The Pugilist and the Player: A Seattle Clash of Champions
A local boxing favorite and a Philadelphia fencing master prepare for a high-stakes showdown at the Jefferson Street Theater.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Ed Hawkins, Seattle's well-known sports pugilist, will appear at the Jefferson Street theater tonight to try his hand with W. H. Jones, a fencer from Philadelphia who has a solid reputation as a player. The contest will form the closing feature of the athletic carnival given by the Hawthorne club. Hawkins and Jones have been training for over a week for the event. The sports club men met into the boxing and fencing ring on Wednesday night, and it looks like a pretty close match. Hawkins is a man of weight and force, in his prime, and Jones is a very well-known expert. The latter, however, has won many bouts by his clever work in the Hawkins club gymnasium. The bout will be preceded by ten-round contests between Tommy Sullivan and Patsy Corrigan of Butte, and the Portland favorite, Kid Welsh of Tacoma.
“It looks like a pretty close match.”
In 1899, Jefferson Street was the pulsing heart of Seattle's sporting and theatrical district. Today, the area near Pioneer Square and the International District remains a site for nightlife and community gatherings, reflecting the city's century-long tradition of blending athletic competition with local culture.
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