Passenger Pigeons in Lake County

Passenger pigeon, 1920. 
The Orthogenetic Evolution
in the Pigeons. Hayashi and Toda (artists)

2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the extinction of the passenger pigeon. This bird once numbered in the billions in North America, but in a matter of decades market and recreational hunting drove the bird to extinction.

The first non-native settlers to Lake County in the mid-1830s found an abundance of wild game, including quail and passenger pigeons. Thousands of pigeons roosted in the county’s oak trees, eating acorns.

Remembrances of those early days were documented by students across Lake County, who in 1918 asked their elders for their memories of the passenger pigeons: In Newport Township, "Wild pigeons... flew in flocks of hundreds and helped furnish the pantry with delicious meat."

Woodblock engraving of passenger pigeons

in flight in Louisiana. "The Illustrated Shooting 

and Dramatic News,"  July 3, 1875.

In Ela Township, "There used to be a great many wild pigeons, but they were all shot. They flew in flocks that darkened the sun." 

Excerpt from students regarding passenger pigeons. 

Dunn Museum, Wauconda School History, 2003.0.46

In Wauconda Township, "There were flocks of quail, partridges and wild pigeons which were hunted for food, taking the place of chicken and turkey.  Great flocks of wild pigeons were common and they were considered a pest by the farmers.  They would pick up to small grain almost as fast as the farmers could sow it, for grain at that time was sown by hand.  Sometimes men and women were obliged to stay in the field to drive these flocks away."

From 1860 to 1880 there was a catastrophic decline in the passenger pigeons' numbers. 

Telegraph lines and railroads made it possible to share the location of passenger pigeon roosts with a nation-wide audience, including professional hunters. The market hunters, as they were called, brought their shot birds (by the tens of thousands) to major cities in order to sell their feathers and breast meat. 

There were also venues that specialized in pigeon shoots. The best known was Dexter Park, on the south side of Chicago. One match in 1877 involved the shooting of 5,000 passenger pigeons. Another match was visited by General Philip Sheridan (Fort Sheridan's namesake). 

Henry Kelso Coale, circa 1920.

Library of Congress. 

In 1879, Henry Kelso Coale (1858 - 1926) of Highland Park, an amateur ornithologist and bird collector, "took specimens" of the pigeons. At the time, the bird's demise was already being talked about by conservationists, but Coale had found them breeding in the woods along the Des Plaines River, west of Lake Forest, and shot several for his collection. (In 1936, the Field Museum in Chicago acquired a great portion of Coale's collection). 

In northern Illinois, the species was deemed to be abundant up to 1882. The last passenger pigeon in Lake County was recorded by John Farwell Ferry on August 7, 1895 in Lake Forest.

In 1912, Coale wrote that Lake County was "one of the most favored spots in Illinois for the study of birds," because of the variety. He also noted that the passenger pigeons were "formerly an abundant summer resident but now practically extinct." In fact, they would be extinct two years later.

The last passenger pigeon in the world, named Martha, was born in Hyde Park, Chicago about 1885 and was conveyed to the Cincinnati Zoo in 1902. She died on September 1, 1914.

Martha (c. 1885-1914), the last passenger pigeon, 

as photographed at the Cincinnati Zoo, ca. 1914. Source online.

To learn more: 

"The Passenger Pigeon's Flight to Extinction" exhibition explores connections between the human world and looks at some of the work being done to help prevent similar extinctions from occurring. Lake County Discovery Museum through February 2, 2014. 

Greenberg, Joel. Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon's Flight to Extinction. Bloomsbury, USA. 2014.

Silas Nichols: Last Civil War Veteran

Silas S. Nichols (1848 - 1945) was Lake County's last surviving Civil War veteran.

Civil War veterans Silas S. Nichols, 145th Ohio (left) and Frederick Worth, 96th Illinois (right), photographed by teacher Lee Riley in May 1918 at Townline School grounds on the northwest corner of Yorkhouse and Delany Road. 

