Latin Benedict; Giants (May 1885); Jazz (1913, 1914)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Sun, 8 May 2005 20:53:31 -0400, bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:

>4 October 1913, Oakland Tribune, pg. 8?, col. 7:
>The sailor was never off his feet last night although Clabby handed him
>shots of the old 1/2-jazz which made the ex-sailor's knee sag many a
time.
>...
>...
>10 January 1914, Oakland Tribune, pg. 12, col. 7:
>"Last time he boxed Azevedo "Frenchy" was a trifle stale and did not
>display his usual ginger, but I can positively guarantee he will be there
>with plenty of the old jazz Tuesday night."

Interesting that these are both in articles about boxing.  Are these the
earliest known "jazz" cites in a sporting context other than baseball?

And what is "the old 1/2-jazz", I wonder?


--Ben Zimmer