Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-15

thought lie would surely collapse from the
efects of the tremendous heat, which the
thermometer showed to be 1O5 degrees up
on the platform where the two big fell
lows battled
Corbett and Mitchell.
The nerves of Jim Corbett. are perhaps
more highly strung than of any pugilist
that the game has produced: at least so
far as heavyweights go. Ordinarily Jim
talks in sharp. snappy sentences, but on
the eve of battle he is on edge all the
time. Personally, Corbett IS fine fellow
and one of the few modern y pugs who
are liberal with their coin
The writer remembers when Brady first
took him on to New York and had him
playing in one of the earlier Brady plays
In this 'drammer' Brady also had a
part, which was of the comedy Species
and fairly well did Billy per- n, too
But, of course. Corbett was the real at
traction. and though it was before he
fought Sullivan. yet he came east with a
great reputa ton on account of his hav-
ing fought Peter Jackson sixty-one-
round draw. as we'll as having caused
Jake kilrain to resemble dog eared
deuce in pnOchle deck
At this time Charley Mitchell. the Eng
lish fighter. was in New York. and he
met Corbett one Sunday night in the old
Coleman House, which was at that time
a prominent rendezvous for sporting men.
Mitchell had purpoSely provoked Jim in
order to get him into rough and-tumble
fight, which was Mitchelrs long suit: but
Jim had sidestepped the proposition, as
he did all barroom fracaSes. so the next
day when COrbett was on his way to his
theater Mitchell met him on the street
and tHed to start trouble again. Corbett
walked hurriedly away, with the little,
stockybuit Englishman trailing behind
and calling him all the hard names in
the calendar.
Mitchell followed Corbett into the
theater. and his language there was so
bad that a. crowd of men in the audience
started after Charley. When he saw
those frate Americans coming for him he
turned and ran as he perhaps had never
run before. When Corbett a few years
afterward got him into the ring at Jack
sonville he undoubtedly remembered the
vilifying that he had received from the
Englishman in New York. for never be-
fore or since did Corbett punish a man as
he did Charley Mitchell
One seeing Jim Corbett just before a
battle. with his face the color Of chalk
and his lips a blush black. might get the
idea that there was something yellow In
the fellow, but such is not the truth. for
though Corbett has not the brute courage
of Jeffries and Sullivan, yet he is as game
a man as ever stepped into the roped
arena, and, take him all around. Is by far
the best principled one of any of the
fighters
Bob Fitzsimmons.
F'itZsimmons. who has the sharp, fer
rety eyes of a rat. also much resembles
that animal in his characteristic poses
and in his mannerisms. Fitz Is not form
ed of the clay they model heroes out of,
either. for though. perhaps. he is the
greatest fighter that America ever knew
taking his science into consideration. still
he never possessed the courage of such
men as Sullivan Dempsey and that class
for if he had he would never have al
lowed Jim Corbett to grossly insult him
one night in a Philadelphia restaurant
without resenting 1t.
On this occasion. which was before
their famous Carson City fight, Corbett.
accompanied by his brother Joe. who was
then pitching on the Baltimore team of
the National League. came into the sa-
loon and. finding Ruby Robert there. he
walked up. to him and spat In his face
and .Fitzsimmons without saying any
thing calmly took out his handkerchief
and wiped his face.
Think of any man Offering the same
insult to fighters of the Sullivan or Demp-
sey breed. But Fitz always played them
safe" and his greatest fighting was al
ways done when he was in a corner; an
other rat-like characteristic.
On the eve Of a battle Bob's face. in
stead of becoming pale, most of the
and the only way one could discern his
nervousness was by observing curious
twitching of +. the lips and the snappy,
snarling way he had of speaking His
wife, Martin Julian's sister. who was
large, Incorporating woman. was the
best sedatlve that Bob ever had for
few words from her were more effective
than a barrel of nerve tonic, and as she
was always present at his ring contests
it may be truthfully said that the con-
troll she had over Fitz helped him more
than the outside world knows in his many
amounted to anything as pugilist after
his wife died. which shows how helpful
was Mrs Fitzsimmons to her husband.
the lanky-limbed and ferrety-eyed Robert
Sullivan's Courage and Faults.
most iron nerved of all the pugilists 1t
was just a case. with him. of not know
ing what fear was. Being in his day a
man of little education and with hardly
any knowledge outside of prize fighting.
his finer sensbilities were SO blunted that
there was no room for nervousness-for
there is no nervousness without ina gina
ton. The big fellow would not have rec
osnized fear had he seen it coming down
the pike.
His courage was of the brute SPECIES.
Let him get some whisky under his belt
and there is no question at all that John
would have fought a bear OF course.
! his science. even in his pamy days. was
nothing to compare with that Of such
men as corbett. Fitzsimmons and that
bunch. Sullivan mainly depended upon
his magnificent hitting powers and his
ability to take punishment. and he could
take more punishment than any man
whose deeds are recorded III the annals