Death in the Boxing Ring: The Boy Who Fought his Heart Out

 

In the early 20th century, few local sporting events garnered as much public interest as boxing matches. Held in every conceivable venue from county fairs to fire halls, these semi-professional bouts pitted itenerant pugilists from  against local toughs-- and, because of the unregulated nature of the sport, these boxing matches occasionally ended in tragedy. Such was the case in October of 1912, when "Reno Bill" snuffed the life out of young Clyde Lincoln in front of horrified spectators at the Sunbury Casino in Northumberland County.

Clyde Lincoln was an athletic 15-year-old boy employed as a sales clerk at a Williamsport dry goods store when he first decided to lace up the gloves and step into the ring. Clyde, who grew up on Academy Street, was known as a mild-mannered fellow-- a stark contrast to the thuggish youths who frequently prowled the rough-and-tumble Williamsport waterfront. Yet, despite his gentle disposition, Clyde was endowed with competitive spirit and born with exceedingly rare athletic prowess. As his daily routine consisted of stocking store shelves and showing customers the latest fashions in men's clothing, he rarely had an opportunity to satisfy his hunger for physical competition. Often quiet and inwardly shy, he gravitated toward individual sports rather than team sports, and so, when the opportunity came along to train in a local boxing gymnasium presented itself, Clyde threw his hat into the ring with every ounce of enthusiasm inside his lean, but muscular, body.

As a fighter Clyde made rapid progress and, after just a few short months of training, he was soon ready to try out his skills in the ring. There was just one problem: Because he was still a minor, it would be impossible for him to fight professionally, at least under his legal name. To remedy this, he participated in non-paying "exhibition" matches, which were often free from scrutiny by local authorities. As an added precaution, he decided to fight under an alias.

Because he fought under a variety of assumed names, it's impossible to say how Clyde Lincoln fared in his early bouts, but records show that, by the time he turned 17, Clyde had already chalked up a fair amount of time on the canvas, having fought four matches in the preceding two years. 

In the summer of 1912, a local boxing promoter and manager by the name of Carl Hubbell decided to put on a boxing exhibition at the Sunbury Casino. The bill included Reading's Frank O'Brien, who was pitted against William McCoy of Sunbury, and Charles Collins of Lancaster County, who was scheduled to fight another Sunbury amateur, Phil Mackert. However, the real draw was to be the heavyweight match. Hubbell had booked one of his top fighters, John Tyson, a 32-year-old black pugilist from Harrisburg known in boxing circles as "Reno Bill". Reno Bill was a veteran of the ring and his reputation as a powerful slugger was known far and wide. Because of this reputation, or perhaps because of his race, it seemed that no one was willing to step into the ring with Reno Bill.

This, of course, presented a real conundrum for Hubbell, as the heavyweight match-up was often the moneymaker for boxing promoters.  He shuddered to think of how much money he stood to lose if he could not find an opponent for his top prizefighter. Try as he might, Hubbell just couldn't find a suitable opponent. After weeks of fruitless searching, only one boxer had volunteered for the exhibition-- a 17-year-old kid from Williamsport named Clyde Lincoln.

It's unclear whether Hubbell was aware of Clyde's real age when he booked the match, which was set for Wednesday evening, October 16, but one thing that was perfectly clear to everyone was that Clyde was not a heavyweight by any stretch of the imagination. There was only one way Clyde Lincoln could persuade the promoter to let him fight, and that was by promising to bulk up. With the exhibition just a few short weeks away, Hubbell was doubtful that Clyde could gain the necessary weight by October 16, but he realized he didn't have much of a choice. Should he take a chance on this unknown youngster, or call off the main event and risk losing his shirt?

 

A Night at the Casino

 Built by George L. Neitz as a venue for roller skating, bowling and athletic events, the Casino stood at South Second Street in Sunbury. The building was used for a variety of purposes throughout its storied history; for many years it was the site of Sunbury High School's home basketball games and was also the site of some of the earliest automobile shows in Pennsylvania. One of the more interesting events held there occurred in January of 1914, when the citizens of Sunbury invited Charles Edward Russell, the Socialist mayoral candidate for New York City, to speak (another establishment with the same name would open in Sunbury as a ballroom in 1936, but this Casino was located on North Third Street). Among the more popular events at Neitz's establishment was boxing, which was held under the auspices of the Sunbury Athletic Club.

