For 17 years I covered the sport of Boxing for magazines like Ring Magazine and Boxing Illustrated on TV for PBS Chicago and Fox Sports, and as a radio reporter and host at WMVP, WSCR The Score in Chicago and The Sporting News Radio Network from 1989-2006.
I've started The Big Bout Podcast, which focuses on current bouts and historic fighters and matches. The first episode is an audio documentary on the rivalry
between Heavyweight champions Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney
This Saturday Sept 22nd marks the 91st anniversary of The Dempsey-Tunney "Long Count Fight held at Soldier Field in 1927. Along with being one of the biggest sporting events of the 1920s,it was controversial. Demspey was losing the fight but knocked Tunney down in the 7th round. The referee took a long time to start the 10 count and Tunney stayed down for 14 seconds. Many sports reporters have to this day debated if Tunney could've continued had the referee started the count as soon as Tunney hit the floor .
The documentary features interviews with Studs Terkel (who listened to the live radio
broadcast as a 14 year old) Screenwriter/Sportswriter Budd Schulberg (On The Waterfront
The Harder They Fall) Dempsey biographer Roger Khan Tunney Biographer and Jack Cavanaugh, Boxing historian Bert Sugar and David Zivin who wrote a feature about the bout for Chicago Magazine
Subsequent episodes feature the full length interviews with Schulberg Sugar and Cavanaugh, plus a talk with actor Max Baer Jr (Jethro of The Beverly Hillbillies) about his late father, former 1930's heavyweight champion Max Sr .
1 comment:
Thanks for this John. Great to hear more about the fight, and great to hear these wonderful people and you discuss Chicago boxing history.
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