Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-10
MURPHY WAS
KEENEST JUDGE
Of At HE TIES
Bv Ed W. Smith.

hlCAGO, June S.-lL Is Sinai
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 than one sensation by spring
ng great performers on the differ
ant countries at different times. F)r
Mike was one of the keenest judges
Of human form a..d human capabili-
lies that l ever saw. AS a matter Of
TACT he was little short Of upcanny
In his perception and could tell al
most at a glance what an athlete
was capable of. Not Jnly was he a
deep student of the physical side,
but he studied and judged tempera
he biggest factors in Mixes marvel
ous success in handling men for ath-
etic contests.
1T is not mentioned in any of the
biograph that l have seen of
Murphy that he was once one of
the greatest of professional sprint
srs back in the old days when
sprint1ng was one of the real sports
in New England and towns in that
section subscribed money to send
their stars to Old England to COM
pete in Sheffield handicaps and 9TH
or 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 match race Or
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 com
petitive spirit that was wonderfully
developed, it is small wonder that
Mike. able as 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 ii in the
way OF athletic material on his
squads.
NEITHER has 1t been mention I'd
~ that Murphy at one time trained
the athletes of the old Detroit Athletic
Club when such men as Fred owen,
Luther Cary, Fred DucEarme, George
Mesley. Joe Murphy and other great
athletes were competing around the
Middle West. Yet Mike was fami.-
lar figure then and was almost as
successful as he proved in later
years. He not only uncovered but de-
veloped some of TIE greatest anna
teurs the world ever knew
THE last time I saw Mike was az
l 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
ia stern syndicate. I 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
nrea sing deafness bothered him more
than a little and it was hard for him
20 converse in public.
LIS keenness was shown at Reno
II after ne had looked over the
big fellows w were working TOT
hat memorable contest. There new
or was much question about the con-
dition in which the cotoIeu man
would enter the ring, but there was
a mighty big question about Jehries.
After Murphy had looked over the
los Angeles man carefully couple
If 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 20
run a Marathon
Further than this Mike would noL
venture. but it was enough. Ihey
never trained Jeffries right at all Tor
that combat and the wise ones VINO
watched knew it--and perhaps prof.
lied we'll thereby. Jim Corbett knew
If as we'll as anybody and SAID SO
four DAYS before the battle. NUT
nhv knew II two weeks before ana
said SO. Mike was a wonderful man.
MANY a man who thought ne
M was a Splinter was turned INTO
q star distance man by Murphy, VINO
Grew at a glance that the athlete
hadn't picked out the right game Ior
himself And in 80 cases out OF 100
Mikes Judgment was absolutely cor
rect.