Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-09
MURPHY WAS
KEENEST JUDGE
OF ATHLET TIES
By Ed W. Smith.

- hlCAJO, June st 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 capabil-
ties that l ever saw. As a matter Of
fact he was little short of uncanny
in his perception and could tell al
most at a glance what an athlete
was capable of. Not only was he a
deep student of the physical side,
but he studied and judged tempera D..
ments as well-and this was one "
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
in New England and towns in that
section subscribed money to send
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 1r
an open event came up that brought
together some Of the cracks.
1T was in a school Of that kind that
L the ynx-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 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 it in the
way of athletic material on his
squads.
NEITHER has IT been mentioned
1 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 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-
Veioped some Of the greatest anna
tavrrc ba world ever knew.
THE last time I saw Mike was at
i Reno. New, in 1910. while he was
taking vacation watching the
training of Jeffries and Johnson and
airing his views on the men for an
Eastern syndicate. ] rode from chi
cago 10 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 il was hard for hlrl
to converse in public;
LIS keenness was shown at Reno
i after he had looked over the
big fellows WHO were working Tor
that memorable contest. There new
er was much question about the con-
0it10n IN WnlCn the tblbl va man
would enter the ring, but there was
a mighty big question about Jenries.
After Murphy had looked over the
los Angeles man carefully a couple
of times I asked Mike his opinion.
He shut one eye slowly, squinted
long and hard at me and then re-
marked:
Us this fellow going into glove
contest or are they training him 20
run a Marathon
Further than this Mike would no,
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 Corbett knew
If as we'll as anybody, and said so
four DAYS before the battle. Mur-
nbv knew it two weeks before and
said so. Mike was a wOndertul man.
MANY a man who thought he
vi was Splinter was turned into
a star distance man by Murphy, VINO
knew at a glance that the athlete
hadn't picked out the right game Tor
himself And in 80 cases out OF 100
Mikes Judgment was absolutely cor
rect.