Newspaper Page Text
George Sulton, Famous Billiardist, Becomes Greal Player Without Hands
Veteran's Hands Of at Wrists.
' g
Other Men, With Missing Arms
or Legs, Became Famous.
By O. B. Keeler.
OW bobs into the spotlight once
N more a famous old celebrity,
George Sutton, a man who has
been a perennial phenomenon to me
. EVer since T learn-
T""{s?" E#g: ed that the type
;g feiies ¢ of billiards known
¥l L 7 as 18.2 was one of
’f 3 . the toughnest little
i f_‘,f"’g""’”“' ! accomplishmen t s
3 “1&& | known to the
B Wl orting woria. 1y
Ny - ; is as hard to play
AN "f~:,E a good game of
i “r,“ 18.2 as it is to
4 {*’i}'\ g blay bridge well
el B cnough to please
e 'l g the drummer who
i . b ¢ picks you out asa
o “ partner for a Pull-
Inan combat. It is as hard as getting
the sleeves of a home-knit sweater in
the right places.
And George Sutton not only is a
good 18.2 billiard plaver, but every
now and then he is the best in the
warld—a champion at his own game.
And G. Sutton (listen)! . Sutton
hasn’t got any hands. Not a hand.
Off at the wrists. All two of the m.
Not long ago George Sufton. play
ing a match with a r gular two
handed guy, Welker Cochran, ran up
A& string of 113 points in a row. If
You ever tackled any of the 18.2 stuff
You know what that means.
; George Had the Stuff.
Well, and how does he do it? Just
does. George Sutton lost both hands
when a child in an encounter with a
busz saw. He surely must have had
it in him to be a champion, but the
fact that it should be at billiards, of
all games requiring the most firm and
delicate touch. * Have you
ever watched the cue hand of a good
billiard shot, and noted the infinite
delicacy of his finger arip on the cue?
And George Sutton has to clamp
the cue between the stumps of his
wrists and shoot with a double fore
arm motion.
No use going on to praise the pa
tlence and cold gameness that raised
old George Sutton (o his high place:in
the billiard world. If you ever shot
billiards or pool you don't need to be
told how usefdl the hands are. When
You say a man became a champion
billiard player WITHOUT HANDS, |
there is nothing much to add. But, |
Lord! how that man must have prac- |
ticed! |
Sutton’s achievement is reminiscent |
of other men who have made good in |
the realm of sport, and of athletic
Sport, under the handicap of missing
arms or legs or eyes, or something.,
Possibly yvon have seen Kilpatrick, |
lhe one-lezged hicyclist, who a num- |
ber of years ago was one of the most
daring trick riders who ever lived.
He looped the loop and did a lot of
things that riders with all their legs
didn't care to tackle, |
Right here in Atlanta last fall ,\m;%
probably saw the Tech football team
in action, and if sy you saw a big
chap named Fincher kicking a mess
of goals after touchdown. \\'l'|].}
Fincher kicked more goals than any
other man in the United States I.‘L\'J
season-—directing his deadly acc zlv‘;l‘t'u
shots with only one eye. And y u |
probably noticed that he did quite a |
bit of other playing that in no way |
betrayed the fact that he was blind |
on one side. i
Old Mordecai Brown. |
In baseball, Mickey Coyle, first |
baseman for Chattanooga, did pretty |
well with a glove hand on which he
could not straighten the fingers—they '
had been drawn into a folded position ;
at the second joint by an electric
shock. but Mick 'y was a pretty :um!‘
first-sacker at thai. Mordecai Brown,
famous pitcher of the Chicago Cubs |
when they were winning pennants |
and world championships, had lost |
the index finger of his pitching hand |
in a mining accident, and he pitched |
80 well with that maimed flipper that it
Rgot to be a steck witticism among the
fans that Manager So-and-So wus‘
planning to “prune” his pitchers in
the off season, so they could pitch
like Miner Brown.
Two deaf and dumb ball players
became famous—Dummy Taylor, a
pitecher for the New York Giants, ;mdl
Dummy Hoy, the remarkable outfield- |
ing star of the old Cincinnati vlulx.'
