The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-12-21
STUNNED WINE AND WOMEN.
KEPT REGULAR HOURS AND ATE
AND DRANK WITH MODER-
ALTON.
"REMINISCENCES OF RING DAYS.
His Bouts With Great Men-Hfs Re-
cent Contest with Dono-
van.

Almost everywhere l go since | have
been back in America L have had this
bit Of pleasantly thrown at me by
the boys-the old boys-I have known
during the past forty years. All, it
gives me a momentary spell of sadness
when I behold many of them weak.
weakened and white-h haired before.
their time. 1 am the last of by-gone
generation. John Morrissey. Tom
King, John c. Heenan, Yankee Sulli-
van, Tom Savers, Tom Hyer, Nat
I4angham and Joe Coburn have all
passed away. and the old timers as
we'll as present day athletes wonder
how 1T is that / am still able to put
UP stiff play with almost any of the
boys at the good old game of boxing
l will tell my readers .'in my own
ignorant way as poor old Dublin
Tricks Hastings used to say. and [
am satisfied that it will benefit them
in fairfsh way. The pointers l will
give, too, may save some ambitious,
likely young fellow from going wrong
when he has met with some success
and is going up the pugilistic ladder
l am now sixty-six years old-pretty
near the three score and ten. the good
book allots to mainland am just as
healthy, hearty, rugged and strong as
l ever was in my life. Competent
critics are kind enough to say that l
still preserve all my old time clever
ness, selbet not quite as quick or as
enduring as Of yore. The latter part
Of the proposition, of course. is to be
expected. A man is not like good wine
improved in every respect by age
| have, however, boxed not long ago
with such good ones as Dan Creedon
and Tom Tracey, and held my own.
Plucky Joe Choynski and clever Jim
CGrbett can tell you. too, that I put
up fair game with them in friendly
bouts when they visited England. OF
course both Of these boys could easily
outlast me. There is quite a difference
in the spring and autumn Of life when
1t comes to staying power
First let me say that 1 have been
boxing for over fifty years, and have
been in over zoe ring fights. large and
small, and ali the punishment L ever
received has not hurt me a particle.
On the contrary, my ring experience
has made me the hearty, healthy old
man that I am. I say this now to
.
ments some good but misguided people
advance that the hard training pugf.
lists undergo in preparing for contests
and the punishment they receive break
down their health, make them pre-,
maturely old men and consign them
to early graves. 1t is not fighting which
makes an old man of the modern
champion. 1t is the hilarious living
~. ELL.
Well may the champion exclaim. Save
me from my friendsi' Just think of it!
John L. Sullivan, the emperor of mod
ern fighters, was a physical wreck at
thirty -four, and Jack Dempsey, the
famous ''Nonpareil," the same at
thirtytwo. I was really at my best
when forty years of age the champion
of England. as was Joe Coburn, my
old time rival, at the same age, and
champion of America. ] was forty-one
when L fought Coburn for the worlds
championship near New Orleans in
1871. and Joe was but three yeara
younger. We had not become aged
and none of the boys, although some
of them were from a dozen to twenty
years younger, could touch us in those
days. 1t was the same with Yankee
Sullivan, Bill Perry. the "Tipton
pretty nearly all the old timers They
were as good at forty as they were
at twenty.
I attribute this solely to the differ
ence in living between the old and new
champions. The old chaps did not go
the swift pace of the up-to-date lads
simply, / suppose, because they did not
have the money. There were no $4,000.
$25,00G or $4,000 purses in those days,
nor talking matches in print, nor big
receipts ION the road" 1 have seen
many hard fight and been in them in
my younger days for FLO note $500.
Then, as a rule, few mugs of ale
and good ale at that-each night for
fortnight or so after victory, and not q
wine racket night after night the
year round, was the winners only dis
sipation.
Moderation in all things is the secret
of the whole business; moderation in
eating, drinking, exercise and sleeping
An athlete in training should never be
permitted to crave for glass of ale
a cup of milk, an apple, mild smoke
or for any fruit or beverage. It won't
do him bit Of HARM and it's effects
can be worked out Of the system by
exercise. When a man Graves con-
stantly or persistently at intervals for
milk or fruit or sugar or any such
thing, you can depend upon it there
is waste in the system somewhere
which requires attention. To deny the
boxer or other athlete in training any
such comfort as he yearns for does him
a lot of injury, as, besides the waste,
he undergoes a mental worriment
which detracts greatly from his physi-
cal condition. / never denied myself
anything in training, such as ale. fruit
or digestible pastry, but always par
took of these judiciously. Moderation
has been my motto in life and to that
L attribute the strength VOl1thfl.l xyionr.
and physical development which critics
look upon as something marvellous for
a man of my age. Corbett, Maher.
FitZsmmons, Sharkey, Choynski and
all Of the big fellows Of today can be
as good thirty-five years from now
as | am today if they but follow the
regimen have laid down. So can anV
good, strong, athletic fellow, barring
Of course, all accidents in the way Of
pneumonia, typhoid fever, yellow fever
and all wasting diseases, which a man
seems liable to catch in this tricky
uncertain climate. But to young fei.
lows ambitious of fistic renown
would give this last and special piece of
advice-avoid worship at the shrine
of Venus as well as of Bacchus. and
you will not break down in the prime
of your manhood, as many modern
champions have done, a misfortune
by the way, which the old Champions
generally escaped.
L am glad to see the elevated nlape
boxing has reached in America and
the staneh support it has received from
men or learning, influence and high So
cial and political standing I have me,
many great men in my day who were
arm advocates of the manly arr
Principal among these were Roscoe
Chandler, senator from Michigan. That
was twenty years ago AFT WaShinrton