Dunn Museum 2011.0.226

Silas Nichols was born in Sandusky, Ohio, to Joshaway and Shirley Nichols. He enlisted in the 145th Ohio Infantry, Company I at its organization on May 12, 1864. This Ohio National Guard unit enlisted for 100 days service.

Under Colonel Henry C. Ashwell, the 145th Ohio immediately proceeded to Washington, D.C. where it performed garrison duty. In July 1864, when Confederate General Early threatened Washington, the Regiment was constantly under arms. It mustered out on August 23, 1864.

While in D.C. with the regiment, Nichols saw President Lincoln three times. On one occasion, Nichols and several fellow soldiers called on the President at the White House. Lincoln came to his office door to welcome them and shook Nichols' hand.

In 1873, Nichols married Elizabeth C. Helrick (1857 - 1945) in Milan, Ohio. The couple moved to Lake Villa in 1889. In 1892, they moved to Waukegan where Nichols worked for the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad as a railroad detective. He remained "special police" for the EJ & E until his retirement in 1920.

Silas and Elizabeth Nichols lived at 506 Poplar Street 

in Waukegan from circa 1905 to 1945. The house was built in 1901. Google Maps.

On each Memorial Day from 1925 to 1942, Nichols recited the Gettysburg Address at the service in the Waukegan courthouse square. He continued to attend the memorial service, placing a wreath at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument until 1944. Nichols also participated in the procession of "boys in blue" each year in Chicago on Michigan Avenue.

Mrs. Lucile McGaughey pinning an American Legion poppy on the lapel of Silas Nichols while George Groat (left) of the Homer Dahringer Post observes. Waukegan News Sun, 1939.

On Memorial Day 1944, Silas Nichols (right) placed a wreath

at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the courthouse square, 

Waukegan. Dunn Museum 94.34.278

Silas and Elizabeth Nichols were married for 71 years. They were feted as the longest married couple in Lake County. They credited their happy marriage to "independence for both husband and wife and plenty of give and take."

Silas and Elizabeth Nichols on their 70th wedding anniversary. 

Chicago Tribune, March 7, 1943. 

While Silas was active in the Grand Army of the Republic as commander of the Waukegan post and judge advocate of the Illinois GAR, Elizabeth devoted herself to the GAR's Women's Relief Corps.

Each time a Civil War veteran passed away it made the papers. The Chicago Tribune was one of many area newspapers that covered Nichols' death on January 10, 1945.

In 1953, the last verified combat veteran of the Civil War, James A. Hard (1843 - 1953) died; and drummer boy Albert Woolson (1847 - 1956) was the last veteran of the Civil War. After Woolson's death the Grand Army of the Republic was dissolved, since he was its last member. At least three men died after Woolson claiming to be Confederate veterans, but their status was debunked.

In 1945, the Women's Relief Corps applied for a military headstone for Nichols. 

The application (above) was approved by the Adjutant General of Illinois. Ancestry.com

Silas Nichols' tombstone at Hickory Union Cemetery, 

Edwards Road, Antioch Township, Lake County, IL.

Findagrave.com

Carved at the bottom of Silas and Elizabeth Nichols' shared tombstone are the words: "He shook the hand of Lincoln."

- Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcfpd.org

Girl Scouts of America

Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts of America (1912-2012), which were formed in Savanna, Georgia by Juliette Gordon Low. To celebrate, let's take a look at Girl Scout items in the museum's collections.

Dorothy Gleiser, circa 1922.
Dunn Museum 93.31.5

Above is the earliest Girl Scout photo in the museum's Lake County collections. This photo of Dorothy Gleiser (1913 - 2003) of the Thistle Troop of Lake Forest was taken at Brae Burn Farm where her father was the farm manager, and her family lived.

This 1926 photo shows Dorothy Gleiser wearing another Girl Scout uniform. The uniform pictured was donated by Dorothy to the museum in 1987. Dunn Museum M-87.3.1.

