Crítica
- THE YANKEE GOVERNMENT IS SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING RECOGNIZING THE SOVIET
- HARRY WILLS'S ASPIRATIONS CAME TO AN ABRUPT AND PITIFUL END LAST NIGHT
- SHARKEY, WILLS'S CONQUEROR, CHALLENGED GENE TUNNEY YESTERDAY, THE VERY SAME DAY
Crítica's front page gave heavy play to Associated Press cables from New York on the heavyweight bout fought at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, the previous night. The reports described Jack Sharkey, a former U.S. Navy sailor of Lithuanian descent, battering Harry Wills, closing his left eye and opening a deep cut above the right one, until referee Haley disqualified Wills in the 13th round for repeated fouls. Sharkey went straight from the ring to challenge champion Gene Tunney, Wills blamed his long inactivity, and the cable called the result Wills's first defeat by a white opponent in fifteen years. Another headline announced that Washington was seriously considering recognizing the Soviet government, but the legible text beneath it belongs to the boxing story.
This reading covers three passages from the right-hand and centre columns of the front page. The first passage sits under the Soviet-recognition headline, but its legible text is the Associated Press boxing report, so the body of the Soviet article is not included. The scrambled OCR runs columns together, and tile edges cut off letters; the passages therefore contain gaps marked [?], a jump in the second passage marked with an ellipsis, and a broken final phrase. The third passage is a single caption fragment. The 'Hoy' column on President Alvear, the Schumacher column, the Rumania and Chilapa briefs and most photo captions are outside this reading.
Translation
THE YANKEE GOVERNMENT IS SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING RECOGNIZING THE SOVIET
SHARKEY, WILLS'S CONQUEROR, CHALLENGED GENE TUNNEY YESTERDAY, THE VERY SAME DAY
Like Tunney, Dempsey's conqueror, Sharkey — whose real name is Joseph Paul Cucoskey — has been a sailor in the American Navy
HE IS OF LITHUANIAN DESCENT
(Associated Press) NEW YORK, 13. — Jack Dempsey and Harry Wills have been replaced, the former as heavyweight champion of the world and the latter as a contender for the same title, by boxers who have belonged to the navy. Shortly after the defeat inflicted on Dempsey by the ex-sailor James Joseph Tunney, Harry Wills was eliminated last night by the ex-sailor Joseph Paul Cucoskey, a native of Binghampton, New York, of Lithuanian descent, whose fighting name is Jack Sharkey. Sharkey's first words on returning to the dressing room were a challenge to Tunney. "I have been idle for a long time, and that is the cause of my defeat," Harry Wills said for his part.
FROM THE FOURTH ROUND ON, WILLS FOUGHT ON THE DEFENSIVE, MANAGING ONLY TO COVER UP
Only in the third round did the Negro gain any advantage; all the others belonged to his opponent, especially the last rounds, which were decisive
WHY WAS HE SAVED FROM THE KNOCKOUT?
(Associated Press) NEW YORK, 13. — When the decision was given in the fight between Harry Wills and Jack Sharkey last night at Ebbet's Field in Brooklyn, Harry Wills made a pitiful spectacle as he went to his corner. His left eye was almost completely closed; above his right eye he had a deep wound that bled profusely, and he showed other wounds on his nose and mouth. From the fourth round on the Negro fought on the defensive, defending himself [?] terrible, apparently had Harry Wills on the verge of a knockout during rounds 10, 11 and 12, when the Negro from Senegal staggered, backing up to the ropes, on receiving the formidable straight punches that disfigured his face and made him bleed, despite the efforts he was making to cover up. Sharkey's lack of strength to finish his blows saved Harry Wills from the knockout. The Negro only gained, in the thi- [?]
HARRY WILLS'S ASPIRATIONS CAME TO AN ABRUPT AND PITIFUL END LAST NIGHT
the nose and the mouth. From the fourth round on the Negro fought on the defensive, defending himself desperately from the terrible blows of Sharkey, who hit him without mercy. Sharkey, who leapt to the attack with a fury … Wills from the knockout. The Negro gained an advantage only in the third round. The second round was even, and all the others were won by Jack Sharkey.
