won six bouts in a row by knockout before losing on a disqualification in four rounds to Jack Downey. During this early part of his career, Dempsey campaigned in Utah, frequently entering fights in towns in the Wasatch Mountain Range region. He followed his loss against Downey with a knockout win and two draws versus Johnny Sudenberg in Nevada . Three more wins and a draw followed when he met Downey again, this time resulting in

3096-401: The neutral corner, which bought Tunney at least an extra five seconds to recover. Even though the official timekeeper clocked 14 seconds Tunney was down, Tunney got up at the referee's count of 9. Dempsey then attempted to finish Tunney off before the end of the round, but failed to do so. Tunney dropped Dempsey for a count of one in round eight and won the final two rounds of the fight, retaining

3168-562: The number of rivalries he had on air through most of CWF's broadcasting history. Well known heels, newcomers and babyfaces who turned heel during their tenure with CWF often sought out Rhodes to make their names in the territory. His rivals over the years included Superstar Billy Graham , Ray Stevens , Ernie Ladd , Ivan Koloff , Ox Baker , Ron Bass , Kamala , Abdullah the Butcher , Ric Flair , his old Texas Outlaws partner Dick Murdoch and of course, Kevin Sullivan. Mike Moore served as

3240-738: The promotion began operating under the NXT banner, dropping references to FCW. On June 28, 2013, the WWE formally shuttered the Florida Championship Wrestling Arena, moving all equipment and personnel to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. General Specific Jack Dempsey William Harrison " Jack " Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler ,

3312-609: The right. Carpentier also broke his thumb in that round, which crippled his chances. Dempsey ended up winning the match in the fourth round. Dempsey did not defend his title again until July 1923 against Tommy Gibbons in Shelby, Montana . Dempsey won the match as result of a 15-round decision. The last successful title defense for Dempsey was in September 1923 at New York City 's Polo Grounds in Dempsey vs. Firpo . Attendance

3384-422: The ring, warned the promoter, "I might kill that skinny guy." The promoter reluctantly permitted the fight to commence, and in his first outing as "Jack Dempsey", the future champion downed Copelin six times in the first round and twice in the second. From there, it was a battle of attrition ("Neither Bernie nor I had taken into consideration the high altitude at Cripple Creek."), until a last knockdown of Copelin in

3456-400: The same film, however, Dempsey can be seen at various times during the fight pushing and holding with Willard with the palm of the glove in question and holding on to the ropes with both hands, making it next to impossible that he had any foreign object embedded in his glove, and the 'object' resembles a cigar. Further controversy was fueled by the fact that Dempsey left the ring at the end of

3528-427: The seventh moved the referee to make the then-unusual move of stopping the fight once Copelin regained his feet. According to Dempsey "In those days they didn't stop mining-town fights as long as one guy could move." This trial by fire carried with it a $ 100 purse. The promoter, angered at the switch pulled by the brothers, had laid no promised side bets, "... and even if I did, I wouldn't give you anything." Following

3600-566: The stars had gone to Jim Crockett Promotions or the WWF by that point. CWF continued operating as a JCP subsidiary until its last card on November 14, 1987, in Robarts Arena in Sarasota; in the main event, NWA Western States Heritage champion Barry Windham battled Dory Funk Jr. to a 20-minute time-limit draw. In late 1988 during the acquisition of Jim Crockett Promotions the duo of Mike Graham and Steve Keirn were attempting to revive

3672-498: The state of the company's business. Shortly thereafter Vince McMahon reached out to Rhodes and made an offer to acquire the PWF as a developmental territory and to bring Rhodes into the WWF. He refused, as his desire was to grow the territory into a national brand that could compete with WCW and the WWF. However the Professional Wrestling Federation's backers did not have a desire to fund the company at

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3744-471: The state or county where the fight was held. After the United States entered World War I in 1917, Dempsey worked in a shipyard and continued to box. Afterward, he was accused by some boxing fans of being a slacker for not enlisting. This remained a black mark on his reputation until 1920, when evidence produced showed he had registered with the U.S. Army , but been exempted due to hardship (having

