The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-02-11
ATHLETIC NOTES
(Bv SOL METZGER)

The athletic heart is an enlarge
ment of that human organ. 1t may
be caused by too much indulgence in
athletic sports, which is the reason
why it has been given its name, and
it may also be brought about by too
much attention to cafe sports or by
taking the movies too emotionally.
Whatever the cause, the effect is
much the same. When it results in
affecting the heart there is cause for
worry, although an enlarged heart
brought about by normal physical ac-
tivities is not necessarily a sign of
weakness. Ones heart is much like
every other part of the human body,
when used to a great extent it is
bound to develop. The blacksmith's
arm is a sample of this sort of thing.
But imagine the fears of certain
army officer who recently thought
himself a victim of the athletic chest.
No one has ever heard of that alb
normality, which is nothing here or
there, for the reason that our medical
friends are constantly finding new
troubles and new names for old trou-
bles, for US. In this particular case
the captain, who was a brave man,
had been given a physical examina-
ton by a member of the medical
staff. That procedure generally shakes
up a man and causes his heart to beat
at a faster clip. AS a rule the victim
| ina ines himself a possessor of all
known ills of the body when under
going the ordeal.
Immediately following the examin-
alton in question a lieutenant rushed
up to the captain and cried:
''Have you an athletic chest?"
The blow went a long ways towards
lupsetting the superior officer. He i'm
( agined that the medical officer had
told his friend confidentially that he
had an athletic chest. As the chest
| includes such vital organs as the
heart and lungs the captain began
thinking it was all off. But proper
restoratives were Immediately admin
istered when it was discovered that
the athletic chest referred to was
nothing more than one of those chests
filled with athletic supplies for the
regiment that had been sent to him
by one of the various civilian organi-
cations engaged in just this purpose.
Army sport has for its prime OBJ
ject the purpose of providing sport
for all. 1t makes a special feature
of those sports which bring men into
personal contact, games like football
boxing and wrestling, but it also rec
ognizes the fact that all sports have
a salutary effect and that some of
them, like track athletics, for ex-
ample, do a good job in fitting men
for trench warfare.
Track athletics are ideal for army
men in that they teach them the right
way of running, jumping and hurd-
} ling. So important are they that one
of the big environments is insistent
that every one of its soldiers be able
to run a hundred yards within a given
time, be able to jump SO far and Sc
: high and throw a hand grenade a GER
, tain distance. And in all canton
: ments they are specializing on pro.
ducing trained runners for the sigma
: corps, men who will do a big jot
: when the forces now in. training are
} overseas.
; While the army is not insistent or
= developing sports, SO 1 gather, alone
t championship lines, it sees no specia
f harm in holding championships fol
the reason that they tend to stimu
E late interest in any given sport True
they bring out and further develoI