Luther McCarty

During the first winter in Montana he began boxing with some of the locals, and soon caught the eye of the local fight promoters.[11] He was a substitute for Yank Kenny, who left town the day before the fight,[19] and on January 7, 1911, in his first recorded fight, he knocked out Wat Adams in the second round, and after had had several bouts in Montana, North Dakota, and Canada, fighting seven times, winning seven fights, by stoppage.[11][20] Of these such bouts included legendary iron-chinned Joe Grim, earning a draw spending his energy in trying to knockout the "toughest man on earth".[21][20] He had worked as a sparring partner in Culbertson, Montana, in the fall of 1911.[12] And additionally, on December 6, 1911, McCarty fought Joe Cox (6-1, 4 KOs), and stopped him in the sixth-round by way of an uppercut.[22][23]

On December 18, 1911, Fury fought 25-year-old contender Jeff Clark (60–5–8, 30 KOs) in a non-title bout in Springfield, Missouri.[24] With the exception of the first and second rounds, which were rushed by McCarty, Clark was easily in the lead.[24] The fourth and fifth rounds were evenly contested, but in the third round Clark hooked a left to McCarty's chin, which floored him, though McCarty was up at the count of four.[24] Through the sixth, seventh, eight, ninth and tenth rounds, McCarty was outclassed and ultimately lost a points-decision.[24] After defeating McCarty, Clark was said to be matched to fight Harry Wuest on December 28, 1911, followed by that of Joe Jeanette at Memphis in January 1912.[24] After his defeat by Clark, less than two-weeks after, McCarty faced Harry Wuest, in which he followed another loss in the form of a newspaper decision.[25] Following his defeat to Wuest, McCarty returned to achieve five consecutive knockouts in his defeats of Jim Harper, Bill Schultz, and Joe Hagan.[25] McCarty returned to the ring on May 3, 1912 at the Springfield Athletic Club, Springfield, Missouri against Carl Morris (13–2–0, 9 KOs), to which McCarty caught him with a clean right-uppercut to the jaw which sent Morris down in the sixth-round.[23] There was some confusion over how long Morris was down after being put there by McCarty. Morris claimed he was only down six seconds while referee Edward W Cochrane, who was not allowed to utter an audible count by local police, claimed Morris was down fourteen seconds, in which most of the ringside agreed with.[23] The fifth consecutive knockout came in the form of his defeat of Jack Reed on May 23, 1912.[25]

On August 5, 1912, McCarty lost the fight via newspaper decision to experienced Jim Stewart.[26] In the fourth, Stewart landed his right on McCarty's jaw with all his might, resulting in his opponent dropping his hands and grinning.[27] McCarty started off with a rush, taking Stewart by surprise and slamming him back against the ropes with a volley of left and right swings and straight punches.[27] Stewart stopped almost everything. McCarty started with a left jab to the face.[27] In the ninth round, McCarty nearly floundered to the floor from weariness when Stewart made him miss.[27] On August 6, 1912, The New York Times wrote that "McCarty did his best work with a left hook. He showed plenty of punching power with this hand. And occasionally he jarred Stewart with his right, but his work with this hand was crude. He was continually trying for Stewart's stomach, but he seemed unable to land in a manner which carried any speed behind the blow. He rushed continually, with his arms extended at full length, and wasted the power which the blow would have carried had he stood still and snapped his punches."[28]