Dorothy Gleiser's 1926 Girl Scout uniform (above). This is a typical button-down-the-front coat dress uniform of the early 1920s. Dunn Museum 87.3.1

"Girl Scouts be Prepared" belt buckle from Gleiser's Girl Scout uniform, 1926. Dunn Museum 87.3.1

Girl Scout pin from Gleiser's uniform, 1926. Dunn Museum 87.3.1

Cover of guide book for Girl Scout leaders dating to 1937. Dunn Museum 96.5.44

Cover of "Games for Girl Scouts: Brownie, Intermediate, Senior" from 1942. The 106-page booklet includes quiz and memory games, and also physical games the Scouts could play. Dunn Museum 96.5.40.

The photo (above) was taken in 1965 at Fort Sheridan. The caption reads: "Sergeant George Stacey of 204th Military Police Company shows members of a Fort Sheridan Girl Scout Troop how to affix reflector-type safety tape to their bicycles." Dunn Museum 92.24.731

Cookies are probably the first thing that comes to mind for most people when they think of the Girl Scouts. Here, members of the Fort Sheridan Troop sell cookies to an unidentified fireman, 1970. The sale of cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917 with members baking the cookies themselves. Dunn Museum 92.24.737

"Girl Scouts of Fort Sheridan Troop 157 that received merit badges: (from left sitting in front of table) Jackie DeThorne, Jeana Graham, Pattie Kapp, and Mary Compney, (back row from left) Kim Kusick, Kathy Phillips, Nancy Peddle, Nancy Phillips, Alesia Smith and Donna Marion. Troop 157 is headed by Mrs. Helen Hugger  and Mrs. Eunice Elliott." March 24, 1970. Dunn Museum 92.27.729

"Members of Girl Scouts Troop 170, Fort Sheridan, hold a candle light ceremony in honor of Thinking Day, Feb. 22, 1970... Scouts are (from left) Kathy Kob, Beth Reaser, Linda Nunn, Anne Luke, Barbara Sovers, Wendy Ives, Denise Smith, Andrea Simmons, and Janice Kadomstei (center foreground)." Dunn Museum 92.24.712 

Each year on February 22 the Girl Scouts celebrate World Thinking Day in which the girls participate in activities and projects with global themes to honor their sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in other countries.

(This post was originally posted August 10, 2012)

D. Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org 

Robert H. Aiken, Tilt-Up Construction Inventor

In 1907, Robert H. Aiken (1859 - 1925) of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois invented "tilt-up construction."

Col. Robert Aiken. Cement World, August 15, 1908, p. 327.

Aiken's fast and economical method of building concrete-walled buildings revolutionized construction and is still in use today. The process involves pre-fabricating concrete wall sections and lifting or tilting them into position on a concrete foundation.

Aiken was born in Abingdon, Knox County, Illinois. He came to Lake County, Illinois by 1895, when he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and assigned as the range officer at the new rifle training center at Camp Logan in today's Zion. Camp Logan was an Illinois National Guard training facility established in 1892.

On December 16, 1895, Robert Aiken married Jannette Kellogg (1879 - 1953) of Winthrop Harbor.

Jannette was the daughter of George P. Kellogg and Phoebe F. Landon Kellogg. Jannette was also the granddaughter of Nelson Landon (1807-1884), one of Lake County's most influential and wealthy pioneer settlers. Jannette and Robert resided on her father's farm along the east side of Sheridan Road just south of Kellogg Creek in Winthrop Harbor.

Aiken came up with his idea of constructing buildings using pre-cast concrete walls and raising them into position in early 1907, when he built concrete target walls for use at Camp Logan. Previously, the Camp's targets were made of wood. The new concrete targets kept ordnance from being shot into Lake Michigan and endangering boaters, and allowed the lead to be retrieved and reused.

After filing for a patent on a "method and apparatus for constructing concrete buildings," Aiken built a factory to manufacture the concrete targets and steel target frames, and used his new tilt-up method to construct it. The factory stood on his farm in Benton Township along Sheridan Road and was 80 x 75 feet and 14 feet high.

