El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-05-01

JACK READ, the well known Aus
tralian lightweight who has beer
fighting in the states the last thres
years, mostly through the south and
southwest, IS quite a student OF the
boxing game and especially Of the
effect on an athlete from the physical
and mental training one must 60
through in preparing for battle. In
a letter 20 the writer Mr. Read goes
thoroughly into the matter, in an
Interesting way. as follows;
A Rough Road.
"The life Of a professional boxer IS
not the bed Of roses many people
figure it out to be. Sometimes, when
a boxer knocks his opponent out in
the first round Of a big contest and
receives a big sum Of money for do
ing so. we hear many Of the specta-
tors say. Gee, boxing IS an easy pro-
fession'. They do not think Of the
strenuous training the boxer has haq
20 undergo 20 get himself into slcn
a condition that ne was aoIe % IN
fsh his opponent so quickly Boxers
have to train hard, and such training
has a very degenerating effect on
their constitutions
i was out at a racing stable at
SARATOGA. n. Y. recently and could
not help noticing the remarkable care
meted out 10 each horse Illuminating
on the fate Of most horses, the
thought struck me that horses sue
cessful on the turf were failures. 70
all inteuts and purposes, at the stud
An athletic career has the same et-
feet on a more delicate human frame
than Il has on the bigger and strong
er horses frame. An athletic life in
any sphere seems to have the same
destructive effect on human lie
Barney Keiran, the worlds champion
swimmer. Victor Irumper, one OF the
best criczeters the world has ever
seen, and Les Darcy, the best boxer
Australia has ever produced, all died
young men. They died before they
had reached the zenith Of their ath-
letic careers. and we can only decide
that the strenuousnesE OF such ath-
letic careers had undermined their
constitutions 70 such an extent that
they were unable to successfully COM
bat the first sickness that overlook
them Now IN some cases Of athletic
succumbing 10 trivial sickness. there
have been reasons, such as dissipation,
ETC. but the fact remains that men
who have undergone severe training
are peculiarly susceptible 10 disease
sAud here a remark Of the late
". ". NauEhton. in his preface
10 Kings Of Ike Queemshury
Realm reeurE to my mind. can
not quote him verbatim, hut the
text VIII suffice. He says: The
great majority OF bOEerH-and
this npplieH to those who have
lived very regular lives aa well
rs those who abused natuFc-be-
came after uttnininE the age Of
b or 30, very iiEtleEs specimens
Of mnnhoods He offers no reasons,
but surely there must be some
solution.
7 have had some experience in 4
practically every branch Of sport and 1
on one point I am very emphatic-the I
majority Of athletes. boxers in par I
ticular, greatly overdo their training. 1
We often hear the remark. What 4
great condition. How fun Of vitality I
and gor The athletes are not so fun I
OF vitality and 60 as appearances ]
make US believe, and the persons /
passing such remarks forget the /
principal item, which Is the brain or I
nervous system Of an athlete. How /
q boxer has trained his brain power /
does not enter the minds Of these !
admirers OF physical fitness. have I
read deal OF literature on athletics /
and most writers deal only with the I
muscular system OF an athlete: total /
y neElectlng the nervous system.