THE EARP DECISION

First edition. 8vo. Red cloth, title stamped in black on the spine, 205 pp., dedication, contents, preface, acknowledgements, bibliography, index, illustrated. Wyatt Earp was not known in his lifetime for the famous shoot-out at the OK Corral . that piece of history occurred two years after his death when Stuart N. Lake published Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. During his lifetime, Earp did become a household name because of a controversy over his decision as referee of a world heavyweight boxing fight. On Dec. 2, 1896, boxers Robert Fitzsimmons and Tom Sharkey met in Mechanics' Auditorium in San Francisco. Sharkey won the fight . and the $10,000 purse . on a foul called against Fitzsimmons in the eighth round. Fitzsimmons called the decision ?bare-faced robbery;? Sharkey, on the other hand, had to be carried out of the ring, but ?did not act like a man who had been knocked out by a blow above the belt.? This decision lead to a court hearing as many believed that Earp had been paid to throw the fight to Sharkey. A raging public battle ensued in which reporters and cartoonists from the three San Francisco papers took an active part. Through careful and meticulous research, Jack DeMattos presents an edited composite of newspaper accounts, including illustrations and caricatures of the participants. An essential read for Earp enthusiasts as well as boxing fans. Light foxing to page ends and with moderately foxed dust jacket along with light sticker residue on front panel.…