PRIZE-FIGHTING, fighting with the fists for a reward or prize. The ancient Greeks were the earliest to have prize-fights among their sports, so far as our historic knowledge goes. The pugilatus (prize-fighter) fought naked except, at times, for a loin cloth. The sport was so popular that the nation placed gods and heroes among the victors in the ring, among them Apollo, Heracles, Tydeus, Poly deuces. It was considered one of the hardest and most dangerous games and death during or soon after the encounter was common. They used the ccrstus, made of thongs or strips of leather which were tied around the fighters' hands to make the impact of a blow more tell ing. Later the ccestus. was loaded with lead and iron, producing frightful weapons. First recorded statements of professional prize pugi lism as a popular sport in England date from the end of the 17th century, and the champion ship started with James Figg of London, who held the title from 1719 to 1730. He built an *amphitheatre where, as °Master of Ye Noble Science of Defence' (as his printed circular reads), he taught the nobility and gentry 'ye use of ye small back sword and quarter-staff at home and abroad.* His encounter with Ned Sutton, in 1727, started with a broadsword bout, after which they took up their unarmed encounter, which was as much a wrestle as a fist-fight. In 1733 a Venetian, 'The Gondolier,* fought Bob Whitaker, who appears to have given the Italian a solar plexus blow in the last round. His victory was soon followed by his defeat in a true fisticuff encounter with Nathan iel Peartree. Both these British fighters were pupils of Figg, as were also Tom Pipes and George Gretting who fought each other — none challenging the champion Figg. Pipes beat Gretting. In 1734 George Taylor (on Figg's death) claimed the championship, the reason not being quite clear, but none disputed the claim. Jack Broughton became the third cham pion and introduced the sole bare-knuckled fight with the broadsword and other combats discarded. He also reduced the °rules" of the °ring" to a fine art. The next champion was John Slack, butcher, who beat Broughton in 1750. But the Duke of Cumberland, who had been a great and admiring patron of Broughton, and who had bet $50,000 against $5,000 on him, considered he had been swindled by a palpable fake fight, closed the old amphitheatre and set the police on the trail of the ex-champion. William Stevens, °The Nailer," pounded the fight out of Slack, after breaking his arm; but only to hold the title some eight and one-half months. Then, from appearances, he °sold" the championship by flagrantly leaving himself open to a blow on the head from his competitor, George Meggs, which felled him, he walking off laughing °none the worse for the fray." Meggs had to leave London on account of the scandal and was beaten by Millsom, a Bath baker, who held the title for three years. In 1765 Tom Juchau, °The Disher," defeated Millsom, to be beaten the following year by William Darts, a dyer, at Guilford, with a stake of $5,000, the largest since the Broughton-Slack affair. Darts was knocked out, in 1769, by Lyons, the water man, the betting 10 to 1 against the latter. Lyons retired and gave back the title to Darts who lost it to Peter Corcoran, a herculean six foot Irishman, who held the championship till 1776, when he was beaten by Harry Sellers (13th champion) in .a match for a stake of $500 and a wager of $3,000. Thomas Jackling (fre quently mentioned as Tom Johnson) became 14th champion after beating a number of challengers. °Big Ben" Brain, in 1791, defeated Jackling, but died in 1794, having been a sick man for years before he won the title. Daniel Mendoza, a Jew, held the 16th title, improving the science with his skill and ending the reign of the crude slugger. Mendoza also introduced the profit able occupation of sparring exhibition tours, and built the Lyceum in the Strand, London, for teaching the °noble art." John Jackson next became champion, in 1795. Nineteenth holder of the title was Jack Bartholomew, who was knocked out by James Belcher, grandson of the 4th champion, Slack, in his 19th year. Next came Hen Pearce (“The Game Chicken") as 21st champion, with John Gully, his succes sor, who retired and became member of Parlia ment. Thomas Cribb was 23d champion, and beat the American negro (first of his race to enter the ring) Bill Richmond in 1805. Thomas Molyneaux, another American negro, after beating Burrows and Blake claimed a champion ship match with Cribb, but lost the fight in 1810 and again in 1811. Thomas Winter, under the alias of Spring, took the 24th championship in 1823. Tom Cannon got the title in 1824, and Jem Ward in 1825. James Burke became 27th champion in 1833, but, on his return from an American tour, he was beaten by William Thompson (Bendigo) in 1839. Then Ben Caunt,
