Gene Tunney & James J Corbett Sparring Film, New York 1925

Gene Tunney and Jim Corbett Sparring
Putnam Building Rooftop
Times Square, New York City, December 1925
Grantlin Rice Sportlight Movie Series (Edit)
9mm Film Transfer  (Low Res)

The Boxers

References have been made over the years to a legendary sparring session between Heavyweight Champion to be Gene Tunney and former champ James J. Corbett, prior to Tunney’s first fight with Jack Dempsey.  A film was made of the meeting, but has not been seen for decades.  Several years ago and a film archivist discovered an abridged version of this movie on 9mm film, a small but format high quality format in the 1920s.  The Tunney-Corbett film was transferred to video for preservation.

The Meeting

According to published accounts, Jim Corbett was in Chicago for the Tunney-Risko fight of November 1925 and surprised Tunney in his dressing room after the fight.  Grantlin Rice arranged for the two to meet again in New York a month later to be part of his Sportlight movie series.  On the roof of the Putnam Building in New York’s Times Square, Tunney and Corbett sparred for the cameras, and the two staged Corbett’s demonstration classic boxing technique in slow motion.  Two very brief shots of Jack Dempsey sparring at what appears to be an informal outdoor gathering are also shown.

The Film

Historically, this is perhaps the best documented meeting between pioneers of both vintage and modern boxing styles.  Corbett is 59 years old and appears very fit, but I was most impressed with the fact that Corbett was taller than Tunney, and would have been even bigger in his prime.  Eight months after this film was made, Tunney went on to win the Heavyweight Championship from Jack Dempsey in Philadelphia.

I obtained what turned out to be a low resolution copy of this film.  Still, I made some adjustments to the exposure and image stabilization to make it as clear as possible.  I’ll be sure to post an update if a better copy becomes available.  Enjoy this rare gem of vintage boxing.

Max Baer -vs- Tony “Two Ton” Galento | All Rounds w/Interview

Max Baer -vs- Tony “Two Ton” Galento

(All Rounds w/post-fight Interview)

Roosevelt Stadium, New Jersey

July 2, 1940

16mm Sound Transfer 

This is an update to a previous post.

The Fight

The Max Baer vs Tony Galento fight film is a classic document of pre-war Sports Americana.  In 1940, Max Baer and Tony Galento, the two most colorful boxers of their day, met for a title elimination showdown in Jersey City.  It was a titanic slugfest.  The fight began even before the opening bell as Galento threatened Baer during the referee’s instructions. The two went right to work in the first round, with Galento on the attack. By round 3 however, Baer was taking control, fighting in flurries, in between clowning and taunting the relentless Galento.  After 7 rounds of bruising action, Galento collapses in his corner and cannot answer the bell for the 8^th.  It was Baer’s last victory.

The Movie

The film is noteworthy for several reasons.  The fight was among the best filmed bouts of the day.  It was also among the first fight films produced as the interstate traffic of boxing films was lifted.  For the first time since 1910, boxing films could be distributed across state lines and shown across the country.  As a result, fight films became feature productions in theatres, rather than simply newsreels.  In the decade prior to the television boom, movie audiences were treated to complete fight pictures only days after the event.

The Film

This footage in this video is taken from three sources and shows all rounds of the fight.  The opening potion is from a VHS copy that suffers from generation loss.  Despite the lack of quality, I thought it was important to show the ring intros and referee’s instructions, as it includes Galento’s trash talk and threat to get “twice as rough” as Baer, as if Tony ever needed an excuse.  The remaining (and superior) source footage begins after the opening bell, and is taken from an extended 16mm print, with Round 3 taken from the Castle Films highlight.  The final minute includes the famous “after-battle” interview with Max Baer, Lou Costello and Joe Louis.

Jack Dempsey Sparring with Big Bill Tate

Jack Dempsey Sparring with Big Bill Tate, June 1919

From Dempsey-Willard Fight Pictures

16mm Film Transfer

The Source

I saw this short film of Jack Dempsey sparring with fellow contender Big Bill Tate when it was posted on Youtube several years ago.  I’d never seen it before.  The quality was poor from multiple VHS copies, so I began a search for the source footage.  I discovered that the clip was actually part of the official Dempsey-Willard Fight Pictures, which not only included the Dempsey-Willard fight, but prefight footage of both Dempsey and Willard in training.   I recently acquired a short 16mm documentary on Jack Dempsey.   As I was scanning the footage to video, I discovered it included the same sparring session footage, and in excellent quality.

The Film

It’s less than two minutes long, but what a story it tells.   This is among the earliest surviving footage of Dempsey in action, and among the best single film of him in training.  Though Dempsey is 6’1” at 190 pounds, he looks like a middleweight compared to the 6”6” Tate, who was also a ranking contender.  Even after I adjusted the film speed to real time, Dempsey appears amazingly fast.  The boxers are clearly not going full out, but it’s a genuine workout, and not staged playing for the cameras.   Dempsey’s bob and weave style is on full display, as well as his brilliant footwork propelling him under and inside Tate’s persistent jab.  This is the first glimpse of modern boxing.

