Lincoln's Passion: A VERY Alternate History

[QBL]

Hello everyone

I've been a lurker on this forum for quite a few years now. Mostly keeping up with Cap's Universe and seeing this community keeping this game/simulation alive. I've played TBCB 2.5 for maybe 5 or so years now. Always found it quite enjoyable to watch history unfold. I had an interesting idea but I knew the only way I'd ever stick to it was if I came here to the forum and posted about it... See below.

It's quite well known that ol' Honest Abe was quite the catch-as-can wrestler for his time. In this universe, we're going to extrapolate that as President Lincoln being a big fan of combat sports of all kinds, including boxing. During the Civil War, pressure is mounting not only on the field of battle but also on the homefront. Restlessness and paranoia about the State of the Union grips civilians as the national crisis unfolds.

Desperate to grant the people of the Union a much-needed distraction, our Boxing fan-in-chief assembles the first nationally publicized boxing tour -- doing his best to throw the might of the American Press behind it. Bare-knuckle boxing had it's local champions and regional underground heroes, but for the first time it was granted true sporting legitimacy, something even baseball was yet to achieve. A cash prize was posed for the winner of each tour, with competitors traveling across the homefront to Union cities in highly publicized events, setting the stage for the emergence of professional boxing.

[Cap]

Welcome, QBL.

Let 'er rip!

Cap

[QBL]

PITTSBURGH, PA

Today, the inaugural Federal Tournament champion was crowned in Pittsburgh, the first stop on a series of tours to take place for prizefighters barnstorming across the US with federal financial backing. A crowd of several thousand attended the event, hosted at the Exposition Grounds along the Allegheny River. A raucous crowd rallied behind local prizefight champion Jeremy Wethington, renowned by locals in the know as perhaps the most feared fighter in the northern Appalachian region. The other competitors came from far and wide to compete at the behest of their country and region, including Philadelphia's young Bob McDowell, Nathan Wright and Jacob Phillips of New York, David Moser of Buffalo, Dennis Patterson and Doug Luckett from different parts of New England, and Chicago's John Whittier.

In our first bout, Jacob Phillips, considered by some the tournament favorite, dominated John Whittier, defeating him within 3 rounds via knockout in a bout where Whitter was constantly battered from post to post. Phillips moved on to the next round with relative ease.

Local man Jeremy Wethington is likely the most veteran of competitors, the oldest in the entire tournament. He had to be resilient in a close match against David Moser, who he went to a decision with, only securing a majority decision. Waiting with bated breath, local men rejoiced when the decision was announced, though a frustrated Moser expressed to the press following the bout that he felt it unfair that judges were selected from the local populace.

Bob McDowell shocked many as the young man beat his senior Dennis Patterson with ease via KO in the third round after knocking Patterson down a second time.

Nathan Wright and Doug Luckett would go the distance in an exciting bout. Both men were worse for wear after the match, bloodied and bruised in front of an awestruck crowd amazing that they still stood after the beatings they had laid upon each other.

Jeremy Wethington met John Phillips as the local star met the tournament favorite in the semi-final a week later. This bout had perhaps the most exciting crowd of the entire tournament, with both men putting their heavy hands on display and delivering some truly devastating strikes to the other. Both still stood until the crowd exploded with the fall of Phillips, who failed to beat the ten count, granting the local man heroic status and the victory.

Bob McDowell and Nathan Wright went to a rather bore decision in which McDowell would earn the unanimous victory, moving on to face Wethington in the final.

But in the final, McDowell would be outmatched by Wethington, energized by yet another crowd frantically shouting for his victory. Wethington would knock down McDowell twice in this one, and Bob failed to rise again after being knocked down in the tenth round. Wethington earned his cash prize in front of a proud and satisfied crowd, establishing himself at the first Federal Tournament champion, likely the first legal professional boxing champion in history.

[QBL]

PHILADELPHIA, PA

The Federal Combat Circus progressed across Pennsylvania two months after it's first showing in Pittsburgh with a few names from the previous tournament retained, including previous finalist and Philadelphian Bob McDowell (2-1-0) and champion Jeremy Wethington (3-0-0) who managed to win in his hometown of Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania Inquirer, hosted in Philadelphia, has billed the tournament as an opportunity of revenge for McDowell, now in his hometown as opposed to that of Wethington. As it stands, the two competitors would be able to meet in the finals if they win their sides of the bracket.

Nathan Wright (1-1-0) and John Whittier (0-1) are set to return to the tournament, while the rest of the tournament is filled with new local entries - including Michigan's Tim Burns, Delaware teenager Lou Mulholland, Randy Lewis of the Finger Lakes region and Chris Smith of West Virginia.

Local star Bob McDowell (2-1-0) would handily defeat John Whittier (0-1-0) in a lopsided decision, earning the crowd's respect in the process.

The longtime fighter Randy Lewis would win a bout against a firey 18 year old Lou Mulholland, whose youth was something of an inspiration for the crowd as they started to get behind him. Lewis would knock Lou down twice in the bout, dominating Lou for the most part.

Jeremy Wethington would make his triumphant return against Tim Burns in another decision. Yet again, Wethington narrowly escaped in a close decision victory in the first round reminiscent of his majority decision victory against David Moser. Wethington, billed as a great adversary for the hometown hero, heard jeers throughout the bout as he won the slog.

