TBCB 2.5 - The Chilton Cup

[Lee]

I am dying to do a new dynasty with 2.5 so I am putting RCB 2K7 on the shelf for a bit to start a historical dynasty. The format will more of an annual summary type to allow things to move a bit quicker and will not be traditional in terms of a World Championship. In this universe that honor will only be given out once a year. The Universe will include only fighters from the online database and 9000 RFG tomato cans (0’s and 1’s) with RL fighters debuting when they actually began in RL. Aging is set as follows.
Beg 4-8
Pre 8-14
Prime 18-80
Post 6-12
End 2-6

Fighters that fall 15 fights under .500 will automatically moved to post to get them out quicker. I am generating a history beginning in 1875 to when the universe starts at the beginning of 1885. And with that here is the………

Back story

June 23rd 1884
Gathered at a Hotel in New York City, a group of animated men engage in spirited exchanges over snifters of Brandy in a smoke filled parlor. Upon first glance this group would appear no different than any gathering of Manhattan power mongers. But this group is different….They are about to change the landscape of the most maligned sport in the world.

Boxing or pugilism has been around since the time of the ancient Greeks. As it exists today, it is a sport under fire. For most of the 19th century it was a sport of betting men and ruffians. Matches held at remote locations to avoid the eyes of the law were brutal affairs, with no gloves and few rules. Rounds could last for thirty seconds or thirty minutes as time was only called when one fighter went to the ground, by punch, push or throw. It was a spectacle that left Men maimed and it’s participants under constant persecution by those in the civilized elements of society. In 1867 the 9th Marquess of Queensbury had published his dictum which eliminated many of the barbaric tactics in place since Jack Broughton drafted the first the London prize ring rules in 1743.

The new rules abolished wrestling, set three minute time limits on rounds and gave combatants ten seconds to return to scratch if knocked down in the course of a round. The rules were a step towards consistency and acceptance, but it was not until 1875 that they were practiced universally and the reason for their acceptance had more to do with money than civility. Shrewd promoters realized that their Fighters would last far longer in the ring under the new rules that capped the lengths of bouts at 15 rounds. The rules also insured Boxers did not take the obscene amounts of punishment that were often doled out in a match lasting 60, 70 or 80 plus rounds over several hours. There were even some matches that were fought using mufflers or gloves, which cushioned the blows and were even deemed suitable for viewing by the fairer sex.

The changes had caused a surge in both popularity and participation, with additional weight classes being added to further separate fighters beyond the long held traditional classifications of only lightweight and heavyweight. It was a sport on the rise, yet still a sport very much in trouble. The lure of money always brings an unsavory element and all across the world those looking to make an easy score encouraged wild eyed lads that had the “look” to engage in fights with the promise of fortune and fame. They pointed to renowned Pugilists like Yankee Sullivan who had engaged in over 40 bouts, an astonishing total, and was known the world over. The results brought on by the words of these hucksters were predictable. 1884 was but halfway passed, yet already there had been 12 documented deaths, mostly in the USA and Britain as a result of boxing matches. Young men poorly trained and with no business being in the ring were being led to slaughter and people were taking notice. Calls for the abolishment of the sport were at a crescendo and it was because of this, that this meeting took place.

The men assembled in this room were amongst the most powerful in the sport…Lord Chilton, the Earl of Lonsdale and members of the national sporting club represented Great Britain. From the United States powerful New York City promoter Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, Richard Fox of the National Police Gazette and secretary of the Senate Anson McCook were present. There were also participants from Australia, France and the Orient. There was much to discuss and the decisions made in this room would either pull boxing off the deck, or doom it to extinction……..

To be continued.

[mh2365]

Good stuff Lee ... I fed the need to do something new with 2.5 also ... just tied it to the LBA

[bigMatt]

This looks like fun, written in typical Lee-caliber page-turning style!

[Lee]

Thanks guys, hope you enjoy it.....

The proposal
The Meeting ran into the wee hours and one of the most contentious points was the proliferation of alleged “Worlds” Champions that infested the sport. Indeed, it seemed as though every country, state and province had its own Worlds Champion, which pretty much reduced the honor to the worth of a plugged nickel. At last, rising with regal purpose, Lord Chilton took the floor. “Gentlemen, I have a proposal to rectify this rather morose situation once and for all. We shall establish rankings, in each of the now recognized 8 weight classifications. To be eligible for this, a boxer must have engaged in 15 duly sanctioned professional matches. We shall split these rankings into a set for the entire World, as well as four sub regions.” The crowd grew hushed, mesmerized by the conviction and confidence displayed by the normally reserved Lord. He had thought long and hard on this and even had the region geography figured out.

· USBA – The United States Boxing Association would govern the entire country and recognize one Champion, to be determined in the ring, in each of the 8 weight classes. He reasoned the USA could support its own region, due to the popularity and participation in the sport.
· CABO – The Continental America’s Boxing Organization would govern all other countries in the Northern Hemisphere and also recognize a single Champion in each division.
· EBU – The European Boxing Union would govern the United Kingdom and continental Europe, again with a single Champion in each class.
· APBC – The Africa Pacific Boxing Council would govern all Pacific Rim countries, the Middle East and Africa, again with a single Champion in each weight class.

