The San Francisco call., 1896-06-11
Members of the Civic Federation
Say They Will Try to
Stop the Mill.
Ollie AND TRUMAN TALK.
Manager Groom of the Nationals Says
It Is an Exhibition Within
the Pale of the Law.

Tom Sharkey made a dive for the hand
bali before it got out of bounds in the
Acme Athletic Club gymnasium in Oak
land while training yesterday afternoon.
He Iunged too hard, missed the ball and
collided with a red-headed youth who sat
on rail in the front row of spectators.
The youth went over backward with
Sharkey on top and struck his red head on
an iron plate screwed on the floor. The
Young man saw red stars. The iron plate
raised bump on the back of his head not
any bigger than the mouse that Sharkey
saws he'll try to raise under one of Jim
Corbett's eyes III their approaching four
round battle.
The sailor lad paused a little while dur
ing the training and, while Tim McGrath,
one of the trainers who is assistant to
Needham, wiped tie perspiration from his
face and brawny shoulders and chest,
talked a little about the fight:
mo, haven't outlined my plan OF battle
yet" he said. at Is too early. l am just
getting down to work and there is plenty
of time to think about that. But you can
say that Corbett will know I've been before
him; he'll be aware that l am in the ring,
all right enough. III not run away-don't
you ever think that. -
This is the most that Sharkey has said
ABOUT the coming CNuL6sb W udISy SACEpJ
to his trainers and most intimate friends.
He is a silent fellow and talks very little
as a rule, even to Needham. There is
vast difference between a trained talker
and trained fighter. Sharkey is the lat
ter and not one particle the former. He
smiles once in a while, and talks even less.
He seems to be looking on the serious side
of the panorama of the prize-ring most of
the time.
From the way they started in yesterday
it is evident that Needham is going to give
Sharkey plenty of training. Needham
said:
Tom is going TO make the fight of his
life with Corbett. intend to get him into
fine condition, and the rest remains chiefly
with him then. Sharkey is improving
right along since his first fight with
Choynski. Any body who saw him then
and will look at him now can see the
change for the better. He has improved
great deal, and l think ne will keep on
improving. He gets around better, and is
not bit slow for oIfe of his weight"
Little Tim McGrath, the chief rundown
artist for Sharkey, said yesterday: tom
is such quiet fellow that you can't tell
very well what he thinks about his chances
with Corbett. He can stand a lot OF
punishment though. 1t is a good oppor-
tunity for him to stand up before Corbett,
and he knows it. He has everything to
gain and nothing to lose One thing can
tell YOU: that is that Tom is not going
TO stand up as stiff as an Indian cigar
stand and be slugged. He'sa hitter, he is
He thinks if he can get in one or two hard
body blows on Corbett that he'll stand
fine chance of winning out III style"
So much for the talk of the fighters and
trainers.
Sharkey's working-day begins early in
the morning. Yesterday was the first day
devoted to getting into condition. He will
/
day the pedestrian excursion extended to
and around Lake Merritt and to Pied
mont and return. Needham goes along.
When they get tired of keeping up
steady walk they start into a trot or run
to rest themselves.
When Sharkey was 10 years of age he
ran away from his home in Ireland. In
the same year he became helper to a
blacksmith. Stripped for work in the
Acme gymnasium yesterday he looked
boss blacksmith IN strength. His muscu-
lar development is SO marked that Her
cules might have been proportionately
proud of it. He has an India ink picture
of a full-rigged ship on his broad chest,
with few blue stars showing in the fir
manent of music around it, His exercise
consists of punching the bag, handball,
skipping the rope, winding up wrist
machine and tossing a large, heavy,
leather-covered ball which might be foot
nine times lighter.
Sharkey and Needham punched ten or
twelve rounds on the bag. After a short
rest the sailor LAD went at it again alone.
He banged it against the woouen canopy
with such lapidity that.th force of con-
tact sounded like The explosions OF a Cat
ling gun or the bonn bardment of the early
morning of the glorious Fourth by cannon
crackers touched off in bunch. The ball
flew back and forth swifter than sight
Each bound was met by the brawny-ists
of the sailor lad and each blow increased
the rapidity OF the bombardment and the
velocity of the flying sphere. Suddenly,
with terrific blow square in the face, the
rope from which it was pendent snapped
and the big ball went sailing down the
hall. That ended the bag-punching ex-
ercise for the day.
There is quite a contrast between Need
ham and Sharkev as they play handbalI.
The trainer is nimble and spry on his
pins and moves more quickly and with
more gracefulness than Sharkey. Though
it appears to take the sailor lad longer to
get to the ball, somehow he gets to the
swiftest bounds of the ball. Yesterday he
made but few misses the most disastrous
one being when he went headlong into
the red-headed youth. Sharkey worked
just as hard at handball as he did at slug
ging the sphere.
The big sailor boy skips the rope as
lightly as fairy. He appears to enloT 1T
as much as schoolgirl Somebody men
toned something about 'All right till
broad daylight a-sk1pping the tra-la-loo," !"
and then the sailor lad laughed. He threw
his face as though he shifted salt water
afar off, and the rope went whirling on.
That big, heavy leather cannon-b ball was
thrown to him next, and he tossed it
around like the man in the circus. He
kept it up in the air apparently as long as
he wished by banging iG with his fists each
time it came down within striking dis
tance. Then Sharkey ard Needham tossed
it back and forth, standing about thirty
feet apart. One time Sharkey put too
much muscle behind it. and the ball few
far out of it's previous orbit over Need
hams head, and the crowd scattered.
There was no sparring in the exercise
Yesterday. The reason was that one of
Needham IS hands is sore. If the hand is
not all right by to-day and there is no
worthy substitute around, there will be no
sparring till the hand has recovered. The
bath and rundown conclude the exercise.
Sharkey has been put on regular diet.
He eats chops and eggs for breakfast, roast
beef and vegetables for dinner at noon,