The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-12-08

never earned a dollar at anything else.
When Corbett beat Sullivan in New
Orleans in September in 1892, I was the
star of all the little boys that boxed in
the variety theatre. They found a negro
boy namd BIuch Jones and matched him
against me. They billed his as Young
Peter Jackson and they called me Young
Corbett' I licked him after a hard fight.
and that made me bigger attraction
than ever"
Somebody told my father that his son
was Young Corbett He-weH, well
caught it good and hot. Just the same
he couldn't keep me from fighting. I
lodged him as 1 used TO dodge Miller
and Jacobs and Dolan. Night after night
went 20 the old Variety Theatre and
earned money by beating other boys.
At last my father appealed to the hui
name society to protect me from bad
company and boxing and all that. The
Humane Society officials notified the pro-
prietor of the Central Variety Theatre
that If he let me box any more, they'd
take away his license. That ended my
ring career for while. I went back to
school, but none of the boys ever tried
to lick me. I took up skating and run
ming and walking. could beat most Of
the boys at these games.
When I was fifteen I tried for the
amateur bantam championship of Color
ado and won 1t easily. Then left school
and took up fighting as a business. I'VE
been at it ever since. 1 like it and hope
to keep at it for a good many years No
acting for me.
MY brother Jim is only 10 years old,
and he's the champion bowler of the state.
In winning the title he made a run Of
thirteen strikes in succession. Pretty good
isn't he? He doesn't box. My sisters,
Ethel, II years old, and Sadie. 10 years old,
are sorry TO see me fight, but glad to see
me win. She's a great little athlete,
though, a splendid skater and dancer.
THE girl I'm going to marry? 1 can't
say word She wouldn't like it. 90;
III have to cut that all out. We've known
each other ever since we were little bits
ofkids, and some day we hope to be
well, there's nothing settled yet, and
mustn't talk"
Young Rothwen has his own ideas about
training. He believes in moderaton-even
in exercise.
II think a fifhter ought to avoid the
two extremes Of dissipation on one hand
or too much hard training on the other
he said so far as dissipation goes, I've
never seen anything in that so it has no
temptation for me. 1t has knocked out
too many champions,
"Of course. I'm no Prohibitionist. I'm
taking nothin gbut cider now, because m
ma strange country. and ] don't want
people to think badly Of me. What l like
after training is TO get together my
friends and all of US set down to big
beefsteak dinner, with all we want to
drink. Then we sing and dance and have
a lot O fun. And after that one night,
no whipping it up. That sort of fun does
a fellow good after long siege of train
ing,
Il think the fighter or any other ath-
Iete who keeps in training all the time
burns himself out. There was Kid Par
kerr out home. He was one one of the
best men in this country at his weight.
He was never out of training. He was
always working with the dumbbells or
sparring or running on the road.
seWhat's the result? He's hardly got
settled down to his full growth today,
but he's lost his speed.
II never go into a gymnasium unless
I'm actually training for sfight- When L
90 there 1 work. Between battles loaf
and grow fat. You saw me when l
came on from Denver a month ago. Do
Won know what weighed stripped? One
hundred and thirty-six pounds.-And with
in few weeks after I began training
here was down to 126-the weight for
the day of the fight.
what do I gain by loafing and grow
ing fat? gain strength. You take
racehorse that is kept racing all the
year round. He gets track sore. Take
him TO the starting post and he'll turn
and run in the opposite direction. Hls
muscles and nerves are tired Of doing
the same thing over and over again.
IT'S the same way with fighting, or
anv other kind of work. In order to do
his best. a man must have variety. And
when I train Itrain hard. When loaf.
live at home and take 1t easy.
stroll around every day-but 10 exercise
walksi I don't abuse my system in any
way so that when I so into training
again I'm fat and strong enough TO
push rown a wall Ali I need then is
to get spe dand wind.
An I superstitious? No. Yet wore
something in the ring for luck when
beat McGovern. When I visited Cripple
Creek some years ago I stayed with my
friend Willie Finnegan. When his
mother heard I was going 10 fight the
champion she gave Willie medal 10
send to me- I put it on a piece Of black
thread and tied it around my left ankle
under my stocking before going into the
ring. You know what happened after
that