Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-07

THE OMA
by public clamor and he will be taking
DESPERATE chances"
Idle And Drank.
J~effries, according to associates in Cali
fornia, not only neglected physical exer-
else during his Ions layoff but also drank
steadily. He did not imbibe to excess, but
a. the same time he denied himself
nothing. He did not refuse a glass Of wine
or a highban when invited to join his
friends, neither did he refrain from treat
ing them ION the house" Living In this
manner Jeffries took on flesh. until a
year ago. according TO reliable information.
he weighed 29 pounds. He seldom in
dulged in running or long distance walks
and went for months at a time without
putting on the gloves. He was hog fat
and short Of wind when he began train
ing last March, and even his best friends
did not believe that he could recover any
thing like his old form.
Jeffries, however, went about the task Of
reducing himself in the proper way. He
began daily exercise gradually. He changed
his method Of living radically. He cut out
liquor. selected his meals carefully. got
into the habit Of sleeping nine hours each
AahN oAAh " 4AA VI Ut ANAa hbAh
and light exercise he managed to work off
the fat slowly but surely. As he stands to-
day Jeffries. as far as outward appearances
go, looks as well trained and as rugged as
in the days OF conquest He says ne feels
strong and able to stand a hard fight. In
boxing with a partner he seems to step
around with the same agility that made
Corbett pronounce him 'the fastest man
Of his weight and inches i'm the world"
He seems to be able to punch with the old
power and he certainly knows as much
about ring tactics as he ever did.
Admits He Lacks Wind.
But Jeffries will admit privately that his
chief fault is a lack of wind. He appears
to tire quickly after a few vigorous round
aud puffs like a grampus Yet he says that
when real hard training begins this defect
viii be easily remedied. He knows that
Johnson's defense will prolong the fight
and for that reason he says that he must
have enough stamina to go the route with
the negro. JEFF has a host Of supporters
who believe that he will come back" and
put Johnson away. One Of them in pre-
dieting the outcome Of the mill said re-
Gently.
johnson has never beaten = first class
man. In Burns and Ketchel he beat a
| pan u uiiuEtlb WIZ are JUST BOoO Illuult-
weights. When he meets Jeff he'll have
a man before him in the ring who is
taller and heavier. also stronger, a harder
hitter and more game. johnson will find
It impossible to throw Jeff around in the
clinches and to hurt him to any great
extent with his punches. Jeff on the
other hand can hit hard enough to put
Johnson out in jig time if he gets an
opening. The boilermaker is not a fool,
and if ne thought for an instant that he
could not whip johnson he wouldn't fight
him. Jeffries has taken his own time
about reducing his bulk and he intends
to do a lot of hard training before he enters
the ring. He doesn't think much of John
son anyway and is going ahead with per
feet confidence. He isn't worrying about
his weight. He is light enough now to
fight any man. But it's his wind that is
bothering him. A few months in the noun
tains Of California will fix that ali right,
and then yop1l see the same old Jeff,
big and strong, with a punch that will
put an end to this controversy"
Some Athletes who failed.
/, Looking back through sporting history
one can find many instances of athletes
r who failed to come back John L. Sui
} Ivan, after beating Jake Kllrain, loafed
for three years before meeting Corbett and
then proved to be all in. Only a year age
, Kid Mccoy, after a long layoff. tried tc
come back in a bout with Jim Stewart
a second rater, and was a pitiful failure
Tod Sloan, one of the greatest jockeys thai
} ever lived, after remaining on the grount
= for several years tried to ride for Edward
r Corrigan at New Orleans, but quickly
r found that he had lost his skill. Though
t Mike Donlin has not been idle for NOR,
, than a year. Manager McGraw believes tina
? he has lost his grip and can never be tn,
3 Giant lmainstRy again. Joe Corbett, ono,
4 a star pitcher in the National league, tireC
r to shine once more IN California last sum
e mer after several years of idleness, but wal
; quickly convinced that he had seen hi
; best days. How many college foot bal
: players on the giTdiron this fall coult
u quit the game for three years and theI
show the old prowess? II is the sam
: thing with sprinters like Bernie Wefers
: wrestlers like Hackenschmidt and oarsmel
like Young Ten Eyck, Then cay neve
come back" VIII James J. Jeffrles, how
, ever. prove an exception?