The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1915-10-20
USED BRAINS TO WIN
HOW ATHLETE ACHIEVED TRi.
UMPH m RACES.
TED Meredith of University Of Penn
sylvania Had Carefully Thought
Out Methods That Brought
Him Victory in Contests.

Him Victory in Contests.
There is a bciatcd story Of how Ted
Meredith OF the University of Penn
sylypnia defeated Bill Bingham Of
Harvard in the half-milc race in the
utercollcgiatc championships. which
carries with it lesson valuable to
part cpants in practically all lines Of
Hport, the Now York Times remarks.
Meredith it will be remembered, won
bo;h the quarter and half-milc races.
'i'hc quarter was won in his usual
style Meredith allowed one of his
competitors to go out and make tho
pace. and then came like streak in
the last furlong and won about as he
plea scd.
When it came to the half Meredith
completely reversed the order OF
things. He raced at top speed in the
first quarter and had all the rest Of
tn" field on their toes and practically
beaten. doing the quarter in :54. He
then slowed down and even allowed a
couple Of his competitors to pass him,
content with tho fact that Bingham,
whom alone he feared. was plugging
II With him disposed Of, Meredith
again sped up in the last furlong,
caught and passed the two who had
headed him FOR a short distance, and
WOE very Clovcrly without being ex-
hausted.
Meredith's overwhelming triumph
was duo to the use Of brains coupled
with his powers as racer. Before the
race he had taken the trouble to find
out the way in which Bingham. the
Harvard man. ran his races. He dis
covered it was his habit to take 1t
easy in the first quarter. running tho
distance in about minute fiat. and
rpscrving himself for the final quar-
ter, which he would do in the neigh
horhOod Of fifty seconds. Meredith's
hcartbreaking pace in tho first quar-
ter completely upset Bingham's plan
for the race. and so bewildered the
feet Harvard runner that the latter
had no time to think out and put into
operation Il new plan.
Possibly there is no better example
OF the superiority Of brain over Drawn
than in the career Of George Bothner,
the wrestler. Ills lack OF bulk was
more than compensated for in the abil-
ty to think quickly and almost un-
cannily to anticipate and thwart the
particular hold" his opponent intend
ed making
JChn MCGraW's success as base
ball manager has been entirely due to
exceptionally acute brain power
From the beginning Of his career on
the iiamoAd he analysed every play
made in Il game I'm which he partici
patGd or witnessed. 1t was the study
that developed the baseball strategy
lie made his own, and which made
him SO much OF a clairvoyant i'll
torcscc;ng tho breaks" Of Il game for
or against his team.
II lin JetfricS had been possessed
OF enough gray matter he might never
have lost the heavyweight champion
ship TO Jack Johnson. But the punch
in the eye in the second round, which
vas tho turning point in the contest.
angcred him. After that it was brute
force against brute force.
Football is so entirely matter Of
brains that everybody familiar with
sports admits that the best eleven Of
the physical boxers or wrestlcrs, for
instance, would have no chance what
ever against an eleven such as repre-
Bents any one of the great universi-
ties on tho gridiron each fall.
Tho thinking athlete gets more
sport out Of the game ho happens to
indulge in. also. than he would IL
merely an exceptionally good natured
athlete or ono who is able to absorb
the ideas of a trainer and carry
them out in purely mechanical fash
ion.
TO the young athlete the lesson
modern sports teaches us: Attend
as we'll to the cultivation Of the mind
as to the training Of tho body and
its muscles if you would enjoy COM
petitive athletics to tho full. The
first is as necessary as the last to be-
come supcrcxcellent at any sport, to
get the greatest enjoyment from sport
9Dd to cope with it's emergencies.
Victorian Hobby.
The announcement offering for sale