Rube Ferns pugile

Rube Ferns (born James Ferns; October 30, 1873 – June 11, 1952) was an American boxer of the early 20th century. Nicknamed "The Kansas Rube", he held the World Welterweight Championship in 1900 and 1901. He was formidable and scrappy with a good punch.He defeated such men as "Mysterious" Billy Smith, Eddie Connolly, Bobby Dobbs, William "Matty" Matthews, Frank Erne, Owen Zeigler, "Scaldy" Bill Quinn, Harry Pigeon, Frank "Dutch" Neal, Paddy Purtell and Shorty Ahearn. He lost his title to Barbados Joe Walcott in December 1901. He was known as a powerful hitter with an impressive knockout record.One reporter described Ferns as "one of the queerest and most eccentric practitioners in a profession that has attracted many freaks". He was born into a coal-mining family in Pennsylvania. In 1880 they moved to Central Illinois and finally settled in Scammon, Kansas in 1886. Many of his early bouts took place in nearby Pittsburg, Kansas thus creating confusion about his early years. He always dressed like a stage farmer in go-to-meeting clothes...Ferns was tall and angular and did not look like a fighter. According to BoxRec, Ferns began his career by 1896 with six straight knockouts of boxers Jack Dougherty, Tom Mackey, Harry Pigeon, Cass Whitman, Ed Doyle, and Fred Ross. Half of these fights were known to have been in the Southeast Kansas area, in Cherokee and Crawford counties. In 1897, Ferns fought in some larger cities and New England venues, meeting Kid Gardner in a draw in Chicago in February, and Izzy Straus and Lou Demonge in Brooklyn Clubs in June. In July, he lost to Bobby Dobbs in Hartford, Connecticut.On January 15, 1900, Ferns fought his first bout billed as a World Welterweight Title, defeating "Mysterious" Billy Smith at the Hawthorne Athletic Club in Buffalo, New York. According to BoxRec, Smith knocked Ferns down fifteen times before fouling him and losing the fight in the twenty first of twenty-five rounds, indicating Fern's claim to the title was not firmly established by this bout. Ferns' second defeat of Smith on August 30 gave him a more authoritative claim to the title as he won a more decisive victory and had defeated several important contenders prior to the fight.Smith was legendary for his dirty fighting tactics. Eddie McBride, referee for the January 15, 1900 bout in Buffalo bout between Smith and Ferns wrote, "The nastiest fight I ever refereed was between Rube Ferns and Mysterious Billy Smith, the toughest mortal that ever entered a ring. Smith was exceptionally dirty that night and repeated warnings for hitting in clinches having no effect. I disqualified him...in the 23rd. Smith had deliberately leaned over Fern's shoulder and expectorated in my face". McBride had actually disqualified Smith in the 21st round, and it was an important bout, marking the assumption of the World Welterweight Title by Ferns according to many sources.