On Oct. 30, 1895, boxer Bob Fitzsimmons spent the night in Texarkana as a prisoner of Arkansas. Officers working for Arkansas Gov. James P. Clarke had pulled him off a train at Fulton, the Daily Texarkanian reported. Lawmen from two Arkansas groups argued through the night over who would hold him. The paper said they were fighting over him "like dogs over a bone." A week later, he was back in Texarkana as a celebrity, hunting birds with local businessmen.
Fitzsimmons was set to fight James J. "Gentleman Jim" Corbett for the heavyweight championship of the world on Oct. 31, 1895, in Dallas, promoter Dan Stuart had booked. Corbett, 29, had won the title in 1892 by knocking out John L. Sullivan in New Orleans. Fitzsimmons, 32, was born in England, raised in New Zealand, and had won the middleweight title in 1891. Prize fighting was illegal in most states at the time.
Texas Gov. Charles Culberson called a special session to pass a stronger law. Texarkana attorney Paul Jones was out of town when state Sen. Ben Whitaker asked whether the city wanted the fight. Sam Solinsky of Jones's firm replied that prize fighting was only a misdemeanor in Arkansas. The paper reported on Oct. 3 that Texas lawmakers had made it a felony.