The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-11-19

or lie was sick and thin, however, when
ne started In TO train and was not long
enough In England To get acclimated and
Duild up, not TO say train
Next TO fat, thinness or emaciatjon
whether it comes from ague. malaria or
other causes, is the worst enemy the athlete
can have. He can do no real training
work until some vitality and nervous
force arc infused into him. This can be
done by proper dieting mild calisthenics
ana toning up of the system by carefully
selected tonics, judiciously administered.
Inc man must first be built up before trv
ing real work, and this building up process
usually takes six weeks or two months.
In tho next two months hard work may ba
meted out to the athlete In gradually in
creaslng installments, always taking care
never TO overtaz his strength or endur-
ance, and at the end of the go days Won
nave well trained man for any kind of
contest he may be booked for. Tommy
conner was not in England ten weeks be.
iore ne tried TO race, and he was beaten, OF
course
1t is strange, and yet true that nearly
all great athletes have their superstitions
Oarsmen, fighters, sprinters-tbey all
alike. Charles f. Courtney. once cham
pion oarsman Of America, would not row
In race IL the sun did not shine on than
day. He would arrange for n postpone-
msnt by getting poisoned, (" having his
boat sawed In two or by the adoption of
some other ingenious artifice. Edward
Hanian, at one time champion oarsman Of
the world, would never row in any kind of
q race unless he had certain sleeveless
shlrt, which he looked upon as "a mascot
anu wore In every aquatic contest So,
TOO, with gallant Jack Dempsey. Fearless
as the "Nonpareil' was, no never would |
go into ring without his famous black |
trunks. When he met defeat at the hands
OF Bob Fitzsimmons, Jack thought they
had lost their talismanic power, and he
slowed them away in the attic of his house
In Portland, Or, and never looked upon
them again.
The bane Of Charley Mitchelrs life "a
elther % cross eyed or "A rodheaded woman.
fio will walk n mile To avoid either. N
ne meets woman in whom both of those
are united, he will almost
nave fit. When | first brought him over
rom England 60 meet John l.. Sullivan i'm
Madison square Garden, Mitchell spent
air portion OF bis time lodging ladies
With auburn looks and slanting eyes. On
he night of the contest eran plump into
Tat apple woman with the reddest Of red
lair ana eyes that looked two ways at once
ust rs we turned from Fourth avenue into
-wenty-sixth street 10 get in the side en-
rance unobsorved Mitchell squirmed as
he had tho ague and dashed up tho
tairwnys like madman. Ho thought "
q got away without the Titan haired lady
peaking to him he might break the spell:
nt he didn't even have that luck. zap
inf ur.fa a |
british blackguard. May Sullivan bate We
ELL A" -
"I'm licked sure" said Mitchell when
0 heard this. "That hoodoo has done
le"
Even the great John l.. has bis vein Of
iperstition. Whom 1 first brought SuIu-
IN down % Bay ST. Louis I'm 1852 20 Gght
addy Ryan for the championship of
merica, this trait Of character was large
In evidence. We were accustomed in
ar early morning walk 10 pass a small
rench Catholic church. Sullivan would
sh mp the steps OF the church. and when
reached the font OF holy water near the I.
trance would plunge his big right fist
10 It. In this way he hoped TO gain ad-
tlonal strength for that mighty hand to
lock out Ryan. "
Lanky Bob Bitzsimmons Is an implicit
Hover I'm dreams. Before every fight no
Rnges IN he sets his mind 90 have "A
eanii Just as you would set an alarm p,
'ck, and he IS either greatly elated or do
esscd according 20 tho way the dream r,
rms out Before his battles with Peter -
lhcr, Jim Hall and Dan Creedon no
canned no whipped them. Hence his con.
cnco IN facing them. Re also had a tn
'am about Corbett-not the kind ho
We out about knocking Jim's head OF.
one, am told, IN which he dreamed A.
got whipped. This may account for ~
} Texas flasco. 7
Peter jackson firmly believes that tba