Sport: Golden Goose

Beau Jack did a little tap dance to convince the two doctors from the New York State Athletic Commission that his kneecap—broken only three months ago—was mended. They were convinced—too easily. Everybody wanted Beau Jack to fight. The ex-shoeshine boy had pulled more cash customers ($1,400,000 in gate receipts) into Madison Square Garden in 18 main events than any other boxer. In the fourth round last week against Tony Janiro, Beau tried to duck a left hook, and his kneecap cracked again, in five places.

Beau Jack, 25, twice the world’s lightweight champion, was game. He braced himself on his good leg, tried to slug it out. The second time he went down, he stayed there, helpless. The referee, and Tony’s manager (see cut), helped Beau from the ring, his face clearly showing his agony. Had the promoters, anxious to cash in on a good thing, killed the golden goose? Oh, no, said one doctor; Beau could be patched up once more, in “ten months to a year, if no complications develop.”