The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1912-12-26
MURPHY PLACES
DREW ABOVE R.
CRAIG in 100
Calls the Negro the Greatest
Ever in the Century
Dash
PREFERS FOOTBALL TO
TRACK, BUT QUITS 1T
Fears Injury to Legs in the Grid
iron Game-Supports
Family of Four

That boy can lick any man In the
world today tor 100 yards. He's one
OF the fastest amateur sprinters ever
saw"
These few words from the mouth OF
Mike Murphy-the mouth from which
praise never comes unless It is de-
served ten times over-puts the high.
est stamp of approval on the running
of Howard p. Drew, the coIored boy
who has carried the colors of Spring
field (Mass.) high school to victory
against the best In the world during
1912. 1t places Drew above even our
own Ralph Craig, who Is acknowledged
to be without a peer in the 220-yard
dash. After Drew's heartbreaking
breakdown In the last semi-final heat
OF the 10O-meter dash at Stockholm,
Murphy offered to back Drew against
any l00-yard amateur in the world for
$4,000 side. The occasion of this
offer was. an athletic gabfest In the
stadium one day in which some Eng
lishmen were pointing out the su.
periority Of Patching. the South Afrl-
can, over the Americans, despite the
fact that Patching was unable to se-
cure place at Stockholm.
Unconsciously. perhaps. Murphy dis
closed his opinion as to which Of all
the great sprinters he was training
was the feetest over the century
route. After the games were over
Mike declared, too, that Drew would
have done very fast 10 3-5 seconds
for 100 meters (109 yards 13 inches)
In the final heat OF that race but for
the breakdown. Drew has vindicated
the great trainers judgment by win
4 ming every race he has run In since
he returned from Europe-winning
among others, the national 100-yard
championship.
Drew was born in Virginia, but his
folks moved to Springfield, Mass,
when he was a little shaver. His
start I'm sports was playing football
In the back lots. Drew has been q
perfect whirlwind on the football field
from the first time he tucked a pig.
skin under his arm for an end run.
On July 4. 1906, when there was no
football to play. the city OF Spring.
field, Mass, ran OF a set of public
games, and at these Howard Drew
made his cinderpath debut. He won
the 100-yard race for boys in IL sec
onds. and the quarter-mile In 5S sec.
onds. Thus Il will be seen that the
colored fiier was good in his very first
race
Drew still prefers football to the
track, and up to this fall has
played regularly on the Springfield
high school eleven. On the advice oil
A. e. Metzdorf, physical director In
the Springfield public schools, Drew
has passed up football this fall. Metz
dorf quite properly fears an injury 10
one OF Drew's legs.
Drew never trained regularly FOL
track work until he got under the
careful eye OF Mike Murphy on the
Olympic trip last summer. The tire
mendous Improvement that he showed
during the short period that he trained
regularly for sprinting influenced
Drew to pass up football for track
work.
In preparation for the Olympic try
outs at Boston last June, Drew played
baseball every day, and Is days before
the big meet did some starts with
short dashes, gradually increasing the
distance until he reached rs yards
He never runs full 100 In prac
tice. II is matter OF history tha
he made a show OF his field in th'
l00.meter race at the Boston tryouts
In practice at Stockholm, Drew
showed the same superiority over tn
other Yankee sprinters that he did II
the tryouts. He won both of his pre-
iiminaries I'm the t60=metef with VI
most ease, but had the misfortune 4
rip muscle In the last 10 yards o
his semi-hnal effort
brew is the kind OF American atf
!ete that the Englishmen term "spt
cialist," because he starts n but on
event, and yet the little 'colored fiiel
while not Jim Thorpe, Is good at a
most anything. He can run tn
hurdles well and has done eattsE tha
i've feet seven Inches in the hlg
Jump. and 21 feet In the broad JUMP
Al baseball he Is good also. He he'll
Idown right field OH the Yankee team
that defeated Sweden on the OsteI
mains field, back OF the stadium, b.
a score Of 1910 3.
Drew will go TO college after he Nm
ishes high school next spring. Jus
which college he will matriculate a
he does not know himself as yet. |
| Will however, be one OF the univer
stiles located In q large city, FOR th'
q little champion Ia doing something
else besides taking part In athletic
J, events. Drew In earning support for
. family Of four. He works all day AM