His next project was an ammunition and gun house at Camp Logan (above), and then a large mess hall at Camp Perry in Ohio. His first commercial store was built near Kenosha and was 30 x 40 feet with a cellar.

On November 14, 1908, Aiken organized the Aiken Cement Home company and incorporated it in the State of Maine (for tax purposes).

In 1909, he made plans to build a residential subdivision on his farm on Sheridan Road, using his tilt-up technique. The houses were to be concrete and two-stories high with six large rooms, front hall, stairways and bathroom. The subdivision was never built.

In February 1909, Aiken had a booth for his Cement Home Company at the 2nd Annual Cement Show held at the Coliseum in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune called him, "the novelty of the show" for demonstrating his invention of building concrete homes by actually constructing one inside the Coliseum.

In 1910, Aiken completed a new church for the Memorial United Methodist at 2935 Sheridan Road in Zion (above).

 

Memorial United Methodist Church as it looks today.

By 1910, Aiken had formed a partnership with Frederick H. Sears of Chicago with Sears organizing the Aiken Home Company of Chicago with offices at the Peoples Gas Building. Fred Sears expanded the company across the country, including in Los Angeles. The business was valued at $1,000,000.

It is unclear when and if Aiken and Sears parted ways.

Jannette Kellogg Aiken Black and grandson Hector Aiken

History of Lake County, Illinois (1939).

In 1924, Aiken and his wife, Jannette, and her sister Josephine Kellogg, subdivided the northern portion of their property south of Kellogg Creek into the "Kellogg's Home Site Subdivision." The site was improved with one and two bedroom concrete, Spanish-style bungalows that were rented on a daily basis to tourists. In addition, there was a campground and sandwich shop on site. This was Robert Aiken's last project using his method of tilt-up construction.

Josephine Kellogg was the proprietor of the tourist camp (above), which she named "Hollyhock Hill." Aiken's concrete bungalows are still visible today on Sheridan Road in Winthrop Harbor.

Aiken's tilt-up construction remains a dominant form of construction throughout the United States. He is honored each year by the presentation of the Robert Aiken Memorial Award at the annual World of Concrete Convention.

Inventor Robert Aiken's grave marker at Lake Mound Cemetery, Zion, Illinois.

Special thanks to museum volunteer, Al Westerman, for his extensive research on Robert Aiken. 

Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcfpd.org 

Chicago Indian Village Protests 1970-1972

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there were a number of protests by Native Americans for better housing and social services. Some of these protests took place in Lake County, Illinois.

Some believe the protests were rooted in the 1953 "Indian termination" policy passed by the U.S. Congress, which eliminated most government support for Indian tribes and ended protected trust status of Indian-owned land. This was followed by the Indian Relocation Act of 1956,  designed to encourage Native people to leave Indian reservations, acquire vocational skills and assimilate into the general population.

Native Americans moved to urban centers in five original relocation cities: Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Seattle, and were to receive assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) with housing and employment. Many struggled to adjust to their new surroundings, and faced unemployment, low-end jobs, discrimination, and the loss of traditional cultural support.

Since Illinois did not have a large in-state reservation, Native people from tribes throughout the country came to Chicago. When the relocation began approximately 8% of Native Americans lived in cities. As of the 2000 census, that number climbed to 64%.

Original sign for the American Indian Center, Chicago, circa 1953. Online photo.

In 1953, the American Indian Center (AIC) of Chicago was organized by the Chicago Indian community. For fifty years the AIC has been the principal cultural resource for Chicago's Native Americans.

The Chicago American Indian Conference was held at the University of Chicago in 1961, attracting hundreds of Native people from across the country. As a result of the conference, a Declaration of Indian Purpose was created which in turn helped to mobilize a generation of Indian activists.

In 1970, the Chicago Indian Village (CIV) emerged to fight for better housing for the city's urban Native American population. The CIV's protests began when a Menominee woman was evicted from her Wrigleyville apartment. This eviction led the group to a two-month encampment at a Wrigley Field parking lot.