Hoy's success is ail the more won
derful from the fact that an outfielder
is accustomed to judge the das!:mm»'
of a wallop largely by the sound of
the blow. Hoy was forced to work
without this Help, yvet his accuracy of
judgment was almost uncanny. In
the Southern League about fourteen |
Years ago there was a catcher named |
Leamann, with Shreveport, who was |
afflicted with the St tus dance. Hec g
would bounce around ind twitch |
dreadfully while the pitcher was get- |
ting ready to deliver the ball, but al- |
ways managed to steady himself in |
time to receive it. & ;
In oolf we have at least one profes
sional with only one arm, Louis Mar- ‘
tucei. And Chick Evans says one of |
his hardest matches was aguainst this
player, in Europe. Chick won by the
margin of a single hole, and Martucci
shot a fine 73 for the round. In Scot
land there are a number of one
legged players, ~ne of them a “pro” of
considerable ability., In Atlanta W.
. Gentry, one-armed and elderly,
plays a good, consistent game and en- |
joys the sport as much as anybody.
Vil Fly Needs Hands. |
Perhaps these and other examples
perve to show that after all the soul
of a man is of more importance than
the eonventional number of arms and |
fegd. Still, T try never to draw mor
als—and in any event I do not believe |
a Human Fly could climb skyscrapers |
without any hands. PRut [ wouidn't |
have thought a man could be a cham- |
pion billiard shot without hands. |
Loss oAt SR Tunicag o st
Fought Uphill Battle to Championship
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PHOTO © INTERNATIONAL=
A A T ie s s e B e i s S i T s
g GEORGE SUTTON is shown here making a masse shot. Although his arms were cut off just be
¢ low the elbow when he was a youngster. This handicap did not stifle his ambition to play
:‘ billiards. Although a good wrist motion was said to be imperative to become a good player, he
defied this edict and won the American title. Recently he made a run of 113 at the 18.2 balk line
{ game, i
. Sutton is one of the most remarkable figures in American sporting circles, and surely the
¢ most interesting. He is especially strong on the masse shot and is a wizard on imparting the pe
. culiar spin to the billiards.
‘Pros’ Are Easy for
G ollege Team
ood College Tea %
HARLEY BRICKLEY, who's
C played three games last S
year with the professional
Massillon (Ohio) eleven, declares .
that any good college team can !
beat a good “pro” combination.
The collegians have a definiteé
scheme of attack and work in con- |
cert, while the professionals very |
often have no signals until they
come on the field.
Brickley says: “You can not
compare the two styles of play.
There is quite a difference be- g
tween playing for money and for
a college. The game is the same, §
nevertheless, but the ‘pros’ do not ¢
have the sharp team play of a’
well drilled college eleven. The f
men do not practice to speak of. ‘
Some of them do not see each oth- *
er until the day of the game. ¢
“Then they try to master a set ;
of signals and work out a plan. If ¢
they can get together before the ¢
time for starting the game to de- ¢
velop interference and the otherg
requisites that combine to make a s
good team they show what an ag- !
gregation of stars can do. ‘
‘AMHERST, MASS., Jan. 26.—The
football schedule for Amherst College
has been approved by the Student
Council. Trinity and Bowdoin, two of
Ambherst's old rivals, reappear on the
schedule, which follows: ‘
September :8‘ Middiebury, at Am
herst: October 5, Bowdoin, at Amher}i;
October 12, Unlon, at Schenectady, N.
Y.: October 19, Worcester Polytechnic
Institute, at Amherst; Oetober 26, Wes.
levan, at Middletown; November 2, Co
lumbia, at New York: November 9,
Trinity, at Amherst; November 16, Wil.
liams, at Amherst.
Why Cy William
CHICAGO, Jan. 26.—Fred Mitchell did
not part with Outfielder Williams be
cause he figured Williams wasn't goosd
enough to hold a regular job with _the
Cubs.
In trading Williams for Dode Paskert
Mitchell got a plaver he needed badly
a right-handed hitting outfielder Wi
liams swings from the port gide of the
platter, as do Flack and Wolter. Mitch
ell is taking no chances of being too
jate in rounding out his team and bol
stering up his batting order.
HEARST'S SUNDAY AMERICAN . A Newspaper for People Who Think — SUNDAY, JANUARY 27, 1918,
PHAIR
SPORTS
| THE WEEK’S WASH.