who had beaten Bendigo before he met Burke, was declared champion, losing the title to Nick Ward, but regaining it (as 33d champion). In 1845 Bendigo again won the title. Caunt met °The Michigan Giant," Charles Freeman, to make an engagement, but the American's seven foot-three height and 333 pounds of trained fighting flesh and bone caused him to take the giant to England on an exhibition tour. Wil liam Perry, °The Tipton Slasher," became 35th champion in 1850, passing the title over to Harry Broome on a foul in 1851. Tom Pad dock was champion (37th) from 1856 to 1858, when he was defeated by Tom Sayers, who be came 38th champion heavyweight after having beaten all corners as middleweight till Nat Langham defeated him. Sayers held his own when 1860 brought him a contestant in the American champion, J. C. Heenan (9Benecia Boy"). This noted battle in 1860 was stopped by the referee in the 42d round, Heenan blinded in both eyes and Sayers with his right arm out of commission since the seventh round. The draw was never fought out, the world's title being held jointly by both, each presented with a belt. Heenan, in 1863, was beaten by Tom King in England, he becoming the 40th cham pion. So England had held the championship for two centuries, losing but one battle to the Irishman, Peter Corcoran, and the draw with Heenan. Jem Mace became champion in Eng land in January 1862, only to lose it back to Tom King in November. Heenan, returning to England as the American champion, was knocked out by King, he becoming world cham pion. Mace next became (1863) champion, beating Joe Goss. America sent Joe Coburn, an Irish-American, to get the belt but in 1864 he returned without a fight and claimed the championship; later in the year Joe Wormald went to England to fight for the championship but on account of an accident lost his engage ment stake without a fight. Squabbles and police interference made prize-fighting in Eng land so difficult that the sport had to be carried on in America. Here the police made the carry ing out of engagements quite difficult, and in 1868 the meeting of Ned O'Baldwin, the Irish man, and Joe Wormald at Lynnfield, Mass., was broken up by the police. But Mace met Tom Allen near New Orleans in 1870 defeating Allen in 10 terrific rounds. And with Mace's retirement in 1873 we have reached the last English champion. An attempt at reviving prize-fighting in England was made 1889-90, when the engagement was made between the Australians Slavin and M'Auliffe, but the fight at Walworth was stopped and, encountering later, they were both arrested. What the old time sports called prize-fighting, however, was killed when gloves (even if only four ounces) had to be used by professionals. The brutality of the bare-knuckled prizefights gaveplace to the more scientific boxing. In 1885' James Smith won the heavyweight championship of England. In 1887 he was defeated by Jake Kil rain of Boston, the latter now becoming the world's champion. John L. Sullivan, of Boston, defeated Kilrain in 1889 in what is thought to have been the last contest in America under London prize-ring rules. Sullivan remained champion until 1892 when he was defeated by James J. Corbett the cleverest boxer the world had hitherto known or perhaps will ever know. In 1897 Robert Fitzsimmons defeated Corbett, but only held the championship three years, los ing it to James J. Jeffries at Coney Island, N. Y., in 1900. For eight years Jeffries defeated sev eral aspirants for championship honors, but on 4 July 1910 was defeated at Reno, Nev., by the colored pugilist Jack Johnson. The latter lost his crown to Jess Willard at Havana, Cuba, 5 April 1915. On 4 July 1919, Willard fought Jack Dempsey at Toledo, Ohio, and was de feated in three rounds. (See BOXING). Con sult (Fistiana) (London 1868) ; Fis tiana> (New York 1876) ; Lynch, Com plete Amateur Boxer' (London 1913) ; Miles, (Pugilistica) (3 vols., London 1863) ; O'Reilly, of Boxing' (Boston 1888) ; Doran, ( Sel f -Defense' (Toronto 1879) ; 'Boxing (Badminton Library, London 1899) ; (Boxing' (in Oval Series, ib. 1896) ; (Spal ding's Libraries, New York annually); Trotter, Treatise on Boxing' (Philadelphia 1900).
in warfare, money paid to the captors of a ship or place where booty has been obtained, the money being realized by the sale of the captured property after the es tablished court, on full evidence, has adjudged it lawful spoil. The amount realized by the sale, placed in the hands of the official account ant of the navy, is distributed ratably, according to rank, among the officers and men who as sisted at the capture. See PRIZE.