At the beginning of each calendar year there would be a tournament held the week after New Years. In the initial tournament the four region Champions and the 12 highest ranked “wild card” Boxers not holding a title would participate in a single elimination format, with the winner being proclaimed Worlds Champion. This honor would be retained until the next tournament the following January. After the initial tournament, the reigning Champion would have automatic entry, along with the 4 regional champions and the 11 highest ranked Boxers remaining in each division. If any titles were not occupied an additional ranked boxer would be added to the draw, and no man could hold more than one Championship honor. In addition all fights going forward would be gloved encounters, scheduled for 10 rounds. Region Championships and World tournament Semifinals would be 12 and the World tournament final 15. Each regain would form a commission to govern all aspects of the sport in their area and all professional fighters must obtain a license through that commission. The commissions would have legal, binding say in all matters pertaining to their region and a World council, consisting of the presidents of each region and an elected commissioner would govern the state of affairs of the sport as a whole.

As he quit speaking and sat down the room remained quiet…….It was finally secretary McCook that arose…..”Gentlemen, today I came here firmly resolved to abolish the sport of boxing in the United States. I believe it is by the grace of God that I have been swayed, and that is due to the good Lord Chilton. I would recommend this proposal be accepted and implemented with haste, for the survival of your sport is reliant on change coming swiftly and decisively.” Earl Lonsdale then stood, seconded the proposal and announced with dramatic flair…”Not only should these rules be adapted post haste, but indeed their author should be forever immortalized as the savior of boxing. I hereby propose we name the tournament to crown the Worlds Champion the “Chilton Cup.” After several minutes of excited discussion all proposals were accepted by the attendees and a new era was set to dawn…..There was much to do and the planning commenced immediately as a new day began to illuminate the New York City skyline.

[Lee]

[CONN CHRIS]

I love your style Lee! And my favorite era to-boot!!

[Lee]

Still can't believe the Tanaka upset over Butler....nothing more dangerous than a Tomato Can with a punch.....I am really loving the RFG for reasons just like this...The guy is a pathetic boxer, but there is always that chance he will catch you.

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

I love your style Lee! And my favorite era to-boot!!

I am partial to this era as well and as much as I enjoy RCB, I really wanted to do something historical, glad to have you following.

[bigMatt]

Sooner or later, poor Joe Butler will meet his maker in a bar room brawl anyway.

Fun stuff Lee. I'm putting some early money on John Heenan to climb atop that HW heap, avenging his loss to the dastardly John L.

[Gunsmoke]

Good stuff Lee, always enjoy your universes.

[Brooks TVB]

Good stuff. John L. rocks!

[Ric915]

As always great stuff Lee looking forward to this one

[mh2365]

Way to go Fitzie!

[javier_83]

i will follow this

[Lee]

A really weak group, but there is promise on the horizon as several good young Boxers could qualify for the cup in the next two years including.

• Jack NP Dempsey 5-0-0 (3)
• George LaBlanche 10-0-0 (6)
• Young Mitchell 8-1-0 (4)
• Charles Turner 7-0-0 (2)
• Mike Lucie 5-0-1 (3)

Plus Harris Martin will debut in 1886.

[Lee]

A complete shocker as the one highly skilled contender is upset by Smith, a fair to middling fighter in RL, who in turn gets knocked off by in the finals by a fighter whose main claim to fame in a brief career was the "Northwest WW Champion." As long as the Chilton Cup is given, Kemmic may be remembered as it's weakest holder. This division could reside in mediocrity for a few years and the Chilton Cup should find it's home in Paddy Duffy's pocket at some point during this stretch.

[Lee]

We finally had a full 16 man field again and this group was highly competitive, as well as full of controversy. In the final should be noted that both Judges had Mullins well ahead and Ritter only had him up by a point. There are currently accusations of partisan favoritism being bandied about as Ritter is an American like Snee, while the two judges, whom most agree with score wise are from England and Italy. Mullins of course is also from England and is crying foul louder than anyone. It will be interesting to see how this develops, and if these two will meet before next years cup, as Mullins has demanded the opportunity to "make things right" in a rematch. The 30 round quarterfinal clash between Chambers and Bob Mullins will forever be a classic and undoubtedly left Chambers vunerable for his semi-final defeat at the hands of Snee.

[CONN CHRIS]

This is realy good Lee. What do you use to make your 'clippings'?

I would have rooted for Mullins and hope he gets the upper hand soon. I wanted to name our son Bartholomew so we could call him Bat. My wife nixed that but we settled on Wyatt so I still got the flavor that I wanted.

[Jeff1787]

The posting format is very nice!!!

[Lee]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

This is realy good Lee. What do you use to make your 'clippings'?

Thanks Chris and Jeff, I use Power point, save the slides as a "GIF Graphics interchange format" then post them on Photobucket and link from there. Once all the templates are set up it is fairly quick and easy.

[Lee]

Yet another shocker with the #1 seed being upset, but in the end sheer ability trumped sheer power as we crown a worthy recipient of the first Chilton Cup in the Featherweight division. Despite this division having a larger number of ranked Fighters, the overall talent is pretty thin, as some of the results of this tournament showed.