Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-09
MURPHY WAS
kEENEST JUDGE
Of At HE t e
By Ed W. Smith.

CHICAGO, June 9.-It is small
wonder that Ike Murphy. vet
eran Of athletes, who passed
away in the East a few days ago.
led the athletic world and created
more han one sensation by spring
ing great performers on the differ
ent countries at different times. For
Mike was one of the keenest judges
Of human form and human capabii-
ties that / ever saw. AS a matter Of
fact he was little short of uncanny
in his perception and could tell al
was capable of. Not only was he
deep student of the physical side,
but he studied and judged tempera
ments as well-and this was one If
the biggest factors in Mikes marvel
GUS success in handling men for ath-
letic contests.
1T is not mentioned in any Of the
Biographies that ] have seen Of
Murphy that he was once one Of
the greatest of professional sprint
ers back in the old days when
sprinting was one Of the real sports
sin New England and towns in thar
section subscribed money TO send
their stars TO Old England to com
pete in Sheffield handicaps and 9TH
er big races. New England pro-
duced more than one man in those
days that could beat even time
for 100 yards and, as a matter Of
fact, every town in that section had
a champion and plenty Of money was
wagered whenever a match race n
an open event came up that brought
together some of the cracks.
1T was in a school OF that kind that
the lynx eyed Mike learned the
game of footracing and acquired his
knowledge Of men in much the same
way. Naturally a wonderfully bright
and thoughtful fellow, ambitious to
lead at all times and with a com
petitive spirit that was wonderfully
developed, it is small wonder that
Mike, able a he was to impart that
same spirit to the men he handled,
was hugely successful against the
world even at times when he seemed
to have vastly the worst of it in the
way of athletic material on his
squads.
NEITHER has it been mentioned
~ that Murphy at one time trained
the athletes of the old Detroit Athletic
Club when such men as Fred owen,
Luther Cary, Fred Ducharme, George
Mesley. Joe Murphy and other great
athletes we're competing around the
Middle West Yet Mike was a famil-
lar figure then and was almost as
successful as he proved in later
years. He not only uncovered but de-
veloped some Of the greatest anna
tours the world ever knew.
THE last time I saw Mike was at
Reno, New, in 1910, while he was
taking a vacation watching the
training Of Jeffries and Johnson and
airing his views on the men for an
Eastern syndicate 7 rode from Chi
cago to the divorce city with him and
had many an interesting chat with
him about the great athletes of past
and present Even then Mike was
not In the best of health and his in
; creasing deafness bothered him more
than a little and fl W. nard for him
to converse in public.
LIS keenness was shown at Reno
II after he had looked over the
big fellows WHO were working for
that memorable contest. There new
or was much question about the con-
dition I'm which the colored man
would enter the ring, but there was
a mighty big question about Jeffries.
After Murphy had looked over the
Los Angeles man carefully a couple
of times / asked Mike his opinion.
He shut one eye slowly, squinted
long and hard at me and then re-
Us this fellow going into a glove
contest or are they training him 10
run a Marathon
Further than this Mike would not
venture. but il was enough. They
never trained Jeffries right at all Tor
that combat and the wise ones VINO
watched knew it-and perhaps prof
tied well thereby. Jim Corhett knew
If as well as anybody, and said so
four DAYS before the battle Mnr-
nhv knew IL two weeks before and
said so. Mike was a wonderful man.
MANY man who thought he
WI was a Splinter was turned into
star distance man by Murphy, VINO
knew at a glance that the athlete
hadn't picked out the right game for
himself And i'm 90 cases out Of 100
Mikes Judgment was absolutely cor