Following his loss to Stewart, McCarty began his journey towards the top of the heavyweight division by facing future lineal champion Jess Willard (10–2–0, 7 KOs) at Madison Square Garden on August 19, 1912.[29] At the weigh-in, Luther, 20 at the time of the fight, weighed in at 203 and a one-quarter pounds, one of the heaviest he had weighed professionally; Willard, 30, came in heavier at 224 pounds.[30] On August 20, 1912, The New York Times wrote: "Willard's great height and reach had McCarty baffled in the first two rounds, but in the next two the Westerner tore in at a clip that gave promise of an easy victory, if not a knockout. Willard came back strong, however, in the later rounds of the bout, drove McCarty back with his accurate left jabs, shook McCarty from head to toes with terrific right uppercuts, and had him bleeding from the mouth, nose and forehead.[30] Both of McCarty's eyes were swollen when he left the right, and Willard carried a large bruise on his left cheek."[30] The fight was granted a draw from The New York Sun, Chicago Tribune, The Boston Daily Globe, whilst being granted a newspaper decision for Willard from The New York Times.[31][32] Willard was given the verdict almost unanimously by the New York papers, and it was said in reports of the contest that McCarty was hardly able to land one telling blow on him.[33] Undeterred by his previous two results, McCarty fought and beat Jim Barry, Jack McFarland and Al Kaufman , by way of knockout.[34]

On December 10, 1912, McCarty fought against Fireman Jim Flynn (60–16–20, 40 KOs) in Vernon, California, with the winner to face Al Palzer on January 1, 1913 for the heavyweight championship of the world.[35][36] McCarty weighed 205 pounds, marginally higher than his previous fights, with Flynn coming in at 190 pounds.[35] Flynn entered with a record of 10–1–0–1 in his previous twelve bouts.[37] McCarty improved his record to 16–2–3 with 14 stoppage wins, with a sixteenth-round technical knockout over Flynn.[38] Flynn was an easy target for McCarty's best blows, including a left jab and a right-cross. Although Flynn was outclassed from the first round, he was first in trouble in the eighth-round when a short right sent him to the map for the count.[39] Twice more before the end of the round Flynn went down, once rolling over on the floor three times before rising to his knee, where he crouched with blood pouring in a stream from his mouth and face, while Eyton tolled the seconds.[39] Both of Flynn's eyes were closed, his right ear was pounded to a grisly pulp, his noise broken and his lips driven to shreds between his teeth, resulting in referee Charles Eyton heeding the demands of the howling crowd to stop the fight.[39] After the fight, Flynn remarked: "Jim Corbett said in a mouthful after his second fight with Jeffries - 'he was too damned big.' That goes for me here. I never new they made men so game."[39]

In December 10, 1912, after McCarty's stoppage of Flynn, it was announced that McCarty would face White heavyweight champion Al Palzer (8–3–0–1, 5 KOs) on January 1, 1912.[35] On January 1912, Jack Johnson had begun active training again with the idea of getting back into the game, with Johnson remarking: "As far as McCarty and Palzer fighting for the championship — it is absurd. McCarty may be a wonderful boxer, but I will bet $10,000 that I can beat McCarty, Palzer and Willard in the same ring and take on one 15 minutes after defeating the other [...] When I fought Jeffries I told the public just how the bout would come out [...] I hope that the American public will forget some of the things that have been said about Johnson and let some of the 'black hopes' and 'white hopes' meet Johnson and fight it out and let the best man win."[40]

