Free Champion of the World by Chad Dundas Page A

thirty minutes, as the second half of our show includes such acts as the human projectile, Hedgeweg the Colossus and Jupiter the Educated Elephant. You won’t want to miss it.”
    Two hours later the performance in the big tent ended with the elephant dancing on its hind legs to “America, I Love You” as the roustabouts pulled open the rear exit to let the crowd spill onto the midway. Suddenly free of the cramped bleachers and out in the open air, the people buzzed with giddy energy. Part of the crowd veered right, heading for the gaming pavilion and midway. The rest went left, padding across a short stretch of dead grass into a tent draped with the streaming banners of the athletic show.
    All New Featured Performers!
the largest one said
. The Best of Everything and Nothing but the Best!
A run of smaller signs bore the names of the performers:
Pepper Van Dean! Hedgeweg the Colossus! Gun Boat Walters!
and below that a wide banner that proclaimed:
Masters of Physical Culture!
    In this tent there were no seats. People gathered around a small riser where the massive strongman Phineas Hedgeweg hooked themwith a simple patter and fifteen minutes of bar bending and keg hoisting. Pepper waited behind the tent, standing in the weeds beside Gun Boat Walters, a giant black prizefighter whose promising career had been cut short after he went blind in one eye. They didn’t talk but did jumping jacks, deep knee bends and pummeling drills to keep warm as the stars winked above them.
    When the strongman was done with his show, the horn players blew a short tune to draw attention to the opposite end of the tent, where a sagging boxing ring stood under a circle of lights. Pepper spit out his plug of tobacco as he and Gun Boat Walters climbed up the steps. They leaned in opposite corners, the prizefighter strapping thin gloves over his massive fists. A roustabout dressed in white pants and a referee’s shirt stood behind the ring, resting his forearms on the apron. As the spectators drifted over, Markham appeared from a side entrance and riffed a bit about both fighters, going on about their physical gifts, their mental acumen and their boundless heart. Pepper could feel eyes moving over his body, sizing him up. On their cue, he and Gun Boat began to work through some demonstrations. He caught a series of the boxer’s crushing blows with handheld pads, each punch pushing him back, the impact strumming through his arms and shoulders. The crowd gasped and shrunk back a couple of steps. People were always afraid of Gun Boat, because for his size and power he was very fast. It helped that he smiled a lot and called out friendly things like “Watch me now!” and “Look here!” as he cracked his fists against the pads.
    They switched places and Pepper performed a short routine of tackles and throws. The crowd loved this part, enthralled with the way he tossed Gun Boat around, shooting a quick single leg, flopping him over with a fireman’s carry or hoisting him high in the air for a belly-to-back slam. After every throw, Pepper stopped to pose for a splatter of applause. He flexed and stretched while the boxer, still grinning, picked himself up off the old, stained mat.
    Behind them were two large banners announcing the rules for the nickel challenge matches. The boxing rules were simple: Any man who survived three minutes in the ring with Gun Boat without being knocked out or quitting won fifty cents. Things were a little more complicated for the scientific wrestling bouts. Pepper’s banner was painted in the same garish script as the sign bearing his name on the outside of the tent. Across the top it said:
Wrestle the Unbeatable Pepper Van Dean! Former World’s Lightweight Champion!
and underneath:
Catch-as-Catch-Can Bouts! Many Ways to Win!
    Any man who battled him to a ten-minute draw without being thrown, pinned or submitted got his nickel back. If a local boy managed to throw Pepper, he