3816-428: The title of world heavyweight champion on a unanimous decision. Ironically, the neutral corner rule was requested during negotiations by members of the Dempsey camp. Another discrepancy was, when Tunney knocked Dempsey down, the timekeeper started the count immediately, not waiting for Tunney to move to a neutral corner. Because of the controversial nature of the fight due to the neutral corner rule and conflicting counts,

3888-517: The tract of 200 acres changed hands for a consideration of $ 600. 'Uncle' Enoch Baker was another caller to greet the challenger's mother. Mr. Baker was engaged in business in Logan county when the Dempseys lived here, being well acquainted with the family. While in Logan, Mrs. Dempsey will visit her half-brothers, Don Ellis of Stratton Street, and Joseph and John B. Ellis of Island Creek, and others." Mrs. Dempsey spent six days in Logan, quartering at

3960-402: The world title. Pro lightweight fighter Benny Leonard predicted a victory for the 6'1", 187-pound Dempsey even though Willard, known as the "Pottawatamie Giant", was 6' 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 " tall and 245 pounds. Ultimately, Willard was knocked down seven times by Dempsey in the first round. Accounts of the fight reported that Willard suffered a broken jaw, broken ribs, several broken teeth, and

4032-542: The world's championship in Toledo . They have been close friends since Dempsey was a boy and a familiar figure about Logan." Celia Dempsey, mother to Jack and at that time a resident of Utah , visited Huntington and Logan in September 1927. Said the Logan Banner : "Interviewed at Huntington Mrs. Dempsey told of her desire to revisit girlhood scenes and inquired about old friends. She spoke of Uncle Dyke Garrett and

4104-445: Was 85,000, with another 20,000 trying to get inside the arena. Firpo was knocked down repeatedly by Dempsey, yet continued to battle back, even knocking Dempsey down twice. On the second occasion he was floored, Dempsey flew head-first through the ring ropes, landing on a ringside reporter's typewriter. At this point he was out of the ring for approximately 14 seconds, less than the 20 second rule for out-of-ring knockouts. Nevertheless, he

4176-407: Was Deforest. Kearns had nothing to do with it, so his plaster of Paris story is simply not true." Deforest himself said that he regarded the stories of Dempsey's gloves being loaded as libel, calling them "trash", and said he did not apply any foreign substance to them, "which I can verify since I watched the taping." Sports writer Red Smith , in Dempsey's obituary published by The New York Times

4248-425: Was Jewish ( née Smoot), and Hiram Dempsey, was of half-Scottish and half-Irish ancestry and also claimed to be partially Cherokee . His grandfather William A. Dempsey, of Logan County, West Virginia , identified his son John Dempsey Jr. of Mud Fork of Island Creek as executor of his last will and testament dated May 1, 1875. Upon payment of his debts and funeral expenses, he directed that his wife Mahulda receive

4320-613: Was a gambling casino supposedly financed by Al Capone and managed by Dempsey. Its clientele included George Raft , Errol Flynn , Myrna Loy , Lana Turner , Rita Hayworth , and Dolores del Río . In 1935, Dempsey opened Jack Dempsey's Restaurant in New York City on Eighth Avenue and 50th Street, across from the third Madison Square Garden . The restaurant's name was later changed to Jack Dempsey's Broadway Restaurant when it relocated to Times Square on Broadway between 49th and 50th Streets. It remained open until 1974. Dempsey

4392-846: Was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance during the entire CWF era, Eddie Graham serving two terms as NWA president, and loosely aligned before that, with other 'world' champions sometimes defending their titles. CWF became a staple in many Southern households in the 1970s and 1980s, with Dusty Rhodes arguably its most noted headliner, his babyface turn beginning May 14, 1974 against former partner Pak Song . The promotion competed against other syndicated shows on Saturday night like The Lawrence Welk Show and Solid Gold for years. The promotion thrived with stars such as NWA champions Lou Thesz and Gene Kiniski , Graham, Bobby Shane , Robert Lee Schoenberger, Don Curtis , Sam Steamboat , The Magnificent Muraco (Don Muraco) ,

