Word: dempsey
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DIED. Gene Tunney, 81, former world heavyweight boxing champion who twice defeated Jack Dempsey before retiring undefeated in 1928; of a heart attack; in Greenwich, Conn, (see SPORT...
...high school dropout at 16, he became a self-taught Shakespearean scholar. He was also an intelligent fighter, a master of the sweet science who won the title from Jack Dempsey on a decision in 1926. In their second fight, Tunney was ahead on points when Dempsey decked him, then lost his chance to regain the title when he was slow to go to a neutral corner. Given an extra four seconds to clear his head?the famous Gene Tunney in his prime (1926) Aloof from the Damon Runyon types. "long count"?Tunney got up and outboxed Dempsey...
...enough to quit at the top, and settled into a successful business career. He lived quietly with his wife Polly Lauder and four children in Greenwich, Conn. In 1971 the fighter's son, John, became U.S. Senator from California. As time went by, Tunney came to be friends with Dempsey. The old foes were thought of together, two men joined by their past. When Tunney's death was reported, Dempsey's wife Deanna said of her ailing husband, "He is taking it very badly. You must remember Gene was a big part of Jack's life for 60 years...
Unfortunately for the sake of conversation, the litany isn't a very long one. After you get past the first few obvious names--Jack Dempsey, Mickey Cochrane, Charlie Conerly--the roster of Celtic greats starts to resemble a "Who's He?" of modern, and not-so-modern, athletics. Real old-timers--the ones ancient enough to remember when Notre Dame actually had more than two Irish ballplayers per year--like to pull out the names of The Great Ones. Big Ed Delahanty, the first man to hit four home runs in a major league game, and "Tip" O'Neill...
...experts to say the best fighter probably was Louis, the man with the fast and powerful hands. But Ali had something else that put him in a class apart, a personal flair that, coupled with his athletic skills did indeed make him "the greatest." No less an authority than Dempsey praises Ali for his accomplishments: "He brought back boxing. It was dying, and he brought it back...