Walcott & Gans 1904

[Benny The Kid]

I really wanted some discussion on they met 9-30-1904. A 20 Round Draw.

I heard some comments saying Gans was robbed. Monte Cox has a nice reference about it on his webpage. But he fails to mention Walcott broke his arm.

In reading 100's of newspapers at this point. There appears to be no more impressive of a boxer than Walcott in 1904. He was at his pinnacle. In the dixie kid bout in april 1904. Walcott was as fresh at the end round 20 as he was in round 1 dixie was a phenomenal welterweight (very young) and Walcott just steamrolled him.

I just can't see Gans favored at all if both are healthy. I find it amazing that Gans full strength heath at his peak of his fighting career couldn't get a convincing win against a one handed fighter. The newspaper reports that walcott arm was broke at the elbow after the match. I'm am not sure how Walcott was able to defend himself in such shape.

As far as p4p greatness these two seem in different classes to me. Walcott was so amazing that with one arm he could last the match against one of the greatest P4P fighters at his peak in Gans. I find it a huge embarrassment on Gans part that he even let the fight be close.

In a rematch who knows....

But to me Walcott seems a completely different level than Gans. Walcott would have him in danger every minute of every round and Gan's proved that even a severely handicapped version of Walcott with one arm of defense he had literally no chance at knocking walcott out.

Saying that doesn't mean Gans couldn't win a fight against Walcott I'm not saying that but Walcott was the biggest Destruction machine ever Gans is a full 5 inches more & younger and couldn't get a clear advantage.

.I'm not sure how anyone can claim Gans was robbed when walcott is so severely handicapped. To me this entire bout was one of the greatest feats in history. His arm is broke at the elbow & he goes the distance with one of the claimed p4p greats in his prime....Walcott had such power with one arm Gans was still afraid to take him out this should only prove that walcott was a greater p4p than just about anyone.

One of the greatest tragedies ever occurs shortly after the bout & Walcott shot his hand robbing us of the history he was about to embark upon.

From everything i was reading Walcott appears in 1904 at the age of 31 to be ascending still in his career trajectory when the plug was pulled.

Can anyone shed some light on how a fighter is holding guard with a break at the elbow? I would have to imagine you cant hold your arm up.

I just can't believe what an alpha boss Walcott was the man was remarkable. It seems down right embarrassing Gans couldn't knock him out.

[Ezzard]

When did the arm break? Which round?

[Benny The Kid]

sometime in the 3rd round. The ligament damage was a result of continuing to fight. The reports are it was broke at the elbow in the newspapers. This was reported the next day

[Randthough]

The short answer is that his elbow wasn't broken, Walcott seems to have suffered a torn ligament in his left wrist. Walcott and Gans are both all-time greats. The greater of the two careers might depend on criteria. Their fight wasn't heavily bet on by California standards, but the betting was reported as being at even money, a day-out. Gans had already done a lot of fighting well-above the (133) lightweight limit, so it wasn't a given he'd be pushed around by a welter as formidable as Walcott.

It seems many in the crowd initially disliked referee Jack Welch's decision of a draw, but Welch stood by his judgement that Walcott's agressiveness made up the slight edge Gans had. The following is part of The San Francisco Call and Post's (10/1/1904 p.11) long writeup.

"REFEREE JACK WELCH CALLS THE JOE GANS-WALCOTT CONTEST A DRAW
CHAMPION GANS HAS PRONOUNCED LEAD OVER OPPONENT THROUGHOUT THE FIGHT
Referee's Decision Astonishes the Spectators.
Referee Jack Welch called the Gans-Walcott fight a draw last night in Woodward's Pavilion to the surprise of practically every spectator in the house. There was a roar of disapproval when the referee raised both hands in the air signaling a draw. The tumult died away quickly and was followed by an animated discussion. The consensus of opinion was that Gans outpointed Walcott for fifteen of the twenty desperate rounds fought by the colored gladiators
The referee justified his action by saying that Gans had a slight lead, but that he considered the aggressiveness of Walcott balanced this and entitled him to a draw.
After the fight Walcott claimed he injured his left forearm in the third round and that otherwise he would have beaten Gans. When the arm was examined at the Receiving Hospital by Dr. Miller, the surgeon found that the ligament of the left arm had been torn loose at the wrist. He says it will be many months before Walcott will be able to fight again.
Walcott hurt his arm some days since in training. Gans blocked many of his desperate swings with his elbow and it was on one of these occasions that the injury was done."

From the same article–the post fight statement from Welch:

"My decision of draw was a just one. Gans had a shade the better of the fight, but Walcott made up for it by his aggressive tactics. He was after Gans all the way. Both men were on their feet and fighting hard at the end of the twentieth round. It was a grand battle. Gans is a marvel for cleverness and Walcott seems to have lost none of his old time vim. I know many people believe I gave a bad decision, but my conscience does not trouble me, as I am sure I acted properly. Walcott led as often as Gans. Gans may have shown greater cleverness than Walcott, but his lead was not sufficient to earn him a decision. I kept close tab on the rounds and throught in the end it was an even thing"

From Gans:

"I don't like to criticize the referee's decision, but I think I should have had it. I can't complain. I will leave it to the public who saw the contest. I am sorry to lose the few thousands I bet on the fight. There is only one man in the world I want to fight, and that is Jimmy Britt. If he won't fight me I am done. I intended to retire after my battle with Walcott, but if Britt will meet me I will enter the ring again. Walcott's right hand swings on my kidney never hurt me, as I was inside every blow. I thought I had the decision and did not attempt to do anything in the last round. I proved to the satisfaction of everybody that I landed the most blows."

From Walcott:

"If my left forearm had not gone back on me in the third round I should have knocked Gans out. As it was I nearly made him quit. I could not use my left arm and did all my fighting with my right. He couldn't hit hard enough to hurt me. Punishment never hurts me. At no time during the fight did Gans have me in distress. I went after him in every round ad landed often on him. Gans is a clever boxer, but has no punch. If I had not hurt my left hand while training I should have been all right to-night. It seemed as if it was broken, but I guess it is merely a strained tendon. The decision suited me, though I think I won on aggressiveness"

Prior to the announced change to a non-title bout, the winner of Sam Langford (of Boston) and Dave Holly (of Philly) scheduled for the day before at Gans' manager Al Herford's club in Baltimore--the Eureka A.C.--was to have then been matched with the winner of Gans-Walcott for welterweight honors. Holly and Langford drew, in their 15-rounder. I don't know whether or not the last minute change to a Gans-Walcott non-title bout was due to Walcott's training injury.

Langford had himself drawn with Walcott on Sep 5th in New Hampshire, with that night's referee Owen Kenney making the same judgement as Welch did a few weeks later (that Walcott's agressiveness made up for Langford outpointing him), and Holly had edged Walcott in a Philadelphia 6-round newspaper decision five days later on the 10th. Holly had also won on points from Langford in Boston, back in April.

Though Walcott was already defying Father Time (by the standards of the day) it's incredible that the Gans battle was Walcott's 3rd bout of September, what a warrior! There were some great late-1904 and 1905 matchups that were lost to the subsequent bullet through Walcott's hand. Welter was incredibly rich at this time, and Walcott wasn't a man afraid to weight-travel either. Quite the opposite, "Joe the giant killer" was famed for taking on larger men. When he returned to competition in 1906, Walcott was still dangerous, but not the same.