Although there is but littie coal to
I spare,
The boxing manager, without a care,
} Goes ambling on his warm but
coalless way,
iFor he is always full of heated air.
! Why doesn’t old Doc Garfield find a
! way
To curb Jack Curley and his glad
array?
They waste enough of torrid at
i mosphere
;To heat the world forever and a day.
! Fred Fnlton pulled a flivver in St
! Paul,
The same old line of bunk, the same
| old stall,
| But when he pulls the ancient dope
' again
The public, as per usual, will fall.
This Fulton person seems in great
distress
Because he can not start a fight with
Jess.
And yet I think he would have heart
disease
If Willard were to smile and answer,
YXes.”
A hundred thousand dollars for a
fight!
A hundred thousand sheckels, round
and bright!
A soldier, drawing thirty bones per
month,
Sits In a trefivch and sadly says,
“Good nizht!”
Cheyenne, Wyoming, gained the Hall
of Fame
By dabbling in the pugilistic game.
Squash Hollow, Tombstone, Red
Dog and the like
Will now bestir themselves and do
the same,
! Full many a hamlet wakens from its
nap
‘And offers half a million for a scrap.
Although it doesn’'t cost a goldarn
cent,
It shows the world the town i 4 on the
map. \
One week have I been flat upon my
spine,
'Wlth shackles on this ailing hoof of
mine.
One fleeting week, although' it
l secems to me
|Thal I've been here since 849,
1
! SEEK TO STOP RACING.
| ANNAPOLTIS, MD.. Jan. 26.—8i11s for
{ the abolishment of race tracks in Ma
rvland were introduced in both houses
of the l.egisiature They are identical
ltifh the bille defeated after a hagd
fight two years ago. Y
¢ * . ¢
' Huggins Gets Out. |
0
- 0f Cyclone's Path |
it $
EVERAL years ago when |
S Miller Huggins first man- *
t aged the Cardinals a cy- §
§c|ine hit Columbus, Ga., where |
éhis team was in training. The f‘
) Cards were billeted in a rickety |
0 old hotel that threatened to give |
§ way before the elements. As the |
building rocked in the cyclone |
! Magee, Evans, Oakes and a num- |
¢ ber of other players rushed down §
' several flights of stairs to the
hotel lobby.
\' When the storm had passed—it é
! blew the roof from the hotel— ¢
. the players were returning up- ¢
| stairs when they met Huggins.
“Where was you?” asked Evans. ¢
) “Hiding in the closet,” repli.d;
S Huggins. ¢
) He had stayed on the top floor $
! during the entire subtropical ¢
| storm. 5
Duke Farrell Quits
NEW YORK, Jan. 19.—Duke Farrell.'
coach and scout for the Yankees the
past several seasons, has severed his
connection with the club. Se far Mil
ler Huggins has not named a successor
to the Duke.
Friends of Dan Howley, manager of
the Montreal club, of the Internauonnll
[League, for the last five years, have |
suggested him for the position. How- |
ley is a smart baseball man, particu- |
larly ¢ vigorous and peppery on (ne|
coaching lines. As a running mate for
Hugging, it might be possible for Dan
t 6 help precipitate a little color to the!
work of thz Yankees. This is one com. 1
modity of which the local Americ:ml
Leaguers have always been most sadly;
lackirg 1
Dog Show Profi ‘
0g Show Frofits
<
\
S ]
\
Go to Red Cross
NEW YORK, Jau. 28— Al the profits
of the Westminster Kennel Club’'s for
ty-second annual dog show, to be held
in Madison Square Garden, February
20, 21, 22 and 23, will be donated to the
American Red Cross. l
The premium lists have been issued
and bear the seal of the national war !
charity and its emblem. The war has |
forced some curtailments in classes. |
notabiy in those for English fox|
hound, through the military activities |
of owners, but in the magnitude og
the undertaking the fixture will b
again the foremost exhibition of dogs.