Chris Smith beat Nathan Wright in yet another decision, one which perhaps wasn't the best choice to close out the first day after the McDowell and Wethington fights had closed out. Those two men had earned the reputation of the most important boxers on the card, leaving crowds a bit disinterested at the sight of these two.

The second day opened with Bob McDowell masterfully outboxing Randy Lewis from the first bell, earning a confident unanimous decision from the hometown judges and crowd. After the bout, McDowell found himself mobbed by a few particularly inebriated spectators, ending up disappearing into the crowd and only escaping once finding a journalist for the Inquirer.

To close out the day though, Jeremy Wethington looked the most fearsome competitor. He would manage to knock out Chris Smith in just the fourth round, knocking his adversary down 3 times across those 4 rounds. Setting the stage for an incredible rematch in the following week, word spread rapidly across city circles about McDowell's opportunity to win in front of his home crowd.

Our final day saw crowds of seemingly absurd proportions. Jefferson Street Grounds served as the setting for a rematch that had over five times the attendance of the match in Pittsburgh. The crowd was not particularly friendly either, with various threats being yelled at ringside towards judges as the match progressed. Wethington would have been right to fear quite the hometown favoritism for McDowell, though perhaps those fears were spelled by the arrival of a local volunteer police force who were forced to implement some crowd control around the ring. Jubilation erupted when McDowell struck with a hard rear hook that floored Wethington in just the second round, but Wethington was able to stagger to his feet at the count of only seven. The battle continued until the ninth where Wethington came back to land a shot that would end the fight, putting McDowell out cold and collecting his check.

Following the bout, Wethington spoke with the Pennsylvania Inquirer and mentioned that he would be returning home to Pittsburgh and not continuing along the barnstorming tour up the East Coast. Despite his winnings, Wethington felt as if continuing on the tour could not possibly be profitable for him, and continued participation would likely require further recognition as the true champion of the Union or a larger cash prize for victory. The tournament tour continues and will be in New Jersey two months later.

[QBL]

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ

September came and along with it a wind of excitement in the boxing world. As the Federal Tour made its way to New Jersey, papers across the Northeast excitedly reported the claim that President Lincoln himself would attend the event he spurred the creation of. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth at large still buzzed at the possibility of a return to the state, and excitement was building for the return of competitors like Bob McDowell and Jeremy Wethington, the two finalists of both previous tournaments. With the President's endorsement and furthered press engagement, the two were emerging as some of the country's first sporting stars -- especially in Pennsylvania itself.

Something of a damper was put on the Federal Tour with Wethington's announcement that he would return home to Pittsburgh in light of the continued schedule and what he deemed as insufficient compensation. Yet even without its champion, the Tour steamed ahead with more than enough momentum to draw crowds.

En lieu of the champ it would be McDowell who was the main draw to the Atlantic City tournament, which would ultimately turn out a smaller attendance compared to the two preceding events.

McDowell would kick things off the right way as a heavy tournament favorite against a debuting local brawler Michael Scott with a first-round knockout that truthfully was never in doubt.

Jacob Phillips made his return after missing out on the Philadelphia date, knocking out the teenage Lou Mulholland, who again showed he may not be prepared for the brutality of the bare knuckle boxing world in it's professional stage.

Ronnie McIntosh of Maryland made his debut in New Jersey but came up short against David Moser, a man who is a quiet favorite given he had once driven Wethington to a majority decision, the closest call of Wethington's career to this point.

Randy Lewis, the former semifinalist and loser to McDowell renowed for his quick feet would win a dominant decision over Doug Luckett, who fell to an 0-2 career record.

The second day's first match had McDowell meet Phillips in the ring. The former semifinalist in Phillips showed that these semifinals may be his peak performance as he was simply outcontrolled and outclassed by McDowell, who would score a 3rd round knockout over the New Yorker. After the bout, Phillips promised he'd remain on tour, especially given the upcoming stops in New York and New York State.

David Moser and Randy Lewis was a much closer fight, as was the expectation. Lewis and Moser shared a chess match of sorts, each prying at the chance for an opening, but the door remained shut for most of the fight. In the end, it was Lewis who would score a unanimous decision victory, booking his ticket as the first finalist on the Federal Tour other than McDowell or Wethington. The Pennsylvania Inquirer reacted in jubilation to this news, proudly naming McDowell a heavy favorite in the finals bout. After all, it was Lewis who McDowell had handily beaten just two months prior to book his ticket to the finals in Philadelphia.

But the fan favorite in McDowell found himself the bridesmaid once again in what was an utterly shocking beating placed upon him by Lewis. Certainly, McDowell is no shorter of grit than Lewis is his cash prize -- he would be felled a shocking five times in eight rounds before narrowly missing the ten count. For perhaps the first time, the Federal Tour saw a flurry of traveling spectators for the final, as attendance increased considerably with proud Philadelphians making the trip, only to see their local hero battered by the veteran from Ithaca, NY.

As the Tour continues into New York State, expectations are high for Lewis in particular as he returns nearer to home. Even still, with this win he has established himself as one of the chief competitors in this still growing world.