The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-17
YOUTHFUL FIGHTERS
ARE soon WORN OUT
Records of Early Beginners
Show Rapid Decline While
Pugs Are Yet Young

an impression among followers of fighters
that pugilist, in order to achieve fame
and fortune in the prize ring, provided
nature has endowed him with the requi-
site physique and ability, must start out
when he is quite young. But according
to fistic authority who has compiled
table of the ages at which some of the
most prominent Scrappers started in the
/ business this is a mistaken impression
| Bob Fitzsimmons was twenty-seven years
| old before he began his ring career, and
| he is still before the public, ready to meet
all corners with the gloves. Fitz never
had a glove on until that time, and this
probably accounts for his long campaign
] in the roped arena. The Cornishman was
! born in 1852 and is now in his forty-se
ond year. Some say he is older. But,
whatever his correct age may be, there is
no gainsaying that he is one of the great
est pugilists the sporting world has ever
| known.
Jeffries Starts at Twenty-Five
Jim Jeffrfes' pugnacious temperament
asserted itself when the boilermaker was
| twenty-five, and now at the age OF TWEEN
| ty-nine he is the champion of champions:
| Jeffries is still young, and probably will
| be on top four or FIVE years from now.
| John L. Sullivan became a full-fedged
pugilist when he was twenty-five years
old, but lost his title before he was thirty
five. Jim Corbett started out as a boxer at
| twenty, while Peter Maher was nineteen
| when he thought that fighting career
| was better than working in brewery IN
| Dublin, Ireland.
Ben Jordan at the age of twenty-five
years realized that he possessed the neces-
| sary ability to become the featherWeignt
! champion of England. Kid Mccoy began
| his ring operations at eighteen. Tom
Sharkey sought fighting fame when he was
| twenty one, but Gus Rubin was twenty
| four before he was seized with desire
| to follow the vagaries of the prize ring.
Terry McGovern faced an opponent for
the first time at eighteen, Joe Cans at
| eighteen, "Pedlar'' Palmer at eighteen,
! and Young Corbett at the same age:
| Tommy Ryan also fought his initial mill
at eighteen, while Jack Johnson, the
negro heavyweight who has challenged
| JeffrieS for the title, entered the profess
| sion at the age of twenty-five. The age
of seventeen saw Dave Sullivan's first
| try for pugilistic honors.
| frankie Neil's fighting talents were first
| tested at seventeen, and Harry Forbes,
! who was defeated by him for the cham
pionship of this class began when he
| eighteen when he decided to try his for
! tunes at boxing, while Joe Choynski was
nineteen when he donned skintight gloves
| to do battle Martin Candle was nine
| teen, Benny Yanger, the "Tipton" Slash
! err" seventeen, and Jack, Root, twenty
| one, before they attempted to win laurels
| in the ring.
o'Brien's First Battle
Jack O'Brien's fighting career had its IN
ception at the age of eighteen. Marvin
sixteen, George McFadden at eighteen,
Battling Nelson at eighteen and Joe Wal
| colt at seventeen. Sandy Ferguson was
| only nineteen when he started out to
| thump rivals, and Kid Lavigne was eight
cen when his bruising nature asserted it
| self.
Eddie Hanlon, of San Francisco, began
his fighting career very early. He branched
| into the profession at fifteen. Even at
| that Hanlon's success was short, as be-
| fore he was eighteen he was whipped after
,rr-Iaf hot I1k0 G0l %kl0
| knowledge to succeed Terry McGovern,
who was then the featherweight cham
pion.
Compared with Fftzsimmons these per-
formers were all .schoolboys when they
! entered the business. The result has been
that, scoring successes many of them in
obliged in youthful follies, which resulted
| in their discontinue With the exception
| of Cans. Walcott, Ryan, Jordan and JET.
| fries, all the above pugilists have either
| lost their titles or tasted defeat. Outside
| of dissipation constant training does more
! to sap the vitality of pugilist than any
| thing else. When fighter starts out
| very young and makes a success of 1t, by
the time he reaches the age of twenty-five
| or thereabouts he is practically all In.
Starlight" the noted colored Australian
middfeweight, who is close to fifty if he
! is a day, did not begin his career as a
boxer until he was past thirty. Still to.
day he is well preserved and capable of
exchanging knocks with the shiftiest and
! strongest youngsters.
! Should Commence Late
Fitzsimmons said recently that if he
/ were in the business as a manager of
/ fighters he would not undertake to develop
| a man, especially a heavyweight, unless
| the aspirant was over twenty-five.
Sat that age" said the Cornishman,
/ 'she is sufficiently matured to know right
! from wrong. In other words he is old
enough to exercise common sense Moth
! ing can prevent man from diSSipating
| if he wants to. But when ne is past TWEEN
| ty-five he has different views of the world
and would like to settle down. He has all
/ his strength then and he will be able to
1 pick up all the tricks just as easily as If
| he were still in his teens. When started
out was bound to succeed My training
! at the forge as blacksmith naturally de-
| veloped my muscles and made me strong.
| The severest kind of training had no ter
rors for me. The harder the work the
! better liked it. because / was used to it.
| Now, at the age of forty-tWo and really
i I am no older than that 1 am just as
| good man physically, if not better, than
| 1 was at the age of twenty-one. AT any
rate, / feel better. Boxing is all right
and can be learned at any time. But my
advice to those who mean to take it up as
a livelihood is to start as late in life as
your physique will permit Some per-
sons are men at eighteen. while others do
not mature until after their twenty fifth
year"
aAnhan auu~ AanHN