Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27
poetic


4 voltage after ALL
nen the kings English is too weak
medium for blowing off steam,
good rule is to hunt out good boxer
and let him beat you to pulp. This
method is guaranteed to relieve that
poetic frenzy, supersensitive soul, ar
| tistic temperament, psychic inspiration
| or any of the other countless cerebral
affections of which you may be a
victim.
This is the advice of Dewitt Clinton
Van Court the veteran boxing master
of the Los Angeles Athletic club, and
he ought to know.
There's nothing like boxing" says
| Van "to take away that tired feeling
or to rid you of superfiuous energy.
Boxing will do wonders. 10 matter
what kind of a man boxes it is bound
| to do him worlds of good. 1t makes
the strong stronger, the fast faster,
| the big bigger the healthy healthier.
It makes a real man out of weak
pigmy, giant out of one with fair
physique to start with.
"It would be a good thing for the
country If railroad presidents, insur-
ance company officers, frenzied finan-
ciers and all business men were ac-
tually compelled to take daily boxing
lessons.
In San Francisco
big business men have told me so.
I once had a pupil SO years old. He
was an old, broken wreck when I took
hold of him. He was a millionaire
twenty times over, and his business in
terests had driven him to the verge of
nervous prostration. One of his friends
sent him to the club, and I taught him
how to box. He fell in love with 1t
and took his lessons steadily for a long
time. After a while he failed to ap-
pear and I concluded that I had seen
the last of him.
Thought He Was Crazy
zone cold winter morning about q
o'clock I was reused from bed by the
persistent ringing of the telephone.
Finally I answered it. Hello, Van
Court, is that you? Well, old man
I'm back again. My carriage will be
around for you In a few minutes. I'm
at the club In half an hour He hung
up the phone, and I wondered
whether he had gone crazy or just lost
his mind.
'I rode down to the club and sure
enough there he was in the gymnasium
waiting for me, Strip, you loafer,
strip he yelled. Here's where I give
you the beating of your life!'
Whats up?' I asked. oh, nothing
wrong with you. But I'm just going
to take that wheat ranch and wool
business out on you, that's all. And
there's a little railroad deal that's
bothering me. You're going to get
that, too
"Well, we went after it, and he GER
tainly gave me a beating. I couldn't
keep him off. He fought like wild
man. Finally he stopped with sheer
fatigue, and hustling on his clothes he
swept out into the chilly gray of the
winter morning.
when I saw him two days later he
explained 1t all to me. He had gone
without sleep for months couldn't eat,
and of course he couldn't think right.
He jumped at that beating to clear his
brain. and it certainly did the work.
After that we boxed regularly"
Van Court is trying to make maa-
teur boxing the most attractive feature
of Los Angeles sports. He knows the
game and he believes in it.
II Van Court does as much for anna
teur boxing in Los Angeles as he did
in San Francisco it will be a fine thing
for the town.
The chief difficulty lies in the fact
that few men and no women appre-
ciate the value of good, clean boxing.
Whisper it to the average man and he
thinks of a prize fight.
But Van Court is gradually over
coming this foolish prejudice.
He came to the Los Angeles Athletic
club year ago last June. When he
first started he had the rawest of raw
material to work with. Dick Dunni-
gan at that time was the only member
of the l.. A. A. G. who could box. All
of the others were green men. Now
the situation is different, but still far
from ideal.
Van Court has some promising anna
fo,,x To- oY,I 1,A =, faIr 1o4 -,
will develop into as good boxers as any
he has ever turned out. This is say
ing a good deal and is encouraging.
He has made over thirty amateur
champions in his day, and he should
be able to bring out few in Los An
geles.
Won at Fair
Two of his boys. George Finnegan,
105 pounds, and Sam Berger, the heavy,
were sent with Van to the worlds fair
in St. Louis and won the worlds anna
teur championships for their respec-
tive classes. Many of Vans pupils
have since turned into professionals,
but he claims that he always tries to
persuade them to keep out of the game.
However this is not easy Take
Jimmy Britt: he was earning $65 per
in his fathers shop. He went into the
game after amateur success, and has
made a fortune out of the game
AL Kaufman won the northwestern
championship under Vans tutelage,
and year later Boy Lundy won the
| lightweight championship. Willy
Dwyer won the championship in
special class of 125 pounds as a pupil
of Van Court. Besides these Van Court
turned out twenty-seven amateur
champions between 1887 and the great
Frisco fire in the Golden Gate, includ-
| ing Jimmy Carroll 105; Harry Baker.
and year later Boy Lundy won the
Pacific coast championship three times
and the American once. Leonard is
the only one in the entire bunch who
is still an amateur. Van also turned
out such men as Lew Powell, Willy Nc
Donald, Henry Finke, Tad Reardon and
Walter Schulken.