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THE ENCYCLOPEDIA
OF
WORLD BOXING CHAMPIONS
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The fact
he was nicknamed "Jack The Giant Killer" tells you
something about Ernest Butler Price, alias Jack
Dillon. By comparison with most light-heavyweights,
he was a peewee. He stood only 5 ft., 7 1/2 in., and
weighed a mere 158 pounds.
Jack Dillon was the original "carpetbag" fighter. That is, he
had a different manager in every town. Typical was
for him to get off a train in the A.M. and fight in
the P.M. the same day. His fists were for hire. In
1912, to give you an example, he fought five times
in February, five times in October, and four times
in November.
"I just like to fight," explained Dillon, simply.
Jack Dillon was America's answer to England's Tom Sayers, the
middleweight champion who went around beating the
heavyweight greats of Europe back in the 1860's.
Like his ancient counterpart, Dillon was compactly
built, with finely proportioned shoulders, a
cavernous muscular chest, a strong jaw and a
forehead indicating deep intelligence, a head which
would not disgrace a scholar. Something more subtle
than mere physique matched this man: there was never
a great man, nor a great fighter, without character,
and Dillon had character. Handsome affable,
articulate, with clean chisel-cut features
accentuated by his trademark, a crew-type haircut,
Jack frequently was mistaken for a college man.
All his life he matched himself against big men. Talk about
the biblical David! David met only one Goliath,
he, Jack Dillon, fought dozens. Men like
Battling Levinsky, Porky Flynn, Fireman Jim Flynn
and Harry Greb. Yet he was
never knocked out in a career spanning
14 years (1908-1923) and 240 professional fights! |
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John D. McCallum
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