New-York tribune., 1916-02-27

THE personality of Francis Charles
Moran, pugilist and soldier o.
fortune. il perhaps about as interest
ing one as has ever been assoclateu
with the prize ring. The average
pugilist. when he steps into his street
clothes. is a person TO be Stunned. II
he talks ~ all he has one line Of con
versation- shop falkland the shop tai \
OF the noble gladiators is decidedly
boresome.
Moran is "ied Irishman.' That Is
one reason why the Hibernian element
wanted TO see Coffey become champion
instead of Moran. Coffey is dai K
Irishman. The rusty hair and the
light eyebrows of Moran, according TO
popular belief, indicate strain OF the
Dare. This color is not popular with
tho dark lrishman. but 1t seems 10 De
a good tint for fighting man.
Outside of the prize ring FRANK
Moran is one OF the most afable young
men one would want to meet. lie IS
full of life and good nature. There
is a merry Irish twinkle in mis- eye and
a more or less interesting yarn always
on the tip Of his tongue.
Moran's Fighting Mood.
But when he settles down to his work
Moran is one of the most vicious look
ing fighters that ever crawled over the
ropes. II is not the ostentatlous, roar
ing. red viciousness of John l.. Sulli-
van. but steely cold, deliberate vi
ciousness. His eyes become narrow
Sits and his mouth curls into savage
snarl. The afable young man sud-
denly develops into one Of the cruelest
looking fighters that ever 0attled DOWN
a wavering adversary.
The two fights with Cofey showed
the Moran ring generalship. ms
method is TO take the best the other
man can land. watching under the
shaggy sorrel name for the chance TO
land one blow. And when that chance
comes Moran is as quick to striSe as
rattlesnake.
We do not agree with those who at
tempt 70 belittle the defeat OF corey.
The native born lrishman az the time
no fought Moran vas about as good a
heavyweight as has been developed IN
this country for some time. Moran
met him when he was at his very best,
took all that he could give and de-
feated him decisively. We must re-
member that Cotfey was a nimble boxer
for his weight and that he had real
knockout punch. Cofey's hardest Dlo"s
did not even rock Moran.
The logical contender" has had a
varied career. He was summing up
the different trades he had followed
since he started out from Pittsburgh 70
.nke care Of himself. He started as an
apprentice in a nut and bolt factory.
One of the men sent him out to find a
left handed monkey wrench. Frank
never returned. and the man probably
is still waiting for that implement
Next our hero started on the monoto-
nous career Of elevator man. The trips
from the cellar to roof became tire
some and he became passionate STU
dent of the iron moulder's useful art.
They let him out when they found that
he was too Young 10 take the art with
the seriousness 1t deserved.
Then Franc became a sign painter.
In a few weeks he felt that his talents
we're being wasted there, so he hied
him 10 lumber mill where he devei-
oped his shoulder muscles shunting
heavy logs 10 the saw.
Reading somewhere that Benjamin
Franklin was in some way associated
with the candle-making industry, Frank
tried enliehtening the world at this
work But il was too tedious, and ne
became ra lroad fireman, where his
back muscles were still further devel-
oped by shovelling coal.
Gun Pointer in Navy.
The navy lured him next, and Frank
Moran became an ordinary seaman. In
A couple of years he had risen 70 the
rank of gun pointer and first class sig
nal man. He was one OF the picked
crew Of the Presidential yacht. the
Mayhower, during the Roosevelt re-
gime.
After he left the navy he attended
the University of Pittsburgh as stu
dent for year. The college faculty
attempted TO abstain from claiming that
honor, but Moran politely insists that
ne was student ana a MEMBER OF the
football team. Later Moran became
trainer of the eleven.
Texas called 20 the rowing jsck-of-
all-trades, and for a while Frank tried
riding with the cattle. But all the time
he felt that his real place was IN the
ring. He left the ranch one day. COM
ing straight TO New York. where his
pugilistic career began. Since then he
mas been a swashbuckler Of the padded
glove on a trail that stretched from
San Francisco 70 London.
"Of course" Moran explained. "all
this time was thinking of the ring. |
have dreamed of being heavyweight
champion ever since heard Of John l..
Sullivan. Every little bit OF rough ex-
L II -