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George Lewis "Tex" Rickard (January 2, 1870 – January 6, 1929) was an American boxing promoter, founder of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), and builder of the third incarnation of Madison Square Garden in New York City. During the 1920s, Tex Rickard was the leading promoter of the day, and he has been compared to P. T. Barnum and Don King. Sports journalist Frank Deford has written that Rickard "first recognized the potential of the star system." ==Early years== Rickard was born in Kansas City, Missouri. His youth was spent in Sherman, Texas, where his parents had moved when he was four.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Rickard, George Lewis (1871-1929) )〕 At the age of 23, he was elected marshal of Henrietta, Texas.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=From the Klondike muck to Madison Square Gardens )〕 He married Leona Bittick〔 and acquired the nickname "Tex"〔 at this time. Rickard went to Alaska, drawn by the discovery of gold there, arriving in November 1895.〔 Thus he was in the region when he learned of the nearby Klondike Gold Rush of 1897. Along with most of the other residents of Circle City, Alaska, he hurried to the Klondike, where he and his partner, Harry Ash, staked claims.〔 They eventually sold their holdings for nearly $60,000.〔 They then opened the Northern Saloon, however Rickard lost everything—including his share of the Northern—through gambling.〔 While working as a poker dealer and bartender at the Monte Carlo saloon and gambling hall, he and Wilson Mizner began promoting boxing matches.〔 In 1899, Rickard (and many others) left to chase the gold strikes in Nome, Alaska.〔 While in Nome, he met Wyatt Earp who was a boxing fan and had officiated a number of matches during his life, including the infamous match between Bob Fitzsimmons and Tom Sharkey in San Francisco on December 2, 1896. The two became lifelong friends, though for a brief period of time ca. 1901, they were competing saloon owners in Nome. During the final week of Rickard's life, Earp learned he was ill and sent him a telegram. Earp died the same month as Rickard. By 1906, Rickard was running a saloon in Goldfield, Nevada. There he promoted another professional boxing match.〔〔 Rickard temporarily left both boxing and the United States in the early 1910s. This was the time of Jack Johnson's tumultuous reign as heavyweight champion. With the heavyweight champion a fugitive from American justice after Johnson fled following his conviction on Mann Act charges, Rickard decided that there was little money to be made promoting boxing in the U.S. and went to South America. Rickard returned after Jess Willard dethroned Johnson in 1915. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tex Rickard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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