River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-09-20
PRIZE FIGHTERS
Zen Hrgan's Experiences in the King and
sSec0ljeet,ons of Pugalists.

| Zen gan's Experiences in the King ant
/ slec0Ilect,ons of Pugalists.
| From the Chicago News.
| You want to know how much damage
| prize fighting does to the human anatomy
do ou?" said Ben Hogan, the evangelis
| andex prize fighter. Well, take look o.
me. | am in much better condition than
was when | reformed, three and half years
ago. but | estimate that my vitality is onl,
| fifty per cent. of what it would have beer
| if had never been a fighter, The shocks
| and bruises that a man gets in the ring hur
| him more ten years aftergard than they dc
| when he gets them. have been terribly
| beat on the head in nv time, and those old
wounds reopen regularly once year
| When I was % years old | was so strong
| and healthy that nothing could tire me.
used to think that man was simply a fol
who got tired. But at present, when l
| ought by rights to be still stronger. it wor-
ries me even to stand on a platform an6
talk"
They die prematurely of weakness and
disease brought on by their injuries. In
fact. they die at or about the time when, il
they had not been prize fighters, they would
have been at the prime of life. Charley
Gallagher died at the age of 3d. of con-
sumption, caused by an injury receive in
planting his knee in his upper left breast.
Brandy bears the blame of killing Tom
Savers, but, in my opinion, he died of the
injuries inflicted by John @. Heenan
Heenan jumped off train and hurt him
self end some lay the blame Of premature
dea,h on that accident, but he died OF
consumption, produced, in my opinion, by
over training, and by the punishment be
got in his fight with Savers and King.
John Morrissey's death is layed on Brights
disease, but he had stood beating enough
I'd kill ten men, and | believe that is what
killed him. Yankee Sullivan is said to have
been killed by vigilance committee,
but the truth is that he went crazy from
injuries to his head he had received, and
committed suicide by opening an artery.
Patsy Riordau, one OF the grandest men
physically that ever lived, died at 80, a
complete physical and mental wreck. Bob
Ri die died the same way, the very flesh
dropping off his fingers. Joe Womble died
in Montreal insane asylum. And so they
go, all of them dying at what ought to be
the prime OF life"
"What do you think Of the effects of the
training that prize-fghters undergo, when
they are going to fight?"
ut is possible TO overdo it. and then it
is an injury. But these seldom happens.
Generally it is very beneficial, and it is
great pity thai everybody isn't trained the
same way. II had gone into training at
20 years of age, and never left 1t until
1 died. would have lived 100 years, with
out doubt. l am a great advocate OF
physical training, and think boxing good
exercise, though somewhat Objectionable
on account of being sort Of temptation to
fighting"
"What do you think of the immoral ten
denotes of prize fihting?"
as the i'll. health of fighters due to the
pounding they get or to dissipaticnf"
@It is due to both, and to one about as
much as another. But the terrible bodily
injuries they receive are beyond dispute.
The worst injuries are not always those
which knock a man ont Of his senses, like
Sullivan's last blow al Ryan. 1t is evident
that that blow landed on the jugular vein.
This is a well understood and much covet-
ed blow among prize fighters, not because
il permanently disables man, but because
it makes hlm insensible so long that he
cant come TO time. Severe bruises about
the chest and ribs are much more apt to in
fict permanent injury"
How do prize-fghters die, as far as
your observation goes2"
"As to the INN raj and depraving effects
of prize-ighting there is no difference Of
opinion, l suppose, though may know its
effects more particularly than most people.
Just as quarreling leads to fighting, so
fighting leads to quarreling and hatred. 1t
is useless to say that people ever fight with
out hating each other. The very passions
Of the pit rage among sporting people, and
especially amoung fighters. They begin
with their fists, but they soon get past that,
and take to useing knives and pistols.
Now, if all this isn't the DEVILS own work.
what is it? There is little enough love
among men already, heaven knows, with
out calling it sport to MAIN man for life,
and teaching the young that the greatest
accomplishment is to draw each others
blood and gouge out each others eyes.
Are you speaking from experienced"
"Yes. When l was prize-fghter al
ways had fight on hand, whether it was IN
the ring or not. / was always hating and
hated, and there was scarcely a day when
my life was safe. The business made me
unutterably wretched, and debased me in
every possible way. Would that there were
an end of It'll"