| |
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| Veteran Indian Twirled Fine Ball,
| ' {
' During Latter Part of 1917 and;
| Expected To Do Comeback.i
EW YORK, Jan, 18.—0le Chief
&N Bender, the weatherbeaten vet
eran of many tough campaigns
under the big tops, may be the piteh
ing mainstay of the Phillies next sea- |
son. |
| With Grover Alexander gone to the
',(‘uhs. Eppa Rixey liable to service in
!lhe army, and Joe Oeschger an un
known quantity so far as military
| status is concerned, Pat Moran may
be forced to look to the old bronzed
| chief to lead the attack from the
| piteher’s box |
Baseball is so full of uncertainties,
'and especially in these parlous times,
that it will not be surprising to see
| Bender playing the role of the lead- |
| ing sharpshooter in the Philly
trenches, and if the old boy shows the
’kin(] of stuff he displayed to National
League batsmen during the latter part
[of the 1917 campaign he may loom up
| once more in the spotlight as a star
who has come back. i
’ Bender hooked up with the Phillies
{in 1916, and got into 27 games of ball,
but he did not haye the stuff that he!
had in the old Mackian days, by a
long shot, and he wound up the sea
son with a poor record. His record
was so poor that Manager Moran was
lnot warranted in keeping him on the
| club roster, so he handed the Chippe
| wa his release |
| For a time last season Bender dub-,
bed around, pitching for semipro nines
I!n Pennsylvania and Maryland. He
would piteh one or two games a week
| and he made a comfortable little wad
‘;or dough doing it, though nothing like
| the salary he used to earn. Kinally,|
with the season about half gone. the|
’ Chief started to show up at the Phil-|
| lies’ .park to pitch to the batters in
| practice, and one day he went to Mo-'
&rfln with a request for another trial.
| Foxy Pat had been watching the In
| dian out of the corner of his eye when
he pitched in batting sessions, and he
lazrm‘d to give Bender one more trial,
1 8o the Chief signed a contract and
: went to work again. 1
| _Then began a great comeback. The
Chief proceeded to hang up a string
of victories, and he accomplished the
feat of pitching three straight shut
outs, His work helped the Phils
greatly in their dash after the pace
making Giants. He proved to the
!sutisfuvtiun of Moran that he had
| come back, and that he was leaving
| the “merry mucilage” alone.
| Bender may not be able to put the
| Phillies in another pennant race. He
| may not be able to win as many |
games as a lot of the high-salaried!
|.<t:lr:<, but if he stays away from (hn-'
joy stuff he will be able to hold on to
a good job with Pat Moran, and that's
something.
American Pitche
NEW YORK, Jan. 26-—American
League pitchers had a mighty good
year.
The 1917 averages show an increase
in pitching effectiveness over 1916, and
whether or not trick deliveries are re
sponsible, the fact remains that the
heavers in the Johnson ecircuit are get
ting harder to beat as the season rolls
on.
As rsomp:\rtfl to 1916 there were twen
ty-four pitchérs in the American League
who allowed less than two and ene-halfl
runs per nine innings, against seven
teen in 1916. And eight hurlers gave up
less than two runs per game, against
five who held opponents to less than a
pair of markers in the 1916 campaign.
Loud yells against tricks of pitching,
such as Iddie Cicotte's mythical “shine
ball,” are heard nearly every season,
but while at least one pitcher--and usu
ally a consistent winner--is made the
target for criticism, it is pretty gener
ally agreed that the best of the pitch
ers today are better than the tornolch
ers of a few years ago, and this solu
tion sounds like a logical one.
As long as the spitball is allowed to
live the pitchers are going to have an
edge on the batters. The sfiltter is a
regular ghost ball when a hurler has
the proper control of it. It does a lot
of weird things as it comes floating ug
to the plate, and when mixed up wit
an assortment of fond ‘““hooks” and a
change of pace it i{s certainly an asset
to the man on the mound.
Schalk Discusses
‘Baseball Brains'
CHICAGO, Jan, 26.—" A man does not
necessarily need a schoolroom education
to have what we refer to as ‘baseball
brains,’ ” says It#y Schalk, leading
backstop of the Amferican League.
“T admit this is the day of the college
piayer in baseball.’ adds Schalk, “‘and
the better education a 4 man has, all
other things being equal, the betier
player he should be. But he might
know a lot of (ireek,k literature, wave
motion, phrenology, analytical geometry,
metaphysics and similar subjects and
still be absolutely a frost on a ball or
the hit-and-run.
