Leonard-Cushing Fight (1894)
Edison had experimented with a fight movie in 1891 but this here was their first real attempt to show a boxing match (in 37-seconds) and apparently it was popular enough where many more followed. In the brief clip we see Jack Cushing and Mike Leonard each throwing a few punches at each other while the referee sits back as well as four other men who are sitting behind the ropes. It should go without saying but at just 37-seconds you're not going to get a full match or even a third of a round but this film is still worth viewing just for the bit of history of getting to see these two boxers. Their names are probably forgotten by most today but it's interesting to see the styles which they are fighting as well as the costumes they're wearing. Leonard is wearing some white "shorts" which appear to be way too small and too tight so that's not exactly an image you'll want to be looking at. It's also worth noting that it appears a couple of the men in the background are either extremely bored or wishing they were simply somewhere else as they don't appear to be into what's going on.
