From the Bear Garden

[bear]

It is learnt that the Duke of Albemarle's Footman hath issued a defi to The London Butcher for a contest of pugilistic skill fo determine which of the two is the maister of this skill in England. The Footman hath the backing of the Duke in this matter and assurance that the contest occur at The Bear Garden, Bankside, in Southwark, be the butcher bold enou to accept.

[CONN CHRIS]

Barring someone going back to Ug the Rock Eater, I do believe that our earliest universe setting is now underway.

I am looking forward to this Don!

[bear]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

Barring someone going back to Ug the Rock Eater, I do believe that our earliest universe setting is now underway.

I am looking forward to this Don!

In the old Ring Record Books Nat Fleisher listed Cain vs. Abel as the 1st recorded prizefight. I don't plan on going back that far.

This one will open with the boxing match that was first reported in a newspaper but will start right around 1720. It will postulate a similar situation to yours with Queensbury rules in effect for fights and I'm following your ideas in REC when creating my fighters.

James Figg was a prizefighter and teacher of martial arts that went beyond pugilism to include the cudgel and the back sword. Prize fights in his day, and earlier, involved masters of diverse weapons who fought a series of bouts, each with a different weapon, including, sometimes, fists. They were fighting for the prizes. These fights were also for an enhanced reputation that would gain them more students since many of them were teachers of these martial skills. Most of these prize fighters were cross-trained with various weapons and I'm going to make an assumption that the known participants from this era had some basic understanding of pugilism. They will form my early collection of TC's and undercard fighters. Pure pugilists don't really start appearing until the Broughton era. The assumption made in this uni is that the form of Prize fighting involving weapons has lost its legal status and that some form of Queensbury ruled pugilism is the only form of Prize-Fighting that is acceptable.

There was a puritanical religous opposition to Prize-Fighting in this time. Curiously it wasn't because of the bloodiness and danger involved. It wasn't the danger that they opposed, rather it was the fact that people enjoyed watching. The hideous death of an Irish Prize Fighter, Michael Butler, from a sword wound inflicted by Ned Sutton, The Gravesend Pipe Maker is described in graphic detail by Captain John Godfrey in his Treatise upon the Useful Science of Defense. In these days when bleeding was an accepted practice, medical care was pretty much a wishful thought. Butler could not afford good medical care. His calf had to be re-sown to his leg and the wound mortified--gangreen. Strange isn't it that bleeding is still seen in medicine today, practised by medical insurance plans rather than doctors.

[Gunsmoke]

Barring someone going back to Ug the Rock Eater

There's no point going back to the Ug Heavyweight era, as Dug and Zug were his only competitors and Ug dominated them in everyway...

[bear]

The London Butcher has accepted the challenge of the Footman. Stakes of 20 pounds a man have been posted as an indication of good faith. They shall be meeting anon, at the bear Garden

[CONN CHRIS]

Hefty stake!

[bear]

The Duke can afford it.

[mikehoudini]

This should be an interesting thread. At first I thought it read "from the Beer Garden". Guess I really do need to get my new glasses! It'll be fun to watch this unfold.

[CONN CHRIS]

Did the London Butcher show?

[bear]

Neither side has reached agreement on the referee who will be the sole arbitor of this event. They are still haggling.

[bear]

The butcher has been seen boasting that he'll conk the Duke's Catchfart.

[bear]

The latest scuttlebutt on this fight involves the rumor that both sides are nearing agreement on a possible referee.

Billingsgate Billy Flashman is said to having been discussing recompence for the task with both parties.

Samuel Pepys is one of the note-worthy gentlemen known to have declined the honor.

[bear]

Butcher and Footman Meet in the Bear Garden Ring

On the first day of January, 1681 sporting coves, doxies, culls along with more sporting members of the fancy came to the Bear Garden to witness the long awaited prize fight between The London Butcher and The Duke of Albermarle's Footman. This bout has been talked of for some time with the principles debating the choice of referee like so many Schoolmen mooting the existence of angels. Recently both parties settled upon Billingsgate Billy Flashman, noted sport, to have the honor. Both fighters looked extremly fit when, after their arrival, they stripped to enter the lists. The Butcher, whose prefight hectoring about beating the Duke's catchfarte, was clearly the favorite among the hoi polloi. I expect that they had wagered heavily upon him.

The first minute of the first round passed with both fighters trying to find proper distance after an early clinch. The Butcher's cleaver-hand, then got busy scoring to the body then to the head of the footman. Albermarle's man made the butcher to have pause with a crashing blow to the ribs of the butcher. A blow to the butcher's gob was followed by another to the ribs distressed the butcher to the point where he sought the comfort of teh earth and a respite from the activity.

Both fighters came to scratch for round two with The Butcher looking eager. Both men exchange niceties with the Butcher looking to haved scored better. The footman lands another blow to the ribs but then The Butcher seized control landing his spoon-hand hard to the footman's jaw twice. Both men exchange and the Butcher's spoon-hand re-aquaints itself with the footman's jaw. The footman's ribs are peppered and a glancing right hand to the jaw has the footman seeking succor with the turf.

The butcher lands the first blow in round three and follows by attempting to place the Butcher's head into chancery. The butcher avoids this effort, finds his distance and scores with a neat jab. A one-two by the butcher rocks the footman onto his heels. Several mores punches are rained on the stunned footman before he can end the round with a trip to the turf. The odds and betting on behalf of the butcher have increased.