HARRY WILLS'S ASPIRATIONS CAME TO AN ABRUPT AND PITIFUL END LAST NIGHT
The aspirant to the world championship, unable to use his favorite tactic of hitting in the clinches, resorted to forbidden blows, which got him disqualified
HE SUFFERED HIS FIRST DEFEAT BY A WHITE MAN
(Associated Press) NEW YORK, 13. — Harry Wills's aspirations to the honors of the world heavyweight championship came to an abrupt and pitiful end last night. In the thirteenth round of the match he fought last night at Ebbet's Field, Brooklyn, against Jack Sharkey, the Boston boxer, the referee, Mr. Haley, disqualified the colored fighter for his repeated fouls, giving the victory to his adversary. Prevented from resorting to his favorite tactic of hitting in the clinches by the referee's quick and energetic interventions, the former stevedore from Senegambia fought a slow fight, and it was noticeable that he lacked his customary aggressiveness and the force of his punches. The result of this match has been not only the culminating event of a year of pugilistic surprises, but also the first time that Wills had been beaten by a white opponent in his fifteen years of constant activity in the ring. …world … between Dempsey and Tunney had
SHARKEY, WILLS'S CONQUEROR, CHALLENGED GENE TUNNEY YESTERDAY, THE VERY SAME DAY
boy whom his little brother subjected to a brutal
Context
Why the 1926 disqualification ended Harry Wills's title hopes
Harry Wills was an American heavyweight who held the World Colored Heavyweight Championship three times, and many boxing historians regard him as the most egregious victim of the color line drawn by white heavyweight champions. He and Jack Dempsey had signed an agreement in July 1925 for a 1926 title match that never took place. That history is behind the Associated Press's talk of Wills's "aspirations" to the championship, and it explains why the Sharkey bout carried so much weight for him. The record matches the cable's picture of a one-sided fight: Wills was being decisively beaten when he was disqualified. Record notes give the cause as an illegal backhand blow, while the paper speaks only of repeated fouls committed after the referee stopped him from hitting in the clinches. The defeat cost Wills more than one fight. He had to give up his third colored title when he took the Sharkey bout, and the next year a knockout by Paolino Uzcudun ended his standing as a serious contender. The cables called him a Negro from Senegal and a former stevedore from Senegambia, but Wills was an American boxer.
Who Jack Sharkey was, and what came of his challenge to Tunney
Jack Sharkey, whom the cable names as Joseph Paul Cucoskey of "Binghampton", was the son of Lithuanian immigrants, born in Binghamton, New York, in 1902. His birth name is usually given as Joseph Paul Zukauskas, so the wire's "Cucoskey" is a phonetic spelling. He built his ring name from two idols, the contender Tom Sharkey and the champion Jack Dempsey. The Associated Press cable's parallel between two former sailors, Tunney and Sharkey, replacing Dempsey and Wills was its own framing of the 1926 season. Sharkey's dressing-room challenge did not lead straight to Tunney. On 21 July 1927 he met his idol Dempsey in an eliminator, with the winner to face Tunney for the title, and Dempsey knocked him out in the seventh round. Sharkey eventually became heavyweight champion in 1932, when he beat Max Schmeling on a controversial split decision.
How far Washington was from recognizing the Soviet Union in 1926
The headline told readers in Buenos Aires that the United States was seriously considering recognition of the Soviet government; the article under it is not part of this reading. Washington had refused recognition since the Bolshevik seizure of power. The Wilson administration and its successors justified that refusal by the Bolsheviks' rejection of prior debts, and the debts of the Tsarist and Provisional governments to the United States came to as much as $150 million. Trade nevertheless expanded without diplomatic ties: turnover between the two countries doubled over 1923–1932 and reached $621 million. Even so, Wilson's successors, including the administration in office when this paper appeared, kept the policy of non-recognition throughout the 1920s. Recognition came only on 16 November 1933, when Franklin Roosevelt ended almost 16 years of non-recognition. Whatever discussion lay behind Crítica's 1926 headline, it produced no change in policy for seven more years.
Why a Buenos Aires daily gave a Brooklyn prizefight such prominence
Crítica was founded in 1913 by the Uruguayan journalist and entrepreneur Natalio Botana, a pioneer of sensationalist media in Argentina. The paper, which appeared until 1962, became the most widely circulated newspaper in Latin America, and it added a new edition and two supplements, one of them devoted to sports. Botana himself briefly presided over the Argentine Football Association in 1926, the year of this issue. That commercial and sporting orientation helps explain the layout seen here: stacked, dramatic subheads over Associated Press cables, close description of Wills's closed eye and bleeding wounds, and a headline asking why he escaped the knockout. Foreign heavyweight boxing, still glowing from the Dempsey–Tunney upset, was material a mass-circulation paper could sell alongside international politics such as the Soviet recognition headline.
