Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
Aboard the warship U.S.S. Oregon circa 1897. "Second round." Our third look at this nighttime boxing match. 8x10 glass negative by E.H. Hart. View full size.
Could photography freeze the motion of something happening as fast as a boxing match in this period? At night in low light conditions? I'm starting to develop a bit of skepticism on whether we're really seeing what we think we're seeing in this one.
Maybe this was a staged "tableau" where the fighters and audience were all told not to move for a minute for the photographer.
[I think you mean "posed." Most flash photos of the eras were time exposures; you can tell how much the various sailors were moving by how blurred they are. - Dave]
That guy whose face is right in the middle of the two fighters. I remember him from a recent Shorpy post. He still looks ready to get into the ring.
By the way, my money would be on the boxer on the right, if I was willing to wager. He seems to have a little better defensive stance. The fighter on the left just left his face wide open.
That's the way the fighters seem to look at each other. I wonder who won.
Can't be. No ciggie with an inch of ashes hanging over the guy below him. Cf. Camp Swampy.
If radio had been invented by 1897, I would have loved to have heard the great sportscaster Clem McCarthy call this fight. No one did boxing or horse racing better than Clem.
I wonder what is the story about the guy with the boots.
I just bet this guy was the ship's cook -- looks like he belongs over a pot of boiling potatoes somehow. At least if every military cook in every war movie ever made is an accurate guide.
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5