The footman opens the fourth scoring with a heavy cross. The Butcher doesn't allow him to follow this advantage up and scores with a one-two. A solid punch to the chin and a punch to the body by the footman have the crowd excited. The butcher, has, however, retained his his wits and quickness jabbing the footman repeatedly with sharp left hands. This series of unremitting jabs has the footman seeking turf.

Round five finds the footman drawing claret with a blow to the side of the butcher's conk. The sight of blood has fired up the Bear Garden denizens. The footman tickles the butcher's ribs with a left hand. The butchter retaliates with several darts of his own. Pretty even going here, apart from the drawing of claret. The men continue with several exchanges before the butcher sought turf after a jab.

The sixth round proceeded slowly with each fighter seeking to measure his distance and some even exchanges. The footman is final able to graplle and both go down.

Round seven opens with another series of exchanges. The footman reopens the butcher's cut during one of them and draws more claret with a jab to the butcher's smeller. The blood does not seem to be effecting the butcher adversely. He is, by trade, accostumed to it. The butcher scores with a series of blows that have the footman seeking respite. Referee Flashman had some undiscernible words with the butcher at the end of this round.

Eighth opens with the butcher landing a jab and a left to the body. Footman answer's with a jab of his own. Momentarily trapping the butcher in a corner he reopens the wounds with some ponderous punches. Undaunted or perhaps inspired by his own blood, the butcher began to pepper the body of the the footman dart after dart. Rather abruptly, Referee Flashman intervened, quickly raising the hand of the Albermerle's footman, awarding him the duke for an alleged low blow. Flashman handed the stake money to Albermarle's party and departed in quicker time than the start of the ensuing riot.

No official time can be given for this match since the timekeeper's watch was stolen during the melee.

The result on record, however dubious, must remain a W DQ 8 in favor of Albermarle's Footman.

[CONN CHRIS]

At long last!

Great wrote-up Don, it realy captured the time. My only regret is that it wasn't a more protracted afair.

[bear]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

At long last!

Great wrote-up Don, it realy catured the time. My only regret is that it wasn't a more protracted afair.

I would have liked a longer bout as well, but given the referee selection I couldn't have scripted a better result,

Wish someone's eye had been shut so that I could have used the "closed ogle" expression.

[Jersey-Jim]

I love reading all the old styles of writing the fight recaps. Listening to old radio broadcasts give you the "feel" for a time period, too. I wonder what they'll think of our current style 200 years from now? It can't get much more casual than it currently is.

High school English must be tough for today's teens.

[bear]

Originally Posted by Jersey-Jim

I love reading all the old styles of writing the fight recaps. Listening to old radio broadcasts give you the "feel" for a time period, too. I wonder what they'll think of our current style 200 years from now? It can't get much more casual than it currently is.

High school English must be tough for today's teens.

Thanks, Jim
My sentences were too short to be truly Eganesque and I was somewhat restrained in my employment of Cant expressions.

[bear]

The first bare knuckle boxing match recorded in a newspaper was between The London Butcher and The Duke of Albermarle's Footman. This historical event has been re-fought to kick off events in this universe. This boxing match was by no means the first prize fight of this era. There was a long standing tradition of Prize-Fighting in booths and at fairs that owed its beginnings to earlier guilds of swordsmen and practioners of various modes of self defense. Samuel Pepys, in his noted diary, reports of his attending various "Prizes" several years earlier than the set-to between the butcher and the footman. Various masters fought "Prizes" earn winnings and to win students.

One noted Prize-fighter, Sgt. Miller issued a defi to James Figg's early employer/teacher Timothy Buck to meet and exercise with Back-Sword, Single Falchon, Sword and Dagger, Case of Falchons, Sword and Buckler, and Quarter Staff. It can be seen, from this, that the Masters that fought for Prizes were highly skilled fighting men who were cross trained with various martial skills. An operatvie assumption for the early stages of this univese will be that pugilism, is but one of these skills.

Around 1714, a young James Figg entered the employ of The Clare Market Butcher, Timothy Buck. Figg, like Buck, became a master of various martial skills. Best remembered today as the "Father of Pugilism" Figg was also a master of the backsword and the cudgel. Figg's superiority was soon noted and he gained wealthy patronage. He opened his Great Booth soon thereafter.

It is in these murky beginnings of pugilism that this universe will begin. In conducting the affairs of the ring, here I shall endeavor to follow the approach that Conn Chris has been utilizing in the REC Bare knuckle world.
I thank him for sharing his bareknuckle figther templates with me and most of the fighters you see here will conform to these templates. There will be a few exceptions. Known masters of Prizes from the late 17th and early 18th will be utilized as well as known early pugilists. The pugilistic abilities of these Masters will generally be on the lower scale of Christopher's templates, or below them. They will suffer somewhat in relation to pure pugilists by not being experts. In the case of really notable masters, there will be an exception or two, and relative to one another they should be competitive, but they will not be as good as the poor pugilists. There will be one or two really woeful fighters like Tom Osborn, who Fistiana reports as losing one fight in one second to Ben Johnson in 1740. Tom's eventual appearence here, as the the first real tomato can, can be awaited.

Bear

[Jersey-Jim]

Originally Posted by bear

Thanks, Jim
My sentences were too short to be truly Eganesque and I was somewhat restrained in my employment of Cant expressions.

That's okay. It's no different than adapting a book and creating a screenplay or movie version of it. You have to compromise here and there. Call it, "creative license."

[bear]

I have begun posting fighters that I've create for this universe onto the mods forum in a thread entitled Corinthians

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...rinthians.html

Bear