Senator Adlai Stevenson III (right) speaks with Mike Chosa (center)
and members of the Chicago Indian Village who crashed a political dinner
at the Sherman House in Chicago. Stevenson intervened on the protesters
behalf with Chicago police. Chicago Tribune photo, May 19, 1972. 

From 1970 to 1972, community organizer Mike Chosa of the Chicago Indian Village planned seven encampments throughout Chicagoland. Two encampments were held in Lake County: one outside the main gate at Fort Sheridan, and another at Camp Logan in Zion.

The goal of the protests was to generate leverage with government agencies to address inadequate housing and social services for Chicago's 16,000 Native American citizens. A fact sheet prepared by the Chicago Indian Village stated that the Indians in the encampments "are not welfare cases: they are working people."

Chicago Indian Village encampment outside George Bell Gate at Fort Sheridan, January 1972.
BBDM 92.24.1378

The Chicago Tribune wrote on January 3, 1972: "Thirty Indians protesting substandard housing conditions yesterday erected teepees outside the main gate at Fort Sheridan that could cause huge traffic jams today." The activists also carried signs protesting the Vietnam War.

Similar encampments were held across the country most notably at Alcatraz Island by a group known as Indians of All Tribes (IAT) from November 1969 to June 1971. The IAT pointed to 19th century treaties that stated abandoned or unused federal land would be returned to the Native people from whom it was acquired, hence their occupation of Alcatraz.

Chicago Indian Village encampment at Camp Logan
barracks, Zion, Illinois, April 12, 1972.
Photo by Joe Kordick. BBDM 2011.29

About the same time as the Fort Sheridan encampment, the protesters secured "a winter home" at Camp Logan in Zion where they remained until June 29, 1972. They then stayed at the United Methodist Church in Winthrop Harbor until accommodations were made for them with the Milwaukee Indian Action Group.

By the summer of 1972, the momentum behind the Chicago Indian Village was exhausted and the group eventually dispersed.

- Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcfpd.org 

Battle of Chickamauga, September 18 - 20, 1863

For Lake County's 96th Illinois Infantry, Chickamauga was "A battle of tremendous proportions and fraught with mighty import."

Today, this American Civil War battle is not as well known in the North, likely because it was a Union defeat. So, on this 150th anniversary, let us look back and remember.

Lithograph by Kurz and Allison, 1890. Library of Congress.

The Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia, September 18 - 20, 1863, was the most significant Union defeat in the Western Theater of the Civil War and had the second-highest number of casualties in the war following the Battle of Gettysburg two months earlier.

The battle was named for Chickamauga Creek and was fought between the Army of the Cumberland under Major General William Rosecrans and the Confederate Army of the Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg. For the 96th Illinois, this was their most intense engagement of the war.

The opposing generals at Chickamauga:
Maj. General William Rosecrans and General Braxton Bragg

Early in September 1863, Rosecrans forced Bragg's army out of Chattanooga, Tennessee, but Bragg was determined to reoccupy the city. He decided to meet Rosecran's army head-on. As Bragg marched north on September 18, his cavalry and infantry fought skirmishes against Union cavalry and infantry with the key engagement at Reed's Bridge.

Captain Blodgett of the 96th's Company D "caught a bullet in the shoulder" near McAfee Church but remained with the company, although the wound was painful.

Fighting began in earnest on the morning of September 19, and though Bragg's men made a strong assault, they could not break the Union lines.

According to the 96^th’s history, by the end of Saturday, the men were "'spoiling for a fight.' Half in hopes that they might be spared the dangers of the battle, and half in fear lest they might not share in its honors."

Late on the morning of Sunday, September 20th, General Rosecrans was misinformed that he had a gap in his line. Moving units to fill the supposed gap, Rosecrans inadvertently created an actual gap. Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's corps exploited the breach with deadly force. Longstreet's attack confused the Union ranks and drove one-third of the Union army, including Rosecrans himself, from the field.

