New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-04-14
MURPHY FIT AS A FIDDLE
Veteran Trainer viii Coach
Olympic Team.
PSYCHOLOGY OF ATHLETICS
Tryouts for American Team Will
Begin Next Week with the
Boston Marathon.
BY Edward ". Bushnell.

parts OF the country nave sprung up as
aspirants for his position should 1t de-
velop that Mr.. Murphy could not accept
The writer, who has seen MIR. Murphy re-
Deatedly since his recent illness. is in
position to state that the veteran trainer
is now enjoying as good health as he has
had for the last ten years, and that the
thought OF not being able to coach the
American team has never entered his
mind Mr. Murphy's absence from his
coaching duties at the University Of Penn
sylvania was longer than II need be. hut
he was kept N home by the orders Of his
family and the Pennsylvania officials. who
did not wish him to risk his health dur
Ing the recent inclement weather.
with the opening of the spring season
Mr Murphy resumed his duties as coach,
and has been with the Pennsylvania ath-
letes regularly since that time. Mr.
Murphy's duties as coach Of the American
team will not begin until the team has
been selected. some time after June 8. on
which day the Eastern and Middle West
ern tryouts will be held. This will be
the week following the intercollegiate
championships. when his duties as coach
Of the Pennsylvania track team Will be
ended.
The arrangement for the three Official
tryouts. the selection Of the team and
other details are purely OF a business nat
ure and are already In competent hands
Mr.. Murphys duties will be precisely what
they we're in 1908. and will not begin be-
fore the departure OF the steamship Fin
land. on which the American team sails
He will then he in complete charge Of the
team until the conclusion OF the games at
Stockholm.
As a matter OF fact, the American COM
mittee has not given any assurance that It
has even considered the appointment Of an
assistant trainer Mr.. Murphy by disposi-
ton and skill. IL admirably fitted for the
position OF coach. There are other men in
this country who have shown themselves
capable trainers, but no one has yet ap-
preached his skill "a a conditioner lie
has happy faculty OF making everybody
like him, OF inspiring confidence and the
fighting spirit so necessary to win. lie is
postmaster I'm the art OF harmonizing a
group OF conflicting personalities such as
would he contained in big group Of men
composing the Olympic team. No other man
in this country could have handled the
collection OF characters that made up the
1908 team in the way that Murphy did He
had these men under his wing for full
month. and with the assistance of Man
ager Halpin kept everybody I'm a peaceful
condition Of mind and had each man on
edge for his particular contest. The ability
10 do this is n rare trait In any man. and
| explains why a learned college professor
| -.
| psychologist. as well as great trainer"
II Mr. Murphy wants even an assistant
the American committee will undoubtedly
permit him 10 appoint that individual him
| self He IL tremendously hard worker,
and the chances are that rather than risk
the possibility Of Interference with his
methods by some outsider he would prefer
to do double work himself.
II should no remembered In this connec-
ton that there will be no need for rudi-
mentary coaching among the olympic ath-
lotes They will all take passage on the
Finland NJ for their best competition. The
greatest task will be TO IND enough work
for the athletes 10 do on board the ship
and after they arrive In Sweden without
overworkng any of them IN other words,
his purpose Will he 10 teach the men how
10 become acclimated. which. after all. will
be one OF the most dIflcult OF his under
takinss.
This will he the fourth team that Mr..
Murphy has taken from the United States
70 European meets Ie coached the Penn
syivania and New York Athletic clubs for
the olympic games at Paris in 1900 Two
wears later he coached the Yale and Har-
ward mon for tho games with oxford and
Cambridge and I'm 1905 he coached the
Olympic team at London.
The first regular tryout for membership
on this years American Olympic team will
occur on April 10 at Boston. when a group
Of more than two hundred men will try
for Marathon honors. The American com
mittee has selected this annual run. con-
Quoted by the Boston Athletic Association,
g q ono OF the official tryouts for selecting
the twelve men who will represent this
country in tho Marathon run at Stock
holm Tho committee. however. will not
confne its selection necessarily to the men
who compete at Boston. 1t is likely that
they will give preference to the men who
make good showing at Boston. but there
are likely to be one or two other tryouts
for Marathon candidates in other parts Of
the country, and any man who demon
strates TO the American committee that
he has a chance to score in this classic
event at Stockholm will be given due con-
slderation.
In spite OF the fact that the United
States carried off the Marathon honors In
1908. there seems to be less interest taken
by the athletes Of the country in this
event than there was four years ago. In
1905. prior TO the Boston run, there were
numerous Marathon tryouts In various
parts Of the country, and even before the
Bunker Hill Day race, the American COM
mittee had a pretty fair idea OF its best
men for this event. This year 1t can be
truthfully said that there Is hardly a sin
gle new man Of real merit who has been
developed since the 1908 run. And this In
spite of the fact that for a year or two
after the 1908 games there was a Marathon
craze I'm all parts OF this country.
or the 1905 holdovers there are two mon
who at this writing loom up as the strong
est candidates. They are Lewis Tewanimi,
~ the Carlisle Indian School, who finished
,enth at London, and Joseph Forshaw of
st Louis. who was fourth I'm the Same
run or tho two men Tewanimi impresses
the critics as the better. Forshaw has
hoen running Marathon distances for more
than eight years. and is not considerably
o,der than the Indian. The red man went
~ the Olympic games In 1908 as a candi-
date for the five-mlle iun. out during the
preliminary training Of the American team
Of brighton he showed such phenomenal
staying power that Mike Murphy had him
,rain with the Marathon candidates
,Iurnbv's Judgment was verified by the
.nIordid showing which the Indian made
since 1875 Tewanimi has been specializing
q, distances above ten miles, and he has
ade tremendous Improvement. Mike