The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-02-10
COST Of SUCCESS
HEAVY FOR BOXERS
Many Masters of the Art of
Fighting Pass From the
Scene of Activity

.n'caso Feb. 10.--Solnebody once
Sa,d: "iher is no hin worth while
without loss" This maxim. II ma vim,
1t be. has been applied in the game
". puglilsm with results most unfortu-
nate and under circumstances which
,naKe those results moro regrettable
IMAM the toll exactcd in fnr
success in other lines of endeavor I,ar-
tlcuiarly is this true Of the last decade
LOT IN that time there have passed
from the scene of activity many mas
ters OF the art of fighting. Some OF
tnem nave been paid with life. while
otners nave met an even more unfor-
tunatc fate. Il fate that means the re-
n1alnder of their days must be spent
~ eon''nement for their own protcc-
tlon as we'll as tina of others.
Perhaps the subject would not have
oeen chosen by the writer had he
not learned a few days ago n Of the
instances of the cost in the fighting
game. The information that prompts
IT comes from a little place named
Norfolk. in the state of Nebraska.
where there is confined in the asylum
a former pugifist-one who in his time
sibly to win the worlds lightweight
championship.
Kid Parker i'm Asylum.
81 .lOltS dSQ IldI IAlO'
Parker of Denver was a shining light
in the lightweight division. Today
this same kid" Parker is among the
insane In the Norfolk asylum. Those
in charge arc of the belief that he will
remain there for the rest Of his days.
Parker is fighting his battles now in
a padded cell. for he possesses the
hallucination that he is a champion.
He consta ntly states that he is ready
to fight Joe Cans and Battling Nelson.
He punches the walls Of his padded
cell. In order that he may not hurt
his hands the. attendants have pro-
vidcd him with a pair of boxing
gloves.
There are many other cases that
closely resemble that of kid. Parker.
Terry McGovern. that wonderful little
terror OF the ring only a few years
ago. was sent to a s%anitarium in Con-
necticut. because of apparently weak
|ening mentality. The history of pug
ilism shows few fighters as wonderful
as Terrible Terry" in a few short
years that he ruled supreme. He still
is a young man, but the ring sees him
no more.
Down at Blackwell's Island, off New
York, there is another famous fighter
whom many critics Of pugilism declare
was the. cleverest boxer that ever pull
led on a glove. Griffo's boxing was
called uncanny. for it is doubtful III
ever a man could handle his fists SO
cleverly. But he is down and out, a
victim of dissipation of years which
has affected his mentality as we'll as
his health. He paid the cost of sue
cess in pugilism.
Those who have passed out entirely
long before their time form a long list.
On this list is found the names of
many champions and near-champions.
Joe Cans. who for years held the
worlds lightweight championship,
died the victim of tuberculosis. The
Baltimore negro was a wonderful
lighting machine. but he fought until
Training to make weight had much to
do with Fastening the end.
Then there was another little COL
ored man a few years before Cans who
came to the end of the string long be-
fore the average man reaches 1t. That
was George Dixon, Little Chocolate"
they called him in the heyday Of his
%fricndless. in Bellevue hospital In New
York. Ills once wonderful constitu-
ltion was wrecked by dissipation.
wilmington jack Is Victim.
wilmington jack Ialy-remem-
Der him: The time when he was
at the top Of tho heap wasn't long ago
But old King Rarleycorn got Jack in
his grip. He drifted out Of the fight
game. soon contracted tuberculosis
and is dying In Philadelphia. which
city he has called home for several
years. Jack O'Brien recently wrote
that "Wilmington jack couldn't last
much longer, and that there was nc
use Of sending him west: that 1t would
be best for him to stay In Philadelphia,
where he had some friends.