El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-09

AN FRANCISCO, CAL, Nov. g.
Boys. I am through with the ring
~ for all time. When a novice can
stand me on my head in two rounds it's
time to quit"
SO spaIze Al Kaufman to his handlers
in his dressing room after he had been
50 quickly disposed Of by white hope
Luther MeCarty-
The pity of was that Kaufman was
not aware Of the pugilistic wreck he
had become when he agreed to meet
the big NebraSkau. 1t looks indeed as
though a suspicion that he has retro
graded never crossed the mind Of a
ring man whose biggest asset is per-
self as good as ever seems part Of
the vanity Of human nature as eE-
pressed in fighters.
In Kaufman's case it is said that the
fellows who boxed with him in train
ing camp were not long in discovering
that Al had nothing left, but It is a
brave sparring partner who viii inform
a principal he is all in"
and so Al went into the ring with
McCarty and so the spectators
witnessed one Of the saddest sights Of
the QueensbUry game, that Of a stout
hearted fellow, whose fighting talents
had deserted him being mauled at will
by mere recruit.
Weakened by Sickness.
This is no reelection on AIcCarty's
ability. He may be able to treat others
just as he treated Kaufman He has
a.
1lstlc sense, and viii have ample Op-
pOrtunity to show his worth. The fact
remains that in defeating Kaufman he
defeated a man who had become a she'll
one who appeared to have forgotten
even the rudimentary tactics of de-
fence.
1t was a sad sight, that is for the
members Of the old guard Of fight
patrons. and It turned thoughts to sjzI1-
lar experiences in other contests. So
far as kaufman IS concerned sympathy
Is not born of the fact thai he has
grown old in service He is premature
" aged through having endured E-rre
III health than falls to the lot Of the
average man. Sickness did for him
what years Of grUeling ring work did
for others in his line. 1t slackened
his sineWs and Slapped his vitality Ind
left him nothing but his fighting spirit,
and possibly the knowledge that he
had to fight to gain a little something
of the worlds goods.
And if his is a piteous case wcat
about others that can be mentioned?
1t is notorious fact about pugilism
that very few men develop at the ex-
pense Of new men, The cry The King
Is Dead" Long live the King gOes
up, it is generally found that the new
king is a lusty young fellow and the
depOsed monarch a veteran who
should have been living on his acCumu-
latiOns instead Of making maudl1n ring
side speeches about having tried once
too often Such is the history Of
championship events from first to last,
youth triumphing over age in the rOped
arena have not been seen in bouts
where titles were at stake.
Keep Fighting Too Long.
It's one of the evils Of pugilism that
men some times keep fighting too long
after their heydey has departed. Tie
reason is easy to find The money they
made in their prime has slipped
through their fingers and its a case OF
needs must"
Take I7itzsimmons for instance
Years after he should have been laid
away he tackled Philadelphia Jack
O'Brien in san Francisco. The poor
Cornishman was such a. shadow hat
he collapsed in his corner between
rounds.
Years after that he faced Bill Lang
in Australia One Of the most depreses-
ing photographs the writer ever gczed
upon showed the-Old lion, FitZsimmOns
stretched on the floor, while the re-
feree counted the seconds and Lang,
q man who has since been defeated by
almost everybody, gazed superciliOusly
at the recumbent veteran.
Peter JacksOn's affair with Jim JEFF
fries was another pitiful example of a
former world beater against a rising