At the official weigh-in, before the fight, Palzer tipped the scales at 218 pounds, while McCarty weighed 205 pounds.[1] Prior to the fight, Palzer remarked: "I'll win any time between the first and the tenth. If the one good old punch doesn't do the work early in the fight I'll wear him down long before the limit. McCarty can't stand my pace. I'm in good shape and never was so confident in my life."[1] However, McCarty stated: "I expect to be a world's champion tonight. I never saw Palzer box, but I'm willing to take anything he can send to give one back. I just ask no quarter. Just let us get together and let the better man go out of the ring with the belt around his waist. I won't be surprised if I land the knockout within two rounds, but I'm ready for whatever comes."[1] Through seventeen rounds and into the eighteenth, McCarty out boxed, out-generaled and out-punched Palzer, and in the eighteenth had Palzer wobbling sadly, his knees shaking under the great strain of the body they no longer were able to support steadily.[41] A succession of lefts and rights to the head, which rocked Palzer to the bottom of his immense frame and caused blood to stream from cuts on his eyes and lips.[41] As the bell signalled the start of the eighteenth-round, McCarty stung Palzer with a left to the jaw, followed by a right to his head. Palzer reeled away, wobbly and shaken.[42][13] McCarty stalked him for the kill, and referee Eyton knifed in between the two, raised his hands, and the bout was over.[43][13][44] Upon his defeat of Palzer, he was given given a diamond-studded belt, valued at five thousand dollars, and was the recognised white heavyweight champion of the world.[10] After the events of the Palzer fight, Jack Johnson (54–10–10–3, 25 KOs) set side the tradition that required the champions to wait for others to challenge them, and called on McCarty to face him for the lineal championship.[45] Speaking after the fight, McCarty said: "When I accepted the heavy-weight championship belt, I agreed to an unwritten clause that I should never fight a negro [...] Well, I'm going to live up to my contract.",[46] and that would not fight Johnson "under any circumstances.”"[17]

On April 26, soon after his win over Palzer, McCarty again beat Flynn, this time more decisively, with McCarty leading throughout the fight and frequently compelled his opponent to clinch to avoid his vicious straight left jabs.[47] Although he appeared to be outclassed from the start, Flynn, rushed into clinch after clinch and succeeded in landing many blows on the champion at close quarters.[47] McCarty, however seemed to be in the pink of condition and was not affected by Flynn's hooks [...] With straight jabs he pounded away at his opponent's face.[47] At the end of the first round Flynn's nose was bleeding, in the second round his mouth was cut and before the close of the bout one eye was nearly closed.[47] He followed his win over Flynn with a ten-round, no-decision bout with Frank Moran in New York.[48][49] Moran was considered to be a trial-horse, but he gave McCarty a tough fight, and demonstrated that McCarty lacked a true knockout punch.[50] Nevertheless, McCarty survived the ten-round battle and won a newspaper decision according to The New York Times.[50] Another three-round exhibition with an unknown, Fred Fulton, occurred on May 15.[50]

Less than a month after beating Moran, McCarty travelling to Calgary, Alberta to take a "stay busy" fight with Canadian heavyweight Arthur Pelkey while he waited to fight another top contender or perhaps Jack Johnson himself.[51] McCarty smiled as he entered the ring on May 24, 1913, while Pelkey looked grim and determined.[50] During the first round of a fight billed as the World White Heavyweight Championship held on May 24, 1913, a few blows were thrown, but nothing of consequence.[50] According to The New York Times, McCarty lashed out with left jabs and found Pelkey's face, leaving a reddened countenance, with Pelkey rushing in and scoring with an uppercut.[52] McCarty's head shook and his neck muscles bulged.[52] From his face went the smile he had carried only moments before.[52] From the corner, Billy McCarney, McCarty's manager, screamed to his fighter: "Move! Move! Keep moving and stick out your left!"[52] McCarty, in a daze, on uncooperative legs, did not heed the advice. He stumbled around the ring, his face bloodless, and he took another left-right combination to the jaw.[52] McCarty smiled, and turned slightly and fell flat on his back in the ring, with the cheers of the crowd quickly turned silent as McCarty didn't move.[50] A chance blow just below the heart of McCarthy after one minute and forty-five seconds of fighting caused his death.[53] The blow struck McCarthy just below the heart, sending him reeling, to which he fell heavily to the floor.[53] The referee began the count and eventually McCarty was hauled to his corner, and as his faction attempted to revive him: Luther McCarty was dead.[52]

