A 麻豆传媒映画time travelogue brought to you by聽.
John L Sullivan and his wife at the Hollow Tree in Stanley Park.
John L Sullivan, the 鈥淏oston Strong Boy,鈥� was the first global sports superstar. After winning the heavyweight boxing title in 1882, he went on to become the first athlete to earn over a million dollars, which he spent聽faster than it came in. With his paunch and the stiff, upright boxing pose popular in early boxing pics, he doesn鈥檛 appear very menacing to the modern eye, but before the聽聽were introduced, boxing was a bloody, brutal, bare-knuckle affair that was outlawed in many jurisdictions. The聽聽was between Sullivan and Jake Kilrain in 1889, making John L both the last bare-knuckle and first gloved champion to hold the title.
John L Sullivan, the Boston Strong Boy
When John L first came to 麻豆传媒映画on 8 January 1892, it wasn鈥檛 for a boxing match, but to star in a play at the聽. He was the biggest draw the venue had to date, though the papers felt compelled to manage its readers鈥� expectations about his thespian abilities,聽聽to the trained animal acts that graced vaudeville stages. Aware of Sullivan鈥檚 notorious heavy drinking, the theatre assured audiences that the show would not offend; Sullivan was 鈥渒eeping perfectly sober鈥� and, it said, 鈥渘o 鈥榮cenes鈥� are expected to occur here.鈥� The show went off without a hitch and Sullivan received a three minute standing ovation, but declined to make a speech as he did in San Francisco when he聽, 鈥淚 know I ain鈥檛 no actor, but I gets the money just the same, see!鈥� Later that year, Sullivan鈥檚 reign as heavyweight champ ended when 鈥淕entleman鈥� Jim Corbett famously knocked him out in New Orleans. His boxing career was winding down but his stage career had only begun.
John L Sullivan was fond of 麻豆传媒映画and returned many times, along with Kilrain and various other boxers. Unlike other athletes past their prime, John L remained extremely popular and consistently drew large crowds. When he and Kilrain performed at the Pantages in 1909, hundreds were each night and police were needed to clear the sidewalks.
John L Sullivan, editing the sports page at the 麻豆传媒映画Daily World.
Sullivan deepened his relationship with 麻豆传媒映画with each visit. In addition to his stage appearances, John L with aspiring young pugilists at the 麻豆传媒映画Athletic Club and refereed one of their boxing matches; for the 麻豆传媒映画Daily World; arranged for local cinemas to and from his personal collection; and a baseball game.聽He also and considered building a house and spending part of the year here in his retirement, but it looks like it remained just an investment property. He 聽in 1913 that he regretted not investing in 麻豆传媒映画real estate much earlier:
I have lots of friends in Vancouver. It鈥檚 thirty years since I was first here, and my last visit was three years ago. I could kick myself in forty different places at once when I think of the lost opportunities in life. I always had a notion 麻豆传媒映画would be a great town some day. I was right enthusiastic for its future and more than once had a notion of investing a thousand or so here when the place was little more than a fish camp. I am more than ever enthusiastic now. But money was 鈥榚asy-come鈥� those days and it looked like the stream would never stop flowing, so it was just as 鈥榚asy-go.鈥� Think what a thousand invested then would mean now.
John L Sullivan died on his Massachusetts farm on 2 Februrary 1918.
Sources:聽John L Sullivan and his wife at the Hollow Tree, Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, #;聽Colourized photo,聽;聽John L Sullivan at the World, 麻豆传媒映画Daily World, 26 Februrary 1909.