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4464-400: Was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. A cultural icon of the 1920s, Dempsey's aggressive fighting style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first million-dollar gate . He pioneered

4536-453: Was approached by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to portray a boxer in the film, The Prizefighter and the Lady , directed by W. S. Van Dyke and co-starring Myrna Loy . Dempsey portrayed himself in the role of referee of the climactic fight between Max Baer (playing the role of Steve Morgan) and Primo Carnera (playing himself), a fictional battle that foreshadowed their actual championship bout only

4608-487: Was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , in 1903 following his eighth birthday, the "age of accountability", according to church doctrine. Hiram Dempsey and his family returned to Logan County when Jack was a small boy where he was raised until shortly before commencement of his boxing career. Said the Logan Banner : "While he was a mere child they returned to Logan county. Jack remained here until

4680-527: Was bilingual to conduct interviews in both English and Spanish. Solie was joined on commentary by Buddy Colt during the program's final years. On March 2, 2006, the CWF library was purchased by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for the DVD on Dusty Rhodes . In 2007, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) revived the promotion as a developmental territory under the name Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). In 2012,

4752-525: Was deemed "the Fight of the Century", experts anticipated a one-sided win for Dempsey. Radio pioneer RCA arranged for live coverage of the match via KDKA , making the event the first national radio broadcast. Carpentier wobbled Dempsey with a hard right in the second round. A reporter at ringside, however, counted 25 punches from Dempsey in a single 31-second exchange soon after he was supposedly injured by

4824-455: Was helped back into the ring by the writers at ringside. Ultimately, Dempsey beat Argentinian contender Luis Ángel Firpo with a second-round KO. The fight was transmitted live by radio to Buenos Aires . Dempsey's heavyweight title-defending fights, exhibition fights, movies, and endorsements, made Dempsey one of the richest athletes in the world, putting him on the cover of Time . Dempsey did not defend his title for three years following

4896-425: Was losing the fight on points when in the seventh round he knocked Tunney down with a left hook to the chin then landed several more punches. A new rule instituted at the time of the fight mandated that when a fighter knocked down an opponent, he must immediately go to a neutral corner. Dempsey, however, refused to immediately move to the neutral corner when instructed by the referee. The referee had to escort Dempsey to

4968-517: Was nearing 40 years of age, he strategically decided to back out of the fight. He substituted his brother, still unknown in Eastern Colorado, as "Jack Dempsey". The fans at ringside immediately knew this was not the man they had paid to see. The promoter became violently angry and "sailed into us, barehanded", threatening to stop the fight. Copelin himself, who outweighed Dempsey by 20 lbs. (165 to 145) upon seeing Dempsey's small stature in

5040-532: Was openly dismissive of the claim. Another rumor is that Dempsey used a knuckleduster during the first round. Some speculated that the object used was a rail spike . In the Los Angeles Times on July 3, 1979, Joe Stone, an ex-referee and boxing writer, asserted that in a film taken of the fight an object on the canvas could be seen after the final knockdown. He further asserted that the object appears to be removed by someone from Dempsey's corner. In

5112-561: Was pleasantly surprised to learn that he is still living. Uncle Dyke read the interview and despite the nearness of his 86th birthday, came back up from his home back of Chapmanville to welcome Mrs. Dempsey. This beloved old mountain minister never knew Jack Dempsey, but he remembers Jack's mother as a girl, her maiden name being Cecilia Smoot. She was a daughter of Charles Smoot, who came to Logan from Boone County , and who lived and died up on Island Creek. After his death, Mrs. Smoot (Jack Dempsey's grandmother) married Simpson Ellis, who died but

5184-498: Was with Flynn, who was knocked out by Dempsey, coincidentally, in the first round. Among other matches won that year were against Light Heavyweight Champion Battling Levinsky , Bill Brennan, Fred Fulton, Carl E. Morris , Billy Miske, heavyweight Lefty Jim McGettigan, and Homer Smith. In 1919, he won five consecutive regular bouts by knockout in the first round as well as a one-round special bout. On July 4, 1919, Dempsey and world heavyweight champion Jess Willard met at Toledo for

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