Jack Sharkey vs Jimmy Maloney IV 1927

Jack Sharkey vs Jimmy Maloney IV
Yankee Stadium, New York, May 20, 1927
Silent 10:00

The Fight
Boxing has a rich history of title eliminator or “contender” fights. Many epic battles were waged by hungry lions as they battled for title shots. Sadly many have faded into obscurity, overshadowed by the championship fights that followed. One such battle was this one, the fifth fight between heavyweights Jack Sharkey and Jimmy Maloney in 1927. The winner would be in position to challenge Champion Gene Tunney for the heavyweight title. By all accounts, Sharkey and Maloney were fierce east coast rivals. They fought four times between 1924 and 1927. For their last fight, in front of 40,000 fans at Yankee Stadium, Sharkey and Maloney wasted no time from the opening bell. A tactical slugfest with plenty of action, Maloney boxed well in the first round, but had trouble landing often enough to hurt Sharkey. By the third round Sharkey was coming on strong. The end came in the 5th round with brutal right by Sharkey that drove Maloney to the canvas.

It’s too bad that Sharkey never fought Gene Tunney. He was a much better fighter in the 1920s than in the 1930s when he briefly held the title. Sharkey not only beat Maloney, but the great Harry Wills, Johnny Risko, Tommy Loughran, Primo Carnera (in 1931) and drew with Tom Heeny. Instead Sharkey was matched in July 1927 with former champion Jack Dempsey in a runoff for the title. Sharkey was leading against Dempsey through seven rounds. In the seventh, Dempsey stunned Sharkey with a low blow, and followed with a left hook to Sharkey’s jaw. Sharkey dropped to the canvas and was counted out.

The Movie
As with most night or indoor fight films of the 1920s, the results depended on the venue and abilities of the film crew. This film is about average for the period. The shadows are heavy, but there’s enough detail to follow the action. The exposure changes from round to round, probably from different cameras, and is clearest at the end.

Restoration
The print I have is clean and transferred to video with no problem. Film speed and exposure were adjusted. This is a great fight and shows future champion Jack Sharkey, perhaps at his best.

Jack Dempsey Sparring for Newsreel Cameras Circa 1927

Jack Dempsey Sparring for Newsreel Cameras Circa 1927

The Fight
Jack Dempsey is shown in a late career sparring session while training for his fight with Gene Tunney or Jack Sharkey. The stadium is either Chicago (1927) or Philadelphia (1926).

The Movie
Public training and sparring for newsreel cameras were common and crucial in promoting fights of the day. In this brief clip, Jack is in tiger form and practically takes the head off his sparring partner.

The Video

The original footage ran extremely fast, as it was shot at about 12fps. I brought it down to near normal speed, though the step frame print (every third frame is repeated) still appears choppy. Exposure and tone were also adjusted. I added the knockout replay.

Joe Frazier -vs- Muhammal Ali | 40th Anniversary Film

Frazier vs Ali – New York, March 8, 1971
16mm Color Sound, 28 Minutes (Excerpt)

The Fight
On the 40th anniversary of The Fight, it’s an honor to be able to post an excerpt of the original theatrical Frazier-Ali I movie. This was the first in the Ali-Frazier trilogy. In my view it was the best. The Manila fight has become better known, having been broadcast on ESPNCL repeatedly for years. However, for youth, skill, pace and drama, the first fight brought it all.

The Movie
This film is a milestone in boxing history. Frazier-Ali I was one of the last major fights to be filmed by motion picture cameras as well as video. The cablecast of the fight remains a high watermark for recording championship fights. Those who have a copy of the video are fortunate. The copyright owners have rarely allowed the video to be rebroadcast, and it has never been commercially issued on DVD. In fact, the portions of Frazier-Ali I that were originally shown in the recent BBC “Thriller in Manila” documentary were removed from the DVD release and replaced with still photos.

The film version of Frazier-Ali I is equally remarkable. Producer William Greaves was granted unprecedented access to Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali and to Madison Square Garden for the fight. Greaves 16mm film team were at ringside, in the audience and alongside the television crews. They recorded the fight from a dozen angles, including action not captured by the TV cameras, as in the 11th round when the ring ropes kept Ali from falling to the canvas. By today’s rules, it would have been ruled a knockdown. The film, more than the cablecast, captures the fury of the fight.

Within 5 days of the fight, and in great haste, this 27 minute version of the fight was shown in movie theaters. Unfortunately, it was not the entire fight, and there was a near riot in one theater. However, Greaves later released a longer and complete documentary called “The Fighters” which I was lucky to see in a theater months after the fight. Greaves has also used the footage for several films about Muhammad Ali.

The Video
I was fortunate to obtain a very good 16mm print of the original release. It’s perhaps a second generation copy, and printed on the red saturated color film stock which was typical for the day. For that I did some color correction. The film is narrated by Don Dunphy, who also called the live cablecast. The post fight footage is especially interesting. Greaves either did not have access to the PA feed, or chose to use the open air audio. I’ve been to Madison Square Garden for a title fight and it’s hard to hear the PA when the noise level is up. As a result in the film, Johnny Adie’s announcement of Frazier as the winner is nearly lost under the crowd chanting, and Dunphy, the narrator, never actually says that Frazier won the decision. I hope you enjoy this taste of the film. With respect to Greaves, I’m only showing the opening credits and Round 15.