“Ty Cobb has the ideal baseball
brains, but Ty isn't a college man. On
the other hand, | used to play in the
minors with a graduate of a well-knowun
university who was a brilliant scholar
and a good natural athlete, But he was
positively the limit in playing baseball.
He would do the most incomprehensi
ble things. In fact, he was impossible.”
Michigan May St
ANN ARBOR. MICH., Jan. 26.—
Chances for Michigan's track team tak
ing part in any Eastern meet this spring
are not considered bright. It would not
be surprising, acording to university au
thorities, if no big meets were held in
the Fast. Information received here in.
dicate that Cornell Swarthmore and
Penn State will close much earller than
usual thie vear, if the war i xtill on
in May. Miechigan's track team aiready
has been riddled by enlistments. Mich
igan has a strong conference schedule
and will send a team to the athletic
carnival of the University of lilinois ai
‘Urbana on March 20 .
N i At FYRS
Hendricks Only Newcomer
HIE National League race of 1917
T was more or less of a walk
away for the Giants, But Mc-
Graw, rather than the various other
managers of his company, is being
held responsible for the fact in the
minds of the club owners at large,
There has been only one managerial
switch, in the Tener ecircuit, among
the eight leaders that brought their
teams through the final drive of the
last campaign, and that through a
spirit of generosity, not necessity,
Jack Hendricks, highly successful
in the minors, has succeeded to the
most successful administration of
Miller Huggins with the Cardinals,
St. Louis relinquished its claim to
Huggins only that he might benefit
himself as a prospective Moses to
lend the Yankees out of the wilder
ness. !
MceGraw is, has been and doubtless,
will continue to be the Little Napol
eon of the parent major association.
He has that uncanny skill of turning
even reverse into advantage. Sever
al times in Fis illustrious and adven
turous career as lkmperor of the Polo
Grounds McGraw has stood practical
ly the sole survivor of a stricken fleld.
It was so on his introduction, when
he first came from Baltimore, back in
1902, to assume charge of what ap
peared a hopeless wreck,
McGraw Cleans House.
MceGraw took one look at the de
bris and decided to clean house,
Excess baggage to the extent of some
dozen players were handed the blue
envelope and one of these, by a
strange twist of fate, Is now getting
back into the big time in the person
of Jack Hendricks.
No manager has been more suc
cessful than McGraw. Success is
measured from two viewpoints—that
of the fan and that of the club own
er. 'The fan has only one guuge, the
pennant emblematic of first position
in the race. McGraw has squared
both viewpoints. He has pyramided
a tremendous fortune for the stock
holders of the National I[Exhibition
Club, the polite title of the Giants.
His pennants, of course, have helped
toward this end. Mis career is rich
in pennents, FHis clubs have won
championships for McGraw in 1904,
1006, 1911, 1912, 1913 and 1917.
Here in McGraw, then, is the great
menace that con!{# ints the seven oth
er team leaders of the National
l.eague as the wheel of time spins
another championship season into
view. Mac has stood the acid test
of sixteen seasons, and stands toduy
as vigorous as in the first flush of
pennant triumph. His team is the
class of its company.
The real dean of National League
managers is John McGraw. George
Stallings, who stands second in point
of service, did not join the Braves
till 1913. Of course, it must be re
membered that the Big Chief has
been knocking around in the mana
gerial end of the game quite as long
as the Little Corporal, though he
has not won so consistently in the
big show.
Stallings was manager of the Phil
lies years ago. He was manager of
the Detroit Tigers in 1900 and 1901.
He returned to the American League
after a successful career in Buffalo
and Newark as leader of I'rank Far
rell’'s Yankees in 4909. Within two
vears Stallings built up a hopeless
tai’ender into a pennant contender,
but a long standing feud with Ban
Jokrson forced his sacrifice before
the close of the 1910 eampaign. The
team has been only the Yankees ever
since.
Stallings's re-entry into, the Nation
al in 1913 was crowned almogt Im
mediately with fabulous success; his
first two years sped with the rapidity
and splendor of an escaped Monte
Cristo. They earned for gim the so
briguet of Miracle Man, even over the
perennial worker of miracles, Me-
Graw.
