Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-25
SUPERSTITIOyS OF PUCILlSTS
Many Of Them Are Greatly Afraid Of
Bad 0mens.
LITTLE THINGS BRIGHTEN THEM
johnson Has n Rabbits Foot. while
Cans Carried = Pocket Piece
asd woicott y small
horseshoe.


Horseshoe.
NEW YORK, oct. 24-It is often said
that pugilists, like gamblers and sailors.
are superstftious. The colored fighters are
particularly So for some OF them have
been known to hack out OF a contest at tho
last moment because they ran up against
some bad omen. Big Jack johnson. who is
matched TO fight Tommy Burns, never
enters the ring before hiding a rabbits
foot ia the colors he wears around his
waist. Joe Cans always puts a lucky
pocket silver piece, which he won in his
first mill. in his belt just as no climbed
through the ropes. Joe walcott. once a
Giant Killer, never failed to have a minla-
ture horseshoe tucked away in his breech-
clout.
John l.. Sullivan In all of his battles
wore a pair of green trunks, in the belt Of
which was q talismsn which his mother
gave 10 him when he first entered the
professional arena. Game Jack Dempsey,
the Nonparell, would not agree to tackle
the easiest kind of a mark unless he had
on his famous black tights in which he won
some sixty battles. But the tights lost
their magic charm the night that F1iz-
simmons knocked Dempsey out and also
broke his heart,
Charley MitcheITs Dread.
Charley Mitchell. the former English
champion, had a mortal fear of meeting a
cross-eyed woman on the day or night Of
a nstlc encounter in which he was en-
gagged. He always insisted that such "A
woman meant sure defeat. The night he
was 20 meet Sullivan for the second time
in Madison Square garden Mitchell met a
cross-eyed, red-haired woman in Fifth ave-
nue. and almost collapsed. He dashed back
around the corner at top speed, crossing
his fingers several times.
she nailed me with her bad eye" he
walled, and I'm under a bloomin' spell,
I'm sure!'
Sullivan, as it turned out, was in no con-
dition to go to the garden and there was
no fight.
1T was that Internal cross-eyed woman
that queered the whole show" exclaimed
Mitchell as he left the garden in disgust,
for he believed that he had John L. out Of
shape and was ready to beat the big fell
low down and out.
When Jack McAuliffe was lightweight
champion he always wore a pair Of dark
blue trunks. One night they were par
TALLY burned in a small fire at McAuliffe's
home and he was heartbroken. At last he
decided to have what was left OF tho
trunks made over into a new pair, which
he wore in his memorable battles with
Jem Carney, Young Critic and Billy Myer,
the Streator Cyclone.
Bob Fltzsimmons is a believer in dreams.
Long before he won the championship from
Corbett at Carson City he predicted the
victory. He said he had a dream in which
he won decisively. FHtz has since declared
that he never won a fight in his life
without first having a lucky dream. Fitz
also had what he said was a charm that
protected him from harm. 1t was the tip
OF a kangaroos ear, and the Cornishmsn
wore it beneath his belt in all OF his ring
battles.
Friday a standard HOOdOo. 80
There are a great many pusilists who
refuse TO sign articles of agreement or TO
fight on Friday, 'hangman's day." they
call It. Among them are Tommy Burns,
Jimmy Britt, Abe Attell, Billy Melody,
Dick Hyland, KID Goodman, Sailor Burke,
Packey Mcfarland, Owen Moran, Bill
Papke. Hugo Kelly and Battling Nelson.
Deep sea sailors always have a fear OF
Friday and often refuse to leave port on
that day.
Some fighters are superstltious in regard
to Jonah seconds. They dodge the
handlers who have been behind losers
Some seconds seem to have a streak OF
bad luck and as q result they find 1t a
difficult matter TO get a job behind q
good man. In some cases inexperienced
seconds are preferred to ~"Jonahs." John
L. Sullivan seldom acted as an adviser oil
a second that his man did not lose. HI
was behind Dempsey when Fitz beat him
behind Mike Cleary when Mitchell besteC
him; with Joel Skelly when he lost C
George Dixon; with Joe Lannon when III
was defeated by George Godfrey; with tn,
late Spider Weir when he was knocked GU
by Australian Billy Murphy, and behinC
Peter Maher when Fitz put him away thu
first time at New Orleans. Sullivan, Xix,
many other fighters, is a poor picker o
winners.
Tommy Burns likes nothing better thar
TO find a horseshoe when training for
, battle. The horseshoe has made a hit witt
other pugs, too, who usually nail one owe
the door OF their training quarters.
Meeting a funeral is always regarded a
a direful thing by pugilists. Sullivan me
a funeral the day ne was beaten by Cor
bett at New Orleans and he said then ant
there that he would meet his Waterloo
Other boxers are superstitious about luck!
and unlucky corners in the ring, Some o
them always try to enter the ring first 81
; that they can secure what they believe {
= the lucky chair" 1t has often been tn,
case that in a dispute over the fsvorit
, corner the matter has been settled by thu
turn OF a coin,
. FAnS OF BASE RAIL PLAYER!