DEMPSEY, Jack.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Dempsey. First edition, presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To my dear friend Gene Tunney, who is part of my life. Best of luck, Jack Dempsey." Dempsey's loss to Tunney amid one of sport's great controversies paradoxically defined his greatness and turned him into a boxing legend.He recalls the moment on page 219: "Round seven was the round that might the fight, the round I shall never forget... A powerful fight followed by a left hook and then by more blows sent Tunney to the canvas with a look of bewilderment on his face. I forgot the rules. I lose my head and couldn't move as Referee Barry shouted, 'Go to a neutral corner!'"Describing the iconic fight almost 80 years later, Barbara Dempsey wrote how her father "always felt the Long Count was the best thing that ever happened to him. His loss became his win as it gained him incredible popularity and intensified recognition. More than ever before. The Long Count took on a life of its own. Another result was that it only reinforced the genuine friendship he had for Gene Tunney, whom he considered to be one of the finest sportsmen of the 20th century in every sense of the word" (New York Times).In later life, Dempsey and Tunney visited each other and appearing at boxing events. A few years before the publication of this work, Dempsey campaigned for Tunney's son during the latter's successful Senate run.

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