Local History - The Barge Fight Traditional Cache
dfergie: It's a loosing battle against coastal cleanup day and earth day. Time to Archive.
Local History - The Barge Fight
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camoed 1.25 cup lock and lock tupperware container, bring a pen, I forgot to put one in it.
It is my belief that Geocaching will aide historians. What some document as Geocaches will help keep alive local lore, urban legends and local history.
If you've spent five minutes watching a boxing match, chances are you know what a left hook is. But did you know that on one hot summer afternoon the future world heavyweight champion invented the left hook in the waters off of Benicia? It was in the Carquinez Strait on June 5, 1889. And it was one of the most famous bouts of its time - a 27-round bloody slugfest "to the finish," so wild that it was immortalized on the big screen and even today, boxing historians refer to it simply as "The Barge Fight." That day's gladiators, heavyweight champ Jim Corbett and his small but scrappy opponent Joe Choynski fought each other for nearly two hours at a time when prize fights were illegal, yet growing in popularity.
According to a historical pamphlet published by the city of Benicia in 1934, "Choynski and Jim Corbett, also a native San Franciscan, were enemies of long standing, and a knockout at the hands of Corbett in an amateur bout when Choynski was 16 was the only black mark against Choynski. Upon the issuance of a challenge by Choynski, Corbett accepted on the condition that the California Athletic Club, backer of the fight, find a site away from the eyes of the law."
The original arrangement was for the bout, with a purse of $1,000 per man, to take place in secret on May 30, 1889, at a barn in Fairfax in Marin County. The bout was broken up by the local sheriff in the fourth round. Still, the net effect was the same: One of the great boxing matches in Bay Area history almost didn't happen.
The sheriff couldn't stop the bout; he could only delay it by a few days. According to an account by boxing historian Don Cogswell, a member of the fight's promotional group, Hall McAllister Jr., had connections in Benicia, and the event was rescheduled for June 5 on a barge anchored in Southampton Bay. (note: the photo in the link shows it's off of Matthew Turner Shipyard, other accounts of the fight say Southhampton Bay, the Shipyard would have been a busy place so I feel Southhampton Bay a better venue...plus I could place my hide here).
Read the rest of the story here:
(visit link)
You really need to read this whether you know the story or not!
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