In 1923, not long after oil had started gushing from northern Montana fields, real-estate sales in nearby Shelby were declining, dimming the little towna??s prospects of becoming the ?Tulsa of the West.a?? Then the mayora??s son dreamed up a marketing ploy: offer to host heavyweight champion Jack Dempseya??s next fight. What began as a publicity stunt soon spiraled into a civic drama unlike any Montana had ever seen?or ever would again. Shelbya??s Folly tells this story in full for the first time.Against the background of boom-and-bust Montana history, the folly of Shelbya??s would-be promoters unfolds in colorful detail. It took months to persuade Dempseya??s conniving manager, Jack ?Doca?? Kearns, to sign a $300,000 contract. With less than two months before the July 4th fight, the town still had no stadium and no accommodations for tens of thousands of expected fans. Jason Kelly describes the promotersa?? desperate measures and their disastrous results, from the first inkling of...