What Would Dodgers Have Paid Jeffries?

In the 20th century, Los Angeles’ only heavyweight boxing champion was Jim Jeffries, who held the title from 1899 to 1905, when, undefeated, he retired.

He made an ill-advised comeback in 1910 to challenge Jack Johnson in Reno, and was badly beaten.

He was the first 20th century U.S. athlete to earn a substantial income.

On this date in 1909, a New York vaudeville promoter, William Morris, signed Jeffries to a then-dizzying $50,000 contract for a 20-week tour to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City.

On the tour, the 6-foot-3, 280-pound Jeffries, attired in an English acrobat’s costume, flexed his muscles, talked boxing with audiences and engaged in sparring sessions.

The following year, Jeffries earned a record $192,000 for the Johnson fight.

In later years, he lost most of his fortune in Mono County mining investments, then got it all back by investing in San Fernando Valley land.

Also on this date: In 1945, a consortium led by Del Webb that included Dan Topping and Larry MacPhail purchased the New York Yankees from the heirs of Col. Jacob Ruppert for $2.8 million. Ruppert, who died in 1939, had bought the franchise in 1915 for $450,000. Today, the Yankees’ value has been estimated at up to $1 billion. . . . In 1924, Charles Jewtraw of Lake Placid, N.Y., won the first event of the first Winter Olympic Games at Chamonix, France, the 500-meter speedskating event. . . . In 1960, Danny Heater of Burnsville, W.Va., set a national high school record by scoring 135 points in a game. . . . In 1985, Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scored his 50th goal in his 49th game.