Tate was very agile for a boxer his size, though not particularly fast.  You can see the Jack Johnson-era influence in Tate’s style, and yet how effective Dempsey is in overwhelming him.  Tate and Dempsey were good friends and Bill was employed in the Dempsey’s camp through the championship years.  Tate retired along with Dempsey in 1927.

Tate was not only a crucial sparing partner in helping Jack to fight bigger men like Willard and Firpo, but he was also important in comparing Dempsey to Harry Wills, who was unjustly denied a title fight by promoters.   Wills and Tate fought six times between 1916 and 1922.  They were the same age, but Wills had more experience and won the early fights, two by KO and two by decision.  But as time went on Tate either improved or Wills declined.  For in their final contest in 1922, Big Bill, the man we know as Dempsey’s sparring partner, fought Wills to a 10 round draw. 

Jack Dempsey’s MMA Fight

Jack Dempsey’s MMA Fight

Jack Dempsey -vs- Cowboy Lutrell

Ponce De Leon Park, Atlanta

July 1, 1940

16mm Sound Transfer

The Fight

Compared to many sports figures and celebrities, Jack Dempsey remained a visible and respected figure long after his boxing career ended.  He kept in shape, managed his restaurant, trained boxers, performed service for the military during World War II,  and did charity work.  Even through his forties, Jack was never far from the ring, sparring for the camera with Max Schmeling, Max Baer, Aturo Godoy and others to promote fights.  Dempsey also worked as a referee for boxing and wrestling matches. 

One evening in 1940, Dempsey was refereeing a wrestling match between Cowboy Luttrell and Dorve Roche.  There was an argument in the ring, and an altercation between Dempsey and the Cowboy.  To settle what was apparently a genuine public grudge, and to make a fistful of short money, business manager Max Waxman arranged a boxer vs wrestler match between Dempsey and Lutrell in Atlanta on July 1, 1940.  Neither an exhibition or a sanctioned prizefight, and certainly not a comeback attempt, the contest was akin to n MMA beatdown.  The Referee was Ring Magazine published Nat Fleischer, who worked the fight with as much energy as the fighters themselves.  Though a seasoned wrestler, Lutrell never managed to grab hold of Dempsey, as Jack began pounded him without mercy from the opening bell.  Most accounts describe the event as a disgrace, and has since been largely forgotten.   

The Film

The contest was captured (poorly) by a film crew, from a single camera angle, so low that spectators get in the way of the action.  Yet, the film was shown later in theaters in the weeks after the fight.  In this edition, the narrator describes the fight as an historical and nostalgic event for Dempsey, who was 45 years old at the time.

The rarity of this film is not so much the bout, as is the pre-fight newsreel footage, and the post fight interview between Dempsey and referee/publisher Nat Fleischer and wrestler Dorve Roche standing to the left.

Tony Galento -vs- Lou Nova 9/15/39

Tony “Two-Ton” Galento -vs- Lou Nova

Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia

September 15, 1939

Restored NBC Radio Broadcast

1 Hour 10 Minutes

Two years into Joe Louis reign as heavyweight Champion in 1939, there were a series of title elimination fights among the top contenders including Max Baer, Tony Galento and Lou Nova.  The Baer-Nova and Baer-Galento fights survive on film, but Tony Galento’s upset against Lou Nova has not been shown in public since the 1940s.  Nova was the rising star of the division, and having defeated Baer several months earlier, Nova was expected to beat Galento for a title shot at Louis.

The Fight

Recently described in an excellent article by Clarence George on boxing.com, The Galento-Nova fight quickly became a streetfight, with fouling, wrestling and the two fighters tumbling together to the canvas several times during the fight.  Galento thumbed Nova early in the fight and in addition to suffering an eye cut, Nova never gained the upper hand.  Ring Magazine described the fight as “discraceful”, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t exciting.

The Broadcast

A representative at ESPN told me that a film clip of the fight survives, but the footage remains elusive.   However, several years ago I purchased a number of old radio broadcast tapes, and when I looked through them recently I discovered this recording of the Galento-Nova fight.  The NBC live broadcast is hosted by Bill Stern, and runs over an hour, including prefight ring intros, trash talk during the refs instructions, and the 14 round blow by blow fight call by Ben Taub. An elated Galento and disappointed Nova are briefly interviewed in the postfight.  The controversy over the fight apparently came in the newspaper reports later.  The radio call made by Stern and Taub is exciting to hear, but they raise no questions about the action itself.

The Restoration

The tape cuts in several spots, but no more than a minute appears to be missing.  The broadcast is otherwise complete.  The audio suffered from generation loss, hiss and lack of low end.  I transferred the analog tape to a digital file.  With several editing tools I was able to bring some clarity back to the sound and reduce the noise level.  It was a pleasure bringing this fight brought back to life.

I have added period images and several photos of the fight for the video portion.  Otherwise, grab a beer, turn the lights down and enjoy the fight!