Original
EL GOBIERNO YANQUI PIENSA SERIAMENTE EN RECONOCER AL SOVIET
SHARKEY EL VENCEDOR DE WILLS DESAFIO AYER MISMO A GENE TUNNEY Como Tunney, el vencedor de Dempsey, Sharkey - cuyo verdadero nombre es Joseph Paul Cucoskey - ha sido marinero de la Armada norteamericana ES DE ASCENDENCIA LITUANA (Associated Press) NUEVA YORK, 13. - - Jack Dempsey y Harry Wills han sido reemplazados, el primero como campeón del mundo de peso pesado y el otro cómo candidato al mismo título, por boxeadores que han pertenecido a la marina. Poco tiempo después de la derrota que le infligió a Dempsey el ex marinero James Joseph Tunney, añoche, Harry Wills fué eliminado por el ex marinero Joseph Paul Cucoskey, natural de Binghampton, Nueva York, de ascendencia lituana, cuyo nombre de batalla es Jack Sharkey. Las primeras palabras de Sharkey al regresar al vestuario fueron para desafiar a Tunney. " He estado ocioso durante mucho tiempo. y ello es la causa de mi derrota ", dijo Harry Wills, por su parte. A PARTIR DEL CUARTO ROUND WILLS PELEO A LA DEFENSIVA ATINANDO SOLO A CUBRIRSE Sólo en el tercer round, el negro obtuvo alguna ventaja, perteneciendo todos los demás a su contendor, especialmente los últimos rounds, que fueron decisivos ¿ POR QUE SE SALVO DEL KNOCK OUT? (Associated Press) NUEVA YORK, 13. - Al darse la decisión de la pelea entre Harry Wills y Jack Sharkey, anoche en Ebbet's Field en Brooklyn, era lamentable el espectácu lo que ofrecía Harry Wills, mientras se dirigía a su rincón. Su ojo izquierdo estaba casi completamente cerrado; en la parte superior del ojo derecho tenía una herida profunda que sangraba abundantemente, y presentaba otras heridas en la nariz y en la boca. A partir del cuarto round el negro peleó a la defensiva, defendiéndose [?] terrible, aparentemente tuvo a Harry Wills al borde del knock-out durante las vueltas 10, 11 y 12, cuando el negro del Senegal se tambaleó, retrocediendo hasta las cuerdas, al recibir los formidables directos que le desfiguraron el rostro y lo hicieron sangrar, a pesar de los esfuerzos que hacía por cubrirse. La escasez de fuera de Sharkey para completar sus golpes, salvaron a Harry Wills del knock-out. El negro solamente obtuvo en el ter - [?]
LAS PRETENSIONES DE HARRY WILLS TERMINARON ANOCHE EN FORMA BRUSCA Y LASTIMOSA
la nariz y en la boca. A partir del cuarto round el negro peleó a la defensiva, defendiéndose deseperadamente de los terribles golpes de Sharkey, que le pegaba sin piedad. Shar key que saltaba al ataque con una furia Wills del knock-out. El negro solamente obtuvo en el tercer round ventaja. El segundo round fué parejo, y todos los demás fueron ganados por Jack Sharkey. LAS PRETENSIONES DE HARRY WILLS TERMINARON ANOCHE EN FORMA BRUSCA Y LASTIMOSA El aspirante al campeonato mundial, no pudiendo desarrollar su táctica favorita de golpear durante los clinchs, incurrió en golpes prohibidos, que hicieron que fuera descalificado SUFRIO SU PRIMERA DERROTA POR UN BLANCO (Associated Press) NUEVA YORK, 13. - Las pretensiones de Harry Wills a los honores del campeonato mundial de peso pesado, han terminado anoche en forma brusca y lastimosa. En el décimo tercer round del match que sostuvo anoche en Ebbet's Field, Brooklyn, con Jack Sharkey, pugilista de Boston, el referee, Mr. Haley, descalificó al pugilista de color por sus repetidos fouls, dando la victoria a su adversario. Impedido de acudir a su táctica favorita de golpear durante los clinches, debido a las rápidas y enérgicas intervenciones del referee, el ex estibador de Senegambia desarrolló un juego lento. notándose que le faltaba su acostumbrada agresividad y fuerza de sus punches. El resultado de este match no sólo ha sido el hecho culminante de un año de sorpresas pugilísticas, sino también la primera vez que Wills era derrotado por un adversario blanco, en sus quince años de constante actuación en los rings. to mundial entre Dempsey y Tunney tuvo
SHARKEY EL VENCEDOR DE WILLS DESAFIO AYER MISMO A GENE TUNNEY
chico a quien su hermanito sometió a una bárbara
Source: Source: Internet Archive / Biblioteca Nacional de la República Argentina