Dan Stuart's Fistic Carnival

Rating:
Summary: Fun and fast-paced.
Review: "Dan Stuart's Fistic Carnival" appears to be a slight history of a long-forgotten boxing match at first glance, but Leo N. Miletich has undercovered the real significance of this event. The heavyweight Championship fight that gambler and "sport" Dan Stuart tried to bring about set off reactions that reverberated from state capitols to the Capitol Hill. These events occurred in 1894, at the height of the Gilded Age and the beginning of a great progressive movement in America. Dan Stuart of Dallas, TX promised he would set up a series of boxing matches which would bring revenue to Dallas and the chance for some serious wagering. Stuart unwittingly stirred up a political and religious hornet's nest as his attempts to stage the match were thwarted in Dallas, El Paso, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico. In fact state and national political leaders took unprecedented action and haste in drafting and passing legislation to prevent the "fistic carnival" from taking place. Then, as now, many people considered prize fighting immoral, and judged the crowds that such a spectacle attracted as the dregs of society. However, Stuart was just as determined as his opponents and he was going to keep his word at all costs. The story that follows mirrors today's events: some people still protest boxing and deride its followers; boxers still do their best fighting in the press with their mouths and demand hugh sums of money; and it's still foolish to try to draft moral legislation for a vocal minority. The actions taken by the governor of Texas left many contemporary observors shaking their heads and wondering if that's all the governor of the largest state at that time had to worry about. Unfortunately, the same things still occur today. Stuart, the self-professed sport and gambler, comes out of all this as a decent guy who promised a big fight, and who means to keep his promise without ending up in jail or dead. How he does it is the basis of some of the most fun reading I've had in years. In the long run, this story isn't really about boxing, but about how fruitless it is to try to legislate an issue that's morally unpopular with some, but treated favorably, at worst indifferently, by the majority. Miletich deserves special praise for his abiltiy to tell this story in a fresh manner, liberally using contemporary newspaper accounts and editorials. Highly recommended.