September 1927 – As our late friend Frank Reading would say, “This fight was one for the ages!” The famous “The long count” bout between Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey was held at Soldiers Field in Chicago in front of a crowd of almost 105,000 onlookers. It was a famous boxing rematch, as Tunney defeated Dempsey in a 10-round unanimous decision to retain the world heavyweight title.
It earned the moniker of “Long Count” because when Tunney was knocked down in the seventh round the count was delayed due to Dempsey’s failure to go to and remain in a neutral corner.
Whether this “long count” actually affected the outcome remains an unanswered question as he may have hurt his own cause. The fight had a record gate total at the time of $2,858,660.
To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.
More From Sports History Network
Did Ivan Abadjiev’s Bulgarian Weightlifting Team Really Beat The Soviets?
The Bulgarian Weightlifting team’s success began with the hiring of Ivan Abadjiev as head
The Chicago Cardinals Move to St. Louis!!! But Why? and When?
Any time a city loses a sports team franchise, it initiates years of debate
The Ultimate Recount of Super Bowl IX (Steelers vs. Vikings)
Today we have Super Bowl IX, which was held on January 12, 1975, at
Was Paddy Driscoll the First Superstar of the NFL?
As kids, we all looked up to our favorite athletic heroes. After all, they
The Ultimate Recount of Super Bowl VIII (Dolphins vs. Vikings)
Today we have Super Bowl VIII, between the defending Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins
The Amazing Search For Jackie Wallace (With Ted Jackson)
Jackie Wallace was an NFL star during the 1970s, playing for the Minnesota Vikings,
Was the Cowboys and Redskins’ Rivalry During the 1970s and 1980s One of the Best?
The Redskins-Cowboys rivalry of the 1970s and 1980s is etched in NFL history. The
What is the Longest Championship Drought in Professional Sports?
In honor of Super Bowl week, in this episode of “When Football Was Football,”