As fight drew near, it became clear to Hubbell that the Tyson-Lincoln bout wasn't going to be the draw the promoter had hoped for. Clyde had managed to fatten up to 185 pounds, but the added weight robbed him of his speed and agility, and since there wasn't a mad rush to buy tickets to a fight featuring an unknown youngster from Williamsport the fight was relegated to a six-round preliminary bout. Clyde once again fought under an alias, "B. Jones". Nevertheless, the Casino was already packed then the two pugilists made their way to the ring at ten o'clock that fateful Wednesday evening.

By all accounts, the spectators were treated to a close fight for the first three rounds. But early in the fourth round Clyde lost his steam after a flurry of jabs from the wily veteran. By the end of the round Clyde was spent, and with seconds to go in the round he clutched Reno Bill, desperately trying to hold on until the bell. The referee, James Gore, knew that the young boxer had no more fight left in him and he stopped the fight. But, just as the gong sounded, Reno Bill landed a devastating left jab to his opponent's solar plexus, which was immediately followed by a vicious right uppercut to the jaw. Clyde's head snapped back, but he remained on his feet.

The crowd roared and even though Clyde Lincoln knew that he had lost the fight by way of technical knockout, he went to his corner, stood on the ropes and waved to the fans. Though bruised and bloodied, he had passed the test of courage he had set for himself. The 17-year-old boy had gone toe-to-toe with Reno Bill, the toughest competitor he had ever faced. Then, to the horror of the one thousand men and women in attendance, he suddenly collapsed in the center of the ring.

 

 

  Reno Bill Charged With Manslaughter

Clyde was carried to the dressing room at 10:20 pm, and was immediately examined by the house physician, Dr. E.B. Cooper. Though the young boxer was still unconscious, Dr. Cooper found that Clyde's heartbeat and pulse were normal. Meanwhile, the rest of the card was progressing as planned, and the fans soon forgot about the boy asleep on a cot in the Casino dressing room. As the evening's exhibition drew to a close around midnight, Clyde had failed to regain consciousness and an ambulance was summoned from nearby Mary M. Packer Hospital. Clyde Lincoln died on the ride.

When hospital surgeons examined the young man, they found that his right side, as well as his right arm, were completely covered in bruises, and deep bruise the size of a dinner plate over his chest. His mouth, eyes, and chin was a mess of lacerations. Upon learning that Lincoln was dead, authorities immediately placed John "Reno Bill" Tyson under arrest, and late Thursday afternoon a coroner's inquest was held. Based on Dr. Cooper's testimony, along with testimony by Carl Hubbell and James Gore, the jury concluded that "Clyde Lincoln came to his death following a fistic encounter with one John Tyson, of Harrisburg, death being due to physical exhaustion. 

Immediately after the verdict was read, County Detective John Forbes filed a charge of involuntary manslaughter against Tyson, who was taken to Justice of the Peace I.A. DeWitt, who, after a brief hearing, ruled that Reno Bill could not be held responsible for Clyde's death. Tyson was then released from custody.

Upon learning that Tyson has been released from custody, the citizens of Sunbury were irate. While some called for the banning of boxing in the city, others called for the arrest of the promoter when it was revealed that the victim was only seventeen years of age. Adding to the outrage was the fact that Clyde had not been given a physical before the fight, leading some to wonder if the boy's life might have been spared if a medical exam had found him unfit to fight. At any rate, boxing was never banned in the city of Sunbury and Carl Hubbell was never brought up on charges.

At two o'clock on the afternoon of Sunday, October 20, 1912, the funeral for Clyde L. Lincoln was held at the First Evangelical Church in Williamsport. Later that day, he was quietly laid to rest at Wildwood Cemetery, where a simple granite marker marks the final resting place of the young man from the Williamsport waterfront who, quite literally, fought his heart out.







Sources:

Mount Carmel Item, Oct. 17, 1912.
Pottsville Republican, Oct. 17, 1912.
Lewisburg Journal, Oct. 18, 1912.
Harrisburg Daily Independent, Oct. 18, 1912.
Danville Morning News, Oct. 19, 1912.