Major General George H. Thomas took over command, and Union units, including the 96th Illinois, created a defensive line on Horseshoe Ridge and Snodgrass Hill. The Confederates repeatedly assaulted the Federals, but the Union lines held. Thomas was thereafter known as the "Rock of Chickamauga."

Snodgrass Hill, where the 96th Illinois and other Union troops
fought off repeated attacks by Longstreet's corps.
Curt Teich Company postcard, RC488

The 96th Illinois's Lt. Col. Isaac Clarke of Waukegan, led his men up Horseshoe Ridge. “Clarke sat calmly on his horse near the left of the Regiment, speaking words of cheer to the men as they met the terrible fate. A moment later a bullet struck him, inflicting a mortal wound. He was assisted from his horse and carried to the rear upon a blanket,” and subsequently died.

Lt. Col. Isaac L. Clarke

The loss of Clarke caused confusion in the ranks. A staff officer approached Capt. George Hicks of Company A: "hurriedly, with arms outstretched... his manner and tone indicating intense excitement," and informed Hicks of the loss of Clarke.

Hicks immediately assumed command of the Regiment: "Comrades, you have made one charge-a gallant charge. On yonder hillside lie the bodies of your fallen comrades. Forward to avenge their deaths!"

After the days' desperate battle, “The Union forces were well exhausted and almost out of ammunition, except as they took it from the cartridge boxes of the dead and wounded.” Twilight ended the battle. Union forces retired to Chattanooga while the Rebels occupied the surrounding heights. The 96^th Illinois and 121^st Ohio were the last organized body to leave the field.

George E. Smith of the 96th Illinois Company D wrote to his sister in Millburn two weeks after the battle: "I suppose you have all heard of the fight in which we were engaged at Chickamauga and are all waiting with beating hearts to hear the result." He had survived those fateful days with only his foot being scraped by a bullet.

The Union suffered an estimated 16,170 casualties, and the Confederates 18,454. The 96th Illinois played a critical role, always in the front line and at the right where the work was most severe. 

The 96th Illinois suffered the third highest losses at Chickamauga, with 54 percent killed, wounded, and missing. Of the 96th Illinois' 419 men who went into the fight, 225 were killed or wounded, and 34 were captured. Though their regimental history declared their losses were the heaviest of any regiment in the Reserve Corps, the 89th Ohio suffered 65 percent losses and the 22nd Michigan 85 percent losses. 

For more on the 96th Illinois Infantry, read The Bonds of War: A Story of Immigrants and Esprit de Corps in Company C, 96th Illinois Volunteer Infantry by Diana Dretske. Available from SIUPress.com. 

Post updated 2/14/2025

- Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcfpd.org 

Boxer Gene Tunney Trained Near Lake Villa

Gene Tunney, circa 1928. Online photo

World heavyweight champion, James Joseph "Gene" Tunney (1897-1978) trained for one of his famous bouts at Cedar Crest Country Club near Lake Villa, Illinois. 

A New York native and son of Irish immigrants, Gene Tunney began fighting in 1915, and served in combat during World War I. Hence his nickname the "Fighting Marine." He started as a light heavyweight, but in 1925 began to concentrate on heavyweight matches. 

On September 23, 1926, Tunney defeated the legendary Jack Dempsey (1895-1983) in Philadelphia, PA in a 10-round unanimous decision for the Heavyweight Championship of the World. Not surprisingly, there was great interest when a rematch was announced the following year.

On August 11, 1927, the site for Tunney's training camp for his second fight against Dempsey was officially announced. The location would be Cedar Crest Country Club (aka Cedar Crest Farms). The property located in Lake Villa Township and west of Route 59 on the shore of Fox Lake, was the former estate of coal mine owner and operator, Jackson K. Dering (1870-1925). 

The Chicago Tribune reported on August 19, 1927: "the training site is almost 70 miles by motor from Chicago... one of the few places Billy Gibson, manager of Tunney, visited in his quest for a training camp. Gibson asserts it is the most ideal training camp sites he has seen in his thirty years' association with boxing." 

