Tacoma Bans the Boxing Ring
Chief of Police Duley vows to keep the city free of prize fighters and the criminal element he believes they attract.
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Tacoma after all is not to be made a Mecca for pugs and plug-uglies. Chief Duley's announcement that he will not permit the boxers to come here is refreshing. He declared plainly that anyone aiding or abetting the pulling off of any prize fight or boxing match in this city will be arrested and dealt with according to law. When the term of Prosecutor Rowland drew toward a close, rumors began flying over town that the 'lid' was to be tilted. Whether Mr. McMurray, the new prosecutor, had given any encouragement to this idea or not does not appear, but whether or not he was agreeable it is not going to happen. These third-class 'boxing matches' are usually fakes or 'frame-ups' and they always bring to a city a gang of 'undesirables' most easily converted into burglars and hold-up thugs. Tacoma people want none of them. Tacoma has a reputation as a city of culture and refinement, a good place to live, a good place to raise children and build a home.
“These third-class 'boxing matches' are usually fakes or 'frame-ups' and they always bring to a city a gang of 'undesirables' most easily converted into burglars and hold-up thugs.”
Early 20th-century civic leaders often used 'public morals' arguments to police urban populations, a recurring theme in how Tacoma has navigated its identity as a 'family-friendly' city versus an industrial port hub. The fear of 'undesirables' remains a common undertone in modern discussions regarding urban development and policing.
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