Stallings fell heir to a misfit con
glomeration of baseball usefulness
whose spirit had been broken through
fifteen years and more of failures,
He showed results the first years, fin
ishing as high as fifth. It was re
‘Spalding Regretted
Big Baseball Deal
Predictions that Owner Bill Baker, of
the Phillies, is going to rue the day he
isold Alexander and Killifer to the Cubs
recalls a big deal of the old days engi
neered by A. (. Spalding.
In 1887 the famous 310,000 beauties —
| Pitcher John Clarkson and Cateher
Mike Kelly--became involved in a deal
which sent them to the Boston club, a
deal which caused Chleago to lose a
lot of interest in the old White Sox,
and which cast fts shadow over base
tball in the Windy City for many years
afterward.
Kelly and Clarkson, according to old
timers, could not get along with Ed
Williamson, the Chicago shortstop, and
in 1887 Spalding sold Kelly to Boston,
The following year Kelly became tne
Boston manager and he soon purchased
Clarkson. This famous o!d battery won
{more fame in thelr new surroundings
than they had with Chicago, and Spald
ing was sorry he let them get away.
But it was too late for shedding tears
at this stage,
And baseball men claim that the fans
of today demand more than they used
to. So it looks dark for the Phils in
Philly
. .
Petit Breton Killed
’ .
.~ In Auto Accident
PARLS, Jan. 26.—Petit Breton, the fa
mous cyeling champion, who was serv
ing in the Transport fleplrlmenl. has
been Kkilled. He was driving an auto
mobile near Troyes when it accidentally
collided with a butcher’'s cart, Breton
was thrown out and killed on the spot. |
He gained many of the most important |
prizes for cycling in France, and among
his performances abroad ecarned A;l'l'ull
fame in the six-day grind at Madison |
Square Garden, New York,
Qui d Hannibal
uincy and Hanni ‘
! QUINCY, ILL, Jan. 26.-—Henry l:---~1
del, owner of the Hannibal Three liyes
Ilmagun club, announced that he had |
]m;u,’n formal application for a berth in
| the Western lLeague, to place a ')u!-l
|knuv.r. as the, Quinecy-Hannibal team
' He plans to divide the home games in
Quincy and Hannibal playing forty in
I”'"h city He will accept a franchise
provided [eoria is included in the cir
cuit,
served for 1914 to show one of the
real miracles of the national past
time's history.
Well for Stallings that he elinched
his “nom de guerre” in 1914, for the
following season was to see the bud
ding of another managerial genius
one who still ranks among the great
masters of the game-—in Pat Moran.
‘lThe veteran catcher and coach who
succeeded Dooin as leader of the
Phillies, found a club of only average
talent, which had been split asunder
by discord and dissension. Further
more, he was confronted by the prob
lem of rebuilding his fences without
the spiritual aid of an exchequer,
Wilbert Robinson, the rotund man
ager of the Brooklyn club, antedates
Moran as a team leader by one scant
vear., Willbert broke into the big
show as director in chief in 1914, He
had had plenty of experience at man
aging in the minor leagues, however,
and was no mean influence toward
the 1911-12-13 successes of the
Glants, During those years Robble
| acted as first lieutenant to McGraw,
Robinson found a club in drooklyn
quite as demoralized and gone to seed
us that which Stallings encountered
in Boston the previous year, He ap
plled almost as startling remedles.
Like Stallings, he finished fifth his
1 first year, but unllke George got no
! higher than third on his next try.
|ln 1918, however, Robinson gave
}Hrooklyn its firet pennant in sixteen
years,
{ Robinson's reputation suffered
| somewhat as a result of a disastrous
season In 1917, when his pennant
winners of the previous campalgn
were able to finish no higher than
seventh in an eight-team race. How
ever, the circumstances were most
extenuating. .
Four Kid Managers.
There are four kid managers lin the
National League, from the standpoint
of major experience at least-—Ma
thewson, Mitchell, Bezdek and Hen
dricks, In order or service. To bhe
frank, Hendricks hasn't started as
vet. Bezdek, who succeeded Calla
han at Pittsburg last mid-season, is
almost as untried.
Matty, of course, needs no intro
duction, For years his star shone
resplendent as that of MeGGraw in the
Glant triumphs. To say that Big Six
as manager of the Cincinnati team
has won the hearts of Rhineland Is
paying him quite as tender a com
pliment. For Matty has made gcod
as leader of the Reds. He took the
team in midseason of 1918, succeed
ing Herzog, so that last year was
practically the first opportunity
C'hristy had in which to display his
managerial genius. The Old Master
brought his club home to a berth in
the first division.
