Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-11
OF
{. THE PRIZE FIGHTER
Discussing the Question OF
Sympathy for the De-
feated PugiIist.
Written for The Star.

Written for The Star.
In Atlantic City during the early part OF
the summer I had a series of extended In
formal talks with two celebrated opponents
Of the fighting game-James ]. C0rbett, an
Eek" and Jack o Brien. still Is" These
conversations related to the fighting game IN
general and had naught to do with pros
pective championships in any OF the classes,
the politics Of the pugilisttc business, nor
anything of that character. The purely hu-
man side of the game was what preferred
to hear these two notable fsticun masters
dwell upon, and they were perfectly ready
and willing to address themselves to that
phase of their profession" Their views
seemed to be about as wide apart as the
poles.
/ There was a reason for this. Jim Corbett
has always been man with good deal Of
sentiment distributed throughout his sys-
tenn He was never of the conventional
type Of bruiser. Even during his fighting
days he was chap with a considerable re-
gard for the amenities of life since ne
quit the punching business Corbett has
really improved immensely as man. NO
body not familiar with his pictured fea-
lures would ever suspect, upon meeting him
nowadays, that he had ever been prize
fighter. Nor does his present-day manner.
excellent as it Is, show any indication OF
affectation. He c6nverses like man of the
world, using English rather above that even
of the ordinary hurried and careless business
man, and anybody unfamiliar with his iden-
tity might easily suppose him to be sue
cessful lawyer or practitioner In one OF the
other professions. He dresses extremely
well, without being an exquisite. and looks
thoroughly groomed. There Is nothing In
the least f1ashy about him. His habits are
of the best. He hardly drinks at all,
smokes rarely, keeps pretty moderate hours,
fights shy of gambling. and is in general a
pretty solid sort of a citizen.
Jack O. Brien is a man of an entirely diff
ferent type. This does not call for his being
described as anything even remotely re-
sembling q tough or an individual CORE
spending to the type OF the old-fashiohed
bullet-headed prizefghter. He is nothing OF
the sort. But he Is a cold. calculating.
rather porpoise-blo chap, Of little edu-
cation except what he has picked up in the
useful school of experience. but enough
sense to sheer of when subjects are
He is blunt, and, in general. taciturn. but
when he talks he has a way OF going
straight to the point, and his language Is
by no means that which might naturally be
expected to flow from the lips of man en-
gagged in the walloping business. He talks
correctly, If somewhat jerkily, and his
grammatical breaks are few. made as
rule only when he falls into great earnest
ness, and Of small consequence. at that. He,
too, Is q man of the most exemplary hab-
its. Unlike Corbett, who flew high for
few years until he learned the foolishneSs
of dissipation and cut it out, O'Brien has
always been a man of the most model hab-
its-for the excellent reason, as he himself
frankly says. that he never had the slight
est inclination to engage In dissipation of
any sort. He never drank drop of liquor
in his life, and he doesn't know what to-
bacco tastes like. O'Brien impressed me as
an exceedingly self-contained, If not FROST
veined. proposition. man wholly lacking
in those impulses which lead fellows Of
warmer nature into excesses-a chap, in
short. who sets out in his earliest manhood
with the most deliberate intention to make
manner he chose. succeeded in doing that
very thing, because. endowed with an
abundant amount of benefcent selflshness,
50 to speak. he never permitted himself to
life. Except as regards his own people,
Jack is what is colloquially known as q
tight wad.", whereas Corbett has always
been. and still is. liberal spender.
So that It was to have been expected that
these two men. so widely different in dis
position and makeup. should have expressed
such dissimilar views when tackled as to
the purely human side OF the fighting
game.
asked Corbett how. as a fighting man.
he had felt In victory and defeat. and espe-
cially If he had ever been able to experience
any genuine sympathy toward the man he
had sent Weftering to the floor of the ring,
all In and counted out.
ITO ask me IL ever felt sorry for the
fellow I licked" said Corbett, sis about
equivalent to asking me IL ever ate a
piece OF toast for breakfast. 1 never hit
fellow q hard blow that. as could see.
dazed him and sent him limping down the
sad pike toward OutviIle, that my heart
didn't ache for him. even in the heat OF
battle. and that's the plain and utter truth.
knew that was there to do just that
thing: that IL didn't do 1t to him he'd un-
questionably do It to me: that the prize
awaiting me for doing 1t to him was big
and the fruits more than worth while: that
the sting Of defeat, IL were to experience
1t myself would be intolerable; and yet,