In the Ring
SHIRES-SPOHRER BOUT AT THE BOSTON GARDEN, 1930. Leslie Jones Collection, BPL Print Department.
In this photograph, Art Shires, a notoriously pugilistic baseball player turned boxer, takes on Boston Braves catcher Al Spohrer at the Garden. Shires won the match in four rounds.
The Boston Garden was originally built to host boxing matches, a favorite sport in the 1920s. Seats were arranged to fill out the floor around a central boxing ring.
Developer and owner Tex Rickard wanted spectators in every seat to see “sweat on the boxers’ brows.”