McCarty's death was front-page news around the world, as it was the first time in history that a champion had been killed in the ring, while also being the first time any boxer had been killed in the ring in Canada.[54][55] Everyone connected with the fight suffered, with Billy McCarney, and the referee, Ed W. Smith, The Chicago Evening American sports editor, were arrested.[55] Tommy Burns, the promoter, was indicted for manslaughter.[54][55] Arsonists burned down Tommy Burns's Arena, and boxing was banned in Alberta.[55] On learning of McCarty's death "Pelkey broke down and cried like a child all the way to the police barracks. "I killed a man, I killed a man" were the only words that passed his lips for over an hour.[55] Pelkey was arrested by the North-West Mounted Police and charged with manslaughter, and although he was absolved from blame by the Coroner's report, the shock of having killed McCarty in the ring ruined Pelkey.[55] He had become an uncomfortable man to have around, and was remembered in boxing history as the man who killed Luther McCarty.[55] On June 4, 1913, according to Windsor Star, Pelkey was described as a broken man, with his nerves being torn to shreds by the events of the few preceding days: "He may never fight again, but if he does, there appears to be every possibility that the recollection of the one blow to McCarthy's chin will make him an easy mark for opponents."[54] Whilst adding that Pelkey declared that he is unsure what he'll do, though stated he wishes to defend his title, but whether he'll be able to or not is a matter for the future to decide.[54]

Offers by theatrical promoters flooded in to put Pelkey on stage, no doubt in re-creation exhibitions of this bout, all of which he seems to have refused.[9] Reportedly Pelkey didn't want to fight again, but was forced into it because of legal fees incurred to defend himself in the aftermath of this tragedy.[9] Pelkey had lost his first four bouts when returning to the ring after McCarty's death, and lost his title to Jack Johnson's sparring partner, Gunboat Smith.[9] He could no longer defend himself in the ring, losing almost every bout after this fight, usually getting knocked out after a beating.[9] Pelkey finally settled in Ford City, Ontario to become a police officer and city councilman, and seemed to have recovered a semblance of redemption before contracting a sleeping sickness that was sweeping Canada and died at the 36 years of age, having secured a draw against Young Peter Jackson three months prior.[9]

Today, the legacy of McCarty is widely forgotten. However, he was once considered one of the top Heavyweight prospects during the 1910s by fellow boxers and boxing experts:[64][65]

• Nat Fleischer, founder of The Ring magazine, and Sam Andre in A Pictorial History of Boxing (1959) wrote of the effort to dethrone Jack Johnson as Heavyweight Champion and named some splendid fighters, to which they furthered: "The 'White Hopes' thrived between 1910 and 1915, and they were a mighty impressive lot, far better than the majority of the contenders in recent years. For a time it seemed that Frank Moran might be the successful candidate, and then the eyes of the boxing world became centred on a better all-around heavyweight, Luther McCarty."[66][26]

• DeWitt Van Court, boxing instructor of James J. Jeffries, asserted that McCarty was "[...] unquestionably the greatest young heavyweight prospect since the days of John L. Sullivan. McCarty had a huge frame, standing six feet four inches tall and having a reach of eighty-one inches. He weighed 205 pounds and stripped in the finest of condition and had really only begun to fill out at the time he died."[67][26][68]

• Dan Cuoco, boxing historian and director of the International Boxing Research Organization stated, "Luther McCarty was big and strong and considered by most boxing experts as the best of the 'White Hopes."[26]

• Billy McCarney, promoter of McCarty, elected McCarty as the greatest heavyweight ever. He anticipated that people would think sentiment caused him to choose McCartysince he developed and managed him but gave his reasons as follows. "[McCarty] was a natural born fighter. He had only two years of ring experience. Never had seen a boxing bout until he was forced in as a substitute at a show he attended with some cowboy friends [...] He was a combination of speed, cleverness, gameness and hitting ability. Immune to punishment, loving the lust of battle, gifted with every physical requirement - Luther McCarty was the world's greatest heavyweight"[69]

• John Lardner, American sports writer, conceded that McCarty "may well have been the best fighter of all the white hopes." He quotes Fleischer as saying, "There is little doubt that had McCarty lived he would have won the title [...] McCarty ... was not as big as Willard, but he was quite large ... and fast for his size."[70]