Mitchell, of the Cubs, has been in
that post only one year. He had lit
tle with which to work in 1917,
Charlie Weeghman this winter, how
ever, has provided him with some
exceptionally clever talent, and the
Windy City should once more take
its accustomed place as the deadly
rival of New York.
The rise to major league fame of
Hugo Bezdek is one of the strangest
stories. Bezdek never played profes
sional baseball, let alone manage
professional teams. His experience
was confined exclusively to college
teams. He was a baseball and foot
ball star on the University of Chi
cago teams, so good a baseball player
that he received many flattering of
fers from }najnr league teams.
Jack Hendricks, the new leader of
the Cardinals, has been a successful
minor league manager for the last
twelve years. He broke in with
Springfield, of the Central League,
in 1906, and remained there till the
end of 1907. The next two years he
was with Fort Wayne, of the same
circuit. In 1910 Hendricks went to
Denver, of the Waestern League,
There he finished second his first
year and then won three consecutive
pennants. He has been in Indianap
olis for the last four years, complet
ing his experience there with a 1917
pennant, after finishing third twice
and second once.
Puts Bozing in Bad
’ LOUISVILLE, Jan. 26.—Packey Mc
| Farland, the famous Chieago glove
slinger, who is a boxing instructor at
Camp Zachary Taylor, made an inter
esting talk on the ring game, in which
he said:
‘ “A lot of people criticize boxing un
justly. The sport is not in very gooo
repute in a great number of sections,
but the boxers themselves arc not to
blame.
“Gireedy managers and lucre-loving
promoters are responsible for this con
dition. Boxing itself is the manliest of
sports and one of the most beneficla
exercises,
“Kvery boy should be taught how to
defend himself. Suach knowledge will
fivv him confidence and aid him vastly
lin hils career, no matter what occupa
tion or profession he is to follow,
“Commercial boxing is almost al
crime and betting is a sin that should
‘nul he tolerated It’s the commerciai
boxers who fake and stall and ruin the
lfllurr!_
“Let's gel together and replace the
l{mr( in the good graces of all and merit
the confidence of all It can be done
and 1 am willing to go the limit in see
ing that it is done.” |
pA gecs N |
Madden Will Help
: J
Train Frank Moran
NEW YORK, Jan. 26.—Bartley ,\lml-‘
dem will help condition Frank Moran |
for his 20-round tilt with Fred Fulton
at New Orleans February 22. Madden,
who recently knocked out Jim Coffey,
has agreed to go to Camp Wadsworth
three weeks before the contest and
work out with Moran every afternoon.
Frank is boxing instructor at (’nu;;“
Wadsworth, |
\nother importation in the Moran!
| quarters will probably be “l‘rufl-ssur‘"‘
Daniel Washington, faithful colored
|mhhn-r, who has been with Frank in
most of his contests in this country.
Daniel says, ‘““You can't let a pow'ful
man lke Mistuh. Moran take chances
wiff stiff muscles.” I
! McGRAW IS OPTIMISTIC. '
: > \ jun. 26.—John J. Me- |
Graw declaregi just before he started
for ‘lavana, Cuba, where he will be a
constant visitor to the goif links, he
had finished his plans for the coming
season and reiterated his belief that
baseball will have a gnood vear despite
the war.
Corbett Declares Joe Was One of
the Brainiest Fighters in His
tory of the Pugilistic Game.
By James J. Corbett,
REQUENTLY I have been asked:
“What was the outstanding
feature of Joe (ians' greatness?”
And the answer is—brains and eag
erness to learn
SRR Pigias 2 every minute de-
Y. gl 7 tail concerning his
» - Z profession.
- 4 . The negro per
p “ ’ haps was one of
. 9 ) ¥i%the greatest stu-
RRRE dents of pugilism
R e in the history of
oM @7the ring; a young-
G ST
& § ster who was a
! L WX %88 | master even he
%B T ’
| Duosmsmmusssnmmnsr: TO'€ he preached
the absolute crest of his career, but
who always felt that there was some
| thing more to be learned. And he
||w\'or overlooked an opportunity to
| imitate or perfect any ring tricks
which other warriors were using with
success, He was ever on the lookout
!fm’ somcthing new--ever ready o
[ adopt it if it seemed worth while,
Gans, 1n this respect, should be an
example for many of the present day
youngstors, A lot of them, after be
coming fairly clever, fall into a self
satisfled condition. They think they
know about all there is to be known.
