Distinctly Montana Magazine

38 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 3 - 2 4 There was at least one small bit of hope—the Shelby camp had negotiated the rights to film Dempsey's match against Gibbons. They hoped to recoup some of their losses by distributing the film across the nation. July 4th was a hot day. One sports writer said that his typewrit- er was too hot to touch. Even though only a fraction of the pro- jected audience showed up, the town was busy and full. Lines for lunch counters led out into the street, while makeshift box offic- es lined the streets like lemonade stands. Many who showed up didn't have tickets, and many who did have tickets had bought them as an investment, sweeping up whole blocks of tickets for thousands of dollars. Some without tickets chose petty theft, like "One-Eyed Connelly,*" who donned the attire of an ice sales- man and, carrying a big block of the stuff on his shoulder, simply snuck in. Those with extra tickets were desperate to make some of their money back. One man, blessed or cursed with five tick- ets, sold them all for $50, less than a fifth of their set price. Crowds assembled to harangue the poor SOBs still trying to sell tickets, shouting to be let in at a discount. They might have had a point; would they rather make some money, or no money? One secu- rity guard accidentally advocated for gate-crashing when he shout- ed, probably intending to be tough, "If you don't have the guts to break in, then stay out." It seemed to have the opposite effect. The point was rendered moot when the match began, since the people manning the concessions and the box offices ran inside to watch, followed shortly thereafter by the mass of people still trying to buy tickets, waltzing in more or less without resistance. Dempsey's biographer Randy Roberts wrote that the eclectic crowd was "a mix of oil millionaires, Blackfoot Indians, cowboys, shepherds, hookers and sportswriters," all bunched at the front of the stadium, leaving the rest of the massive, rustic structure eerily vacant. The Great Falls Tribune described it as "pathetic in emptiness," while the New York Times quipped that the pres- ence of Charlie Russell in the audience was because he was a "painter of great open spaces" Russell now enjoyed "the chance of his life" to see "distance from the vacant benches." The fight was preceded by a preliminary fight and perfor- mances by a band from the Canadian Highlands (bagpipes and *who is worth a Google, but suffice it to say devoted his life to being a professional gate-crasher, sneaking into athletic matches and events without paying, and becoming a celebrity in so doing. Dempsey battles Tommy Gibbons, his tougher than expected opponent TM

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