Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-01
THE. YELLOW STREAK
IN PRIZE FIGHTERS
W. A. Brady Tells of the Meet
ing Between Jim Jeffries
and Bob Fitzsimmons.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch TO The Star.
NEW YORK. February 29-'Not many
persons know it, sbut Jim Jeffries licked
Bob FitzsimmonS twice at Coney Island.
and did good job both times" declared
". A. Brady when attending a dinner of
the Thirteen Club in Manhattan tonight.
Il know lie did it, because 1 saw both
scraps from. beginning to end. and il
Fftzsimmons does not verify what l say
I'll buy the dinners. cherry and all trim
mings, any time and any place you in
dicate.' he continued.
1T is great story and shows the ne
cessity for brains when in a tight place"
he went on. But it is too good story
to Keep any longer. I'll have to let you
in on the secret, for it has been a secret.
You may not know it. but all fighters.
those even in the championship class,
have a wide streak of ochre running from
the roots Of the hair to the end of the
spine. and then it branches off like a di-
v0ed skirt and continues down both legs
to the heelway, and defies ordinary treat
ment to efface from the system. / ought
20 know, for l have been up against such
things for years. and part Of the money
1 nave made has come easy because l
nave always been lucky in treating the
affected parts SO as to eliminate the bad
erect OF such faint. In plain English
II Is called streak of yellow.
They have it. big and little fighters
alike. No one is too gigantic not to be
overcome with the fear of q single punch
that will end his money-making career as
fighter. And Jeffries was no exception
to the rule. Hence it was that l had to
get rid of it before he and the Speckled
One met for their fight at Coney Island IN
1899.
Both Fighters Scared.
'Jeffries was the greatest fighter that
ever lived. He was the strongest man
that ever donned gloves in ring. and
he had the widest streak down his back
that l have ever seen. He was terribly
afraid of Fitzsimmons and cried before it
was time TO enter the ring and did every
thing possible to seek an excuse to dodge
the fight. He was afarid he was going to
be licked. and / knew that Martin Julian
was having the same kind OF battle
with f1tzsimmOns in an adjoining room
I'll inc building where the fighters were
awaiting the signal TO enter the ring.
IN! MY man was lying on a cot in the pa
Nhlioil: lou never saw such a sight in
your life. There he was. just as weak as
child from fear. and the greatest deyeI-
opment of muscles in evidence that you
ever saw He was trained to the minute
ana the finest specimen of physical per-
lection L ever looked upon. but almost q
mental wreck. Nothing but the thoughts
OF mobbing ever kept him in control until
framed up job that gave him cour-
age to go into the ring and clean up Fitz-
simmons.
had counse!ed with a personal friend
and we concerted the scheme of telling
Jeffries that Fitzsimmons was very super
stit1ous; that he had fear of everything
out OF the ordinary before he entered the
ring and that he would simply not fight
II he stumbled over a screen before a
fight. We decided to make him stumble
l took Jeffries out for stroll along the
boardwalk while l had Il large screen
taken to the dressing room. After we re-
turned 1 had Jeffries strip as bare as
when he first came into the world.
Brady's Successful Trick.
'In accordance with our agreement. and
1 must say that Jeffries would do ex-
actly as he was told he raised a row
about hitting in clinches. This gave me
chance to go to Julian and try to get to-
gether on it. ended the matter by say
ing TO Martin: These men are the ones
who are to fight tonight; let them settle
it themselves. Jeffries is in his dressing
room. Let Fitzsimmons go in and talk
it over. Whatever they say goes
Julian fell for the bait and agreed
FitZsimmons came into the dressing room
to meet Jeffries. Oh. what sight it
was. There he was, Jeffries. the big
gest fighter that ever lived not stitch
Of clothes on him and the muscles of his
stomach and breast standing out like the
limbs OF an ordinary man. FitzSimmons
looked sick at once. l saw it, and be-
fore the argument had gone far Jeffries
leaped up from his resting board punched
FitZsimmons on the jaw and sent him
sprawling to the floor. over the screen,
down and out for the count.
"Of course. Jeffries won the fight. He
went into the ring and pounded the life
out of Fitzsimmons because the speckled
one had been scared to death first by the
sight of such a physical giant, and sec
ond by the punch. TO add to this there
was the screen. / never told Jeffries
about the job / put up. He thought it
was the superstition about the screen
that enabled him to lick Fitzsimmons SO
easily, but it is all the game