Headline for Tunney's training camp announcement. Chicago Tribune August 12, 1927. 

Tunney was given a suite of rooms in the main house, and rooms for his invited guests, access to a swimming pool, and two boxing rings. According to the Tribune: "Signs will be posted along the highways directing motorists to the camp. Unlike Dempsey, the champion [Tunney] will work in public and special trains will be run over the Soo line." The Soo Line was the only railroad to the lakes region and Lake Villa. 

Gene Tunney (in back) listening to a "band of youths" playing on the lawn of Cedar Crest Country Club,

Lake Villa. Chicago Tribune, September 3, 1927. 

After some public workouts in front of 4,000 fans and newspaper reporters, Tunney announced that he would begin training in secret. He did, however, work in a total of five exhibition matches at the camp for his fans. 

"I have my own ideas of training," Tunney said to the Tribune regarding the secret workouts. "I want to perfect certain punches and I do not want any one to know the style of attack I am going to use against Dempsey." 

Jack Dempsey was the most famous boxer of his era, and a cultural icon of the 1920s. He held the World Heavyweight Championship from 1919-1926. The odds makers favored Dempsey to win the rematch. 

The Tribune reported that on September 13, Tunney spent the day golfing at the Onwenstia Club in Lake Forest and dining with society friends. His manager Billy Gibson noted that Tunney wasn't sleeping well with noise around the clubhouse and on the Fox Lake shore. Gibson said: "We thought it best for the champion to get away from the camp for a few days and forget all about the fight." 

Program for the historic fight, September 22, 1927, Soldier Field, Chicago. Online image.

Tunney rode in a bullet proof car protected by two squad cars from Lake Villa to Chicago the day of the fight. It was said that notorious Chicago mobster, Al Capone, was a fan of Jack Dempsey and bet on him to win, fueling rumors that the fight was rigged. 

The match was held at Chicago's Soldier Field, drawing a gate of $2,658,600 (nearly $34 million in today's dollars), and over 104,000 in attendance. 

Tunney dominated the fight in rounds one to six, but in the seventh round, Dempsey knocked Tunney to the ground. This was the first time in Tunney's career that he'd been knocked down.

Controversially, the referee did not start counting immediately. Instead, he waited until Dempsey moved to a neutral corner giving Tunney several seconds to recover before the actual count. Because of this delay, it became known as the Long Count Fight. 

Chicago Tribune photo from the famous Dempsey-Tunney fight, showing Tunney knocked down and the referee trying to move Dempsey to a neutral corner before beginning the 10-second count. Online image.

Interestingly, it was Dempsey's camp who had negotiated for a new 10-second count rule for knockdowns for this fight. 

Tunney later said he heard the referee at the "two" count and could've gotten up at any point after that, but waited until "nine." Dempsey said he had no reason not to believe Tunney, who then dominated the final two rounds, and won the title by unanimous decision. 

Notably, when Tunney knocked Dempsey down in the eighth round, the referee began counting before Tunney moved to a neutral corner. 

After the fight, Dempsey lifted Tunney's arm and said, "You were best. You fought a smart fight, kid." 

New York Herald headlines the day after the historic rematch, September 23, 1927. 

Approximately 15 million people listened to the fight on the radio, but controversy over the fight decision erupted. This was due in large part because a U.S. law prohibited the shipment of boxing movies over state lines. Once the law was repealed and people could see the count for themselves, the controversy dwindled. Tunney's alertness after being knocked down quieted the naysayers. 

Perhaps the Washington Post's sports reporter Shirley Povich said it best when he wrote: "Gene Tunney did get up. With the count of nine he rose to his feet a calm, deliberate fighting machine, stunned, but aware, and there Gene Tunney saved the championship." 

It was Dempsey's last career fight and Tunney's next to last. Tunney again defended the title successfully against Tom Heeney in 1928. 

Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey, circa 1940. Online image.

Despite fighting each other in one of the most controversial boxing matches in history, Tunney and Dempsey became good friends. 

- Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcfpd.org