The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-10-26
LITTLE NATIONS HAVE PRODUCED MANY CHAM
 PIoNS OF THE RING

PIONS OF THE RING The measure of nation's greatness is not in square miles It was the fighting spirit of it's people winch en- 1 abled little England to conquer a world empire It was the same fight ing spirit, manifested by the colon ists, which laid the foundations of the greatest of republics. Little Japan, with it's men made hardy and strong by centuries of devotion to athletic sports, was able to triumph over 1 mighty Russia. Greece, in the days of her athletic glory. brought the world into sub1ection. Such virfle peoples as the Danes, the Dutch and the Swiss have maintained their national indi- viduaiity against the most powerful enemies. Even tiny Montenegro, mere speck on the may, has, with it's stalwart soldiery, played a part in re- cent wars far out of proportion to it's size.
 A sturdy, sport-loving rugged acce,s no matter how small in numbers, can never be thoroughly subdued. It is only when, nations sink into physical sloth and incidence that they become
 easy prey. All history. ancient and modern, proves this contention. Until recently the Chinese youths were stoop-shouldered spectacled students, who considered any sort of physical
 exercise beneath their dignity. Now that the Chinese are taking a lively interest in sports. China may soon be able to say to the peoples who have trampled on her, Hands off!s If China can be transformed into a na- tion of athletes, she will no longer
 have to play the humble role of door mat.
 We see this virility of the little peo- ples manifested in the ring Many l champions and near champions of the T,<5x natives or the descendants of natives of the little countries of Europe. Although boxing is practically un- known in Denmark, that country has recently given us two worlds cham pions, and several other fighters who have cIim bed near to the top-
 Both Battling Nelson, the former lightweight champion, and Kid Will l Hams, the present boss of the ban tannvefglts, are natives of Copenha- gen. the Danish capital. The Battler' claimed allegiance to the Stars and Stripes when he was only 2 few l months oIds settling first in Oshkosh, Wis, and later in Hegewisch, H., the
 town he made famous throughout the | sporting world Williams, whose real l name Is John Gutenko, is not yet H years old, and was a newsboy in Bal: tinore before he entered the fighting game.
 NeIson's father certainly had the l gift of foresight when he gave his son. 1 Battling as a middle name. AL though he never attained great skill as a boxer. Nelson was the most dur able scrapper the ring has seen in recent years, and he could absorb any
 rnur. If Nelson had been as clever as he was game and rugged, he would !. still be champion. AS it is, the Dur able Dane has a body that looks as if l it had been run through threshing machine, and e.Bonesetter'' Reese Of is the most battered bunch of human l ity he has ever worked with.
 i Kid Williams is of a different stamp. for the little fellow has speed and generalshfp as well as stamina and ability to stand the gaff He has few
 marks to show for his five years in the ring, during which he has fought his way up from a preliminary boxer to the worlds championship of his di- vision.
 sCyclone' Johnny Thompson, for n4er middleweight champion, is an other boxer of Danish blood. although 1 he was born in Illinois. The Sycamore Cyclone claimed the rniddIeweight title
 in 1911 by reason of his defeat of I Billy Papke in Australia, but he soon
 outgrew that division and became a
 light Heavyweight. Thompson is on- f ly nVS Ie6C, TOUT 1ncneS, ana started | his fighting career with the little fe1- I lows. As a lightweight he whipped
 a number of good men. but lost to I Battling Nelson, Packeys Mcfarland and others.
 Another Danfsh-American who gave
 a good account of himself in the ring I was Maurice Thom pson, a lightweight.
 Mattie McCue. the Racine boxer. and l a number of other ring men of lessen I fame have Danish blood in their veins.
 Little Switzerland gave us one of
 our best lightweight champions in 1 Frank Erne. The Buffalo boy was born 1 in Zurich, Switzerland, and, besides defeating Kid Lavigne for the light | weight championship of the world, he I whipped such great 1ightweights and
 featherweights as George Siddons. Jack SlSelly, George Dixon, Dal Flaw
 kins, Joe Cans and George McFad-
 den.
 One of the greatest fighters of mod ern times was Pole. stanislaus Kie- I cal known to ring fame as Stanley I Ketchel. His father was a native of Poland, who came to America to es-
 cape that bondage to which modern | Poles have been subjected by the ru- l Iers of their dismembered kingdom.
 Ketchel was a slam-bang, hard-hit-
 ting, durable fighter who well earned
 his sobrtQuet of .sthe human buzz
 saw While there have been other I Polish boxers, including Eddie Ketch- =l el, Kid Wagner and Jack Lester
 Stanley Ketche1 was the only man of
 that race to climb to the top, or any ii where near it.
 Bohemia. which. like Poland, was formerly an independent Kingdom, but I which is now a part of Francis Jo- sephs empire, has given us a mum I Der of good boxers, although no Bo- hemian has ever held a worlds title. I Jack Root, who was born in Bohemia,
 was the best of the bunch, and in his
 prime defeated some of the best of
 the middleweights. Roots victims
 included Tommy West, Dan Creedon, the Australian; Frank Craig the
 Harlem Coffee CooIer;'' Alex Greg I gains. Australian Jim Ryan Kid Car