Townsend Harris High School - Crimson Gold Yearbook (Flushing, NY)

Page 52 text:

That was why Thorne wanted to qurt the game rmmy was rrght about what would happen to hrm rf he drdnt get out It had happened to Morton Possrbly he at the last moment had realrzed he would be beaten by Thorne just as Thorne knew now Edwards would wrn And possrbly he too had been troubled and nervous and haunted by thoughts of qurttrng the rrng But he had been greedy He had lost the trtle to Thorne and he would not leave wrthout rt Thorne remembered the attempted come back very well 'Vlorton had farled rn rt and had been pushed further and further down rn Lrfe untrl he reached the bottom and rernarned there Sudden ly Thorne saw hrmself rn Morton s place hesrtant undecrded srnkrng lower and lower He closed hrs eyes If he should travel that road It was rnevrtable Were he to strck he would go that way Well jrmmy had guessed rrght on a lot of thrngs but not thrs one Thorne was gettrng out tonrght Wrn or lose he would get out And just as he had made hrs decrsron the bell for the openrng round rang He was floored for the first trme rn the fifth As he came to hrs feet he was aware that he was through It was the begrnnrng of the end H went down once more before the bell rang and he walked unsteadrly to hrs corner at the close of the round hrs head throbbrng Balls of sweat were rollrng down hrs face and chest and he welcomed the cool water wrth whrch hrs seconds drenched hrm He stretched out hrs trred legs rested hrs achrng arms on the ropes besrde hrm drank rn arr wrth great gulps Hrs Cl'1CSK WHS l1C2lV11'1g He WHS VCIY I1I'CCl He had won the first three rounds because he was the aggressor Ed wards had fought cautrously feelrng Thorne out trrrng hrm The fourth had been a draw It was then that Thorne had first begun to feel the swrft sure Wearrness that ever as sarled hrm when he went more than three rounds He had gambled on wrnnrng rn the early moments of the fight and had lost rt He was worn out when he got up from hrs stool for the srvth Everythrng he possessed he had put rnto hrs punches rn the frrst three rounds Hrs mrghtly rr ht arm had avarled hrm nothrng He was trred and becomrng more so wrth each passrng second He had not fought so hercely for five years and hrs age was tellrng on hrm He could scarcely lrft hrs hands For the first trme rn hrs lrfe he was tastrng defeat Never had he battled so hopelessly knowrng rt was hopeless and strll ploddrng on wrth a dull spark of hope rn hrs breast The srxth round was torture He went down thrrce and was actually out the thrrd trme but the bell saved hrm One of Edwards vrcrous left hooks opened an old cut over h s eye and the blood trrckled down and stung hrm Edwards hrt hrm squarely on the jaw and knocked hrm down for the thrrd trme He attempted to pull hrmself up by the ropes but he was exhausted and fell back He could vaguely hear the referee count rn Erve x Tvxo seconds later when the bell rang he was uncounscrous How he managed to get to hrs feet -J ' v 4 - ' 7 , 7 .. . . , , 7 7 . , ' 7 7 7 ' ' 7 . 7 , 7 . 1 . 1 7 . . .U ' an 7 ' ' . ., - - 7 . . 7 7 7 . L , 7 ' Q . . , , . . . . . , , , . . , . 7 . ' 7 - 7 . , .. . , ' 1 . . , , . . a . . . 7 . . , - 7 ' 'tl' ' !! , , , g. ,..sr... f . .. . , , - 7 . 7 P g Forty-eight

Page 51 text:

