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_ NEW
YORK, Feb. 20 (AP) - A
pale, courageous shadow of a once
magnificent "Pompadour Jim" of
the Gay Nineties, of the man who
rocked the pugilistic world by
knocking out John L. Sullivan over
40 years ago, James J. Corbett died
in his sleep Saturday at his
suburban home in Bayside, Long
Island.
_Death
was due to complication of
diseases which had sapped the
former heavyweight champion's
strength for the past year and de-
veloped a fatal heart ailment three
weeks ago. He was 66 years old.
_ CHANDLER,
Ariz., Feb. 20 (AP)
Gene Tunney, who retired from the
world's heavyweight boxing throne
undefeated, said Jim Corbett was his
inspiration in those years he battled
to and defended the championship.
_"A
great figure has passed on,"
said Tunney, who is spending a win-
ter vacation here with Mrs. Tunney.
_ "I
mourn with friends of sport
and the personal friends of Jim Cor-
bett. I have personally known Cor-
bett since I began my boxing career
and his personality has always been
an inspiration to me.
_ "I
am sorry about being so far
from the scene of his death. I wish
I could have seen him once more be-
fore he passed on.
_ "Gentleman
Jim without a doubt
had the greatest knowledge of box-
ing technique of any man ever in
the American prize ring and in addi-
tion he was the most originally col-
orful figure to ever grace the ring."
_ LOS
ANGELES, Feb. 20 (AP) -
Visibly shaken by the death of Jim
Corbett, Jack Dempsey, himself a
former world's heavyweight boxing
champion, said "He was a champ-
pion all by himself."
_ "The
fight game," said Dempsey,
"probably never will see another
man like 'Gentleman Jim.' As a
champion he was all by himself."
_ "As
a gentleman, there was none
finer. The fight game and the world
at large has lost one of it's greatest
men. He was a dear friend of mine,
and although I never had the pleas-
ure of seeing him fight, I am con-
vinced there never was a greater
boxer."
"He was as fine a man as he was
a boxer and I don't think anything
more can be said after that. We'll
all miss him."
_ BURBANK,
Calif., Feb 20 (AP) -
Jim Jeffries, the man who beat Jim
Corbett twice for the world's heavy-
weight championship, paused in his
ranch duties Saturday to say there
never would be another like "Gentle-
man Jim."
_ "We
had our little differences,
like those two fights," said Jeffries,
"but they were in good fun and he
was a square shooter. Always, we
were the best of friends, and he
used to come in to see me at the
ranch everytime he was in South-
ern California."
_ "I
want to express my deepest feel-
ings to Mrs. Corbett. She was a
worthy wife of a great champion."
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