They no longer progress—they stand
still. And eventually they come to
realize that somebody else has been
awake to the change while they had
been asleep, But usually it is teo
late
Benny Leonard is ke Gans in his
| eaverness to acquire new tricks: his
willingness to learn from others and
that very fact will continue Benny in
pugilistic cupremacy for years to
come, The yvouthful king of the
lightweight division ranks today as
one of the cleverest fighters that any
divigion of boxing ever has produced.
Most youngeters so placed would feel
that they know all there is to know,
But not Leonard. He is ambitious-~
ever wanting to perfect himself more
and more,
Brains “Made” Gans.
Gans had wonderful natural fighting
ability, a splendid physique, great
speed, a terrific punch and powers ta
stand up under punishment., But il
Iw:m the brains of Gans, ever alert,
that made it possible for him to rise
from obscurity to the dominating
heighds in the lightweight division—
and to remain there for vears.
An illustration of how Gans used
nis brains is shown here:
Gans once was pitted against a
fighter who was of the “cover-up”
type, continually keeping hands and
elbows protecting his jaw. Gans, find
ing that it was not possible to reach
the jaw of his foe with a solid wal
lop, opened an attack on the stomach
and heart. But the fceman of Gans
had a body that was impervious to
the most furious bombardment,
Unable to knock out his opponent
with body blowg and unable to reach
his jaw with a direct punch, the Keen
brain of Gans mapped out a plan that
won him the flght via the knockout
route, And this is how he did it:
(GGans, noting that his rival kept his
left hand close to the point of his
chin, drew back and then aimed u
mighty rirht for the last hand of the
other man. The blow struck the tar
get and the impaect drove the left
hand of Gans' foeman against his own
chin so hard that he went down—and
completely out, . =
Imitates Jim's Trick. ¥
In 1900, while training for my first
bout with Jim Jeffries, T had heads
quarters in Asbury Park, N. J. Gans
and Al Herford, his manager, came
down one day so that Joe could wateh
me in my workont. I had developed
an uppercut which T used only at cer
tain times in coming out of a clinch.
My opponent always would have to be
in a certain position before I would
use it, It was one of my favorite ring
tricks, Yet very few fighters evet
had noticed me using it and none had
'unnnlml it up to that time.
The gymnasium in which I was
| working was a small one and the sec
‘nnd time T used the uppercut I heard
a chuckle, Turning around I saw it
| was Joe Gans who, great student bhat
he was, had been watching my every
move and had seen the value of &
trick of that kind at such a time in
' fighting. .
A few weeks later, Gans met Frank
Erne in Coney llsland. 1 sat at the
Imn;:sidh for that contest and to my
| surprise saw Joe Gans using the
| identical vppercut which had escaped
| the observation of many other men—
{ but not the observation of Joe Gans,
l' He was a master hoxer at the time,
|one of the cievarest and most skil"&
tin the game. He Knew more ring
i tricks than any other youngster. But
| Joe always figured that he could learn
| more. He felt that the uppercut was
| 2 valuable asset and after he had seen
' mme use it, 1 learned later that he had
| spent many hours during his training
’lr_ving it on his sparring partners,
| working patiently with it until he had
' perfected it.
| So it was all through the ring ca
| rear of the great negro. He was ever
on the lookout for something; ever
watchful, ever learning. "Is it any
| wonder that he became the greatest
[ warrior of his weight and time? :
| e A s prstrra
| o
Joe Walcott Now
| . . ~ Sy
. %
| Pinboy in Boston
A
| NEW YORK, Jan. 25.--Jos Waleotty
'who in his prime was known as thé
giant killer” and knocked them do ’
for many vears, is now setting them upe
Walcott, now 45 vears of :fi" is setting
pine in a local bo'lln& th During
his career in the ring Wal won the
welterweight title. and when were
{rm more fAghtars last in that mnn he
tackled thq middies and heavies. et
5B