ton was bumming around the city and but a few days ago had been arrested for vagrancy You d never know hrm 1mmy had declared He looks lrke he got the T B Pale and thrn and srckly And then Well they all go If they dont get out they vnnd up l1ke Morton Or else they go bugs Its a lousy game thrs frghtrng racket When a man lrkes If IES hard for hrm to urt Hard to qurt? Well Thorne vtouldnt call rt that In a way he prned Morton Not many of the old trmers left now he reflected Well He shrugged He too was get trng old Morton hadn t had brarns enou h to get out when he should have Strll he mrght have stuck because he lrked the game Thorne lrked rt rn the same way rn sprte of all rts drrtrness he lrked If He lrked lf for the clean that was rn If for the fickle crowd that was always for when hrs blows thudded agarnst the sweaty body of hrs opponent H lrked If It was a good game But rt was a game for young men and Thorne was no longer young He was old too old for the rrng Prtrfully old Soon he would get out rf he could He drdnt know 1mmy had sard he couldnt and 1mmy was rlght on a lot of thrngs Dont make me laugh 1mmy had sard You qurt? You can t Youll never get out I tell you rt holds a man who lrkes rt and makes rt damned hard for hrm to qurt You lrke If too much for your own good And you re too old for rt You thrnk you re as fast now as you were a year ago? Or a year before that? Or another year back? You re used up and you don t know If The Thun derbolt' scornfully Your thun der You won t beat Young Edwards wrth rt And Thorne had sa1d Young Edwards ' contemptuously and laughed But now he knew 1mmy was rrght he wouldn t beat Young Edwards He could see how the fight would go Errst he would force lf chasrng Edwards around the rrng shoonng h1s bolt early And he would lose Soon he would t1re and be at Edwards mercy and that would be the end They all go 1mmy had sald He was one of them f if. V 5 galley jo! A Thorne fell forward mto a chnch Ten years frve years from now youll be hang1ng around drrtv gyms 1mmy had asserted sparrrng partner a prelrm man that s all you ll be And people w1ll pornt you out and say See that? Thats Thunderbolt Thorne heavywerght champ of the world Sunk krnda low hasn t he? 7 9 , . Qt , a , D! l U fl ' , ' 7 . t v , J , . . , ., I D . ,, . , q I . . , I n , 0 ' n l 7 - 7 ' ' 7 . . . i , , , . . , O' D . I ' . , ,mb . Aff' , . . . . i . V .uf .,,,, ,nu,,,.v Y h 9 .... . 5 I - , .... . the wrnner, for the thr1ll that he got ..,,,, c K ..,,. , - . ' , C ......... ' , .vziflg ......-.. . . , IV S' ' , W . ,.r, V ff' YA l 'M . '57 AJ l , I W A ' xg ' ' J 3 Yf .7 I , ,YY J' . ' 4 . . U. , 1 , A . . ' , . 7 l , 1 , , , . , 1 . a . y 7 ex- , . , , Page Forty-sow

Page 53 text:

at the openrng of the erghth he drd not know Although hrs seconds had wrped the blood out of hrs eye the cut was strll bleedrng and rt blrnded hrm Even now he was clrngrng to hrs futrle desperate hope of wrnnrng Edwards led wrth hrs left and shot over hrs rr ht throwrng Thorne back wards He stumbled was spun around by a savage left and sud denly was flounderrng around the X. JP X X cr c Thornes hands are hangrng down X at hrs srdes rrng wrth Edwards on top of hrm The crowd was wrld The radro announcer shouted rnto hrs mrcro phone Edwards rs hrttrng the champ wrth everythrng he has Thornes hands are hangrng down at hrs srdes and he rs berng knocked all over the rrng It s a wonder that hrs legs keep hrm up There' He s down' One two three Thorne rolled over and shook hrs head to clear rt He swayed on hrs knees and crawled to hrs feet at seven and was hurled back by a strarght from the shoulder rrght Ed wards followed hrm up swrftly snap prng rnnumerable rrghts and lefts to hrs head poundrng at hrm fiercely Thorne fell forward rnto a clrnch but Edwards got one hand free and rncessantly hammered at hrm He trrpped and went to the canvas agarn Somehow he got to hrs feet stag gered from a rrght cross He was thrown back agarnst the ropes re bounded off them and fell rnto Edwards left hook He felt the canvas under hrs hands and pushed hrmself up tears rn hrs eyes Edwards met hrm wrth a low jab forced hrm back wrth a vrolent on slaught of lefts downed hrm wrth a furrous uppercut The crowd howled On the floor Thorne was nearly sob brng The referee s vorce reached hrs ears Srx seven He opened hrs eyes and found hrmself starrng rnto the dazzlrng brrllrancy of the lrght above the rrng He staggered to hrs feet He could see nothrng From somewhere a glove shot out and caught hrm rn the mouth and he went reelrng away from rt Wrtlu hrs left glove he prred open the lrd of one eye Before hrm he could drmly see hrs opponent and wrth a choked cry he stumbled wrldly for ward Edwards brought up hrs rrght and flung hrm down agarn hrs face rn the resrn At the count of nrne he was up He lunged at a blurred figure before hrm and was stung wrth a rrght that rocked hrm back on hrs heels Edwards caught hrm flat footed and drove hrm back agarnst the ropes A verrtable avalanche of punches were crashrng down on hrm A terrrfic left was the blow that ended rt all He strffened becomrng very erect and the tendons rn hrs neck stood out And then he slump . . , . . - 7 , - . . . .. .7 . , . . . I D 7 3 Q ' ' . .OI K . - I 7 ' an f ' ' 7 I , . - 9 , - . ' u 2 I . . . , 'Q li! .Wk ' ' ' - g 'MFE . , . . X if ' . . xi -I I fp . . .' 'S . IEf . . . . 5' ,pun v.... .--.... . ' fail f r a , ., . . . ll.. l1. 4 - v 7 1 7 . 7 .1 1 . ,j . : il ' ' ' ' ' . KY ' ,lf 7 - . 77 ' ' 7 if ,YY I , ' ' Page Forty-urn