Norwich bulletin., 1918-04-24
American League.
METzcER's COLUMN
TT. R." Great Admirer of Late Mike DonoVan-Boxing Great Help to SoIdiers-W. and J. Coach Tells of Funny Side of Army Baseball.

Teddy always liked a scrappers and | from recent admissions about the loss l of the sight of one eye he also liked | a scrap. Platt Adams, the former N | Y. A. c. star Olympic jumper. tells a | story which clearly shows the Colo | rels feeling about Mike Donovan. l When Roosevelt was presidents the l American Olympic championship team returned to the shores of the United i States, and, under the guidance of | that wonderful trainer, Michael c. 1 Murphy, it went in a body to visit | President Roosevelt at his summer home in Oyster Bay.
 When Mike Murphy approached the Colonel Roosevelt gave Mike the glad hand.
 Mike" he said, ''there are just two Mikes in the World-you and Mike Donovan"
 That was a mighty fine compliment to pay both Mikes and the one pres- ent showed his pleasure by grinning from ear to ear.
 Boxing, much maligned because it is associated all too readily with prize fighting, is coming into it's own in the army, where the training is especially valuable in teaching a man how to handle himself in scrap. Best of all it helps the infantrymen and machine Sunners, because these boys. who are to use the bayonet, find the principles of the two games analogous. But the army boxing game is not to be mis- understood: it is not to be confused with prize fighting. Indeed, there is a marked difference which one who has seen both games as they are played will vouch for
 The big thing about army moxing- that is the kind of boxing in which the men meet in the ring for decis- ion-is the fact that it's about the manifest sport one ever witnessed. And~the old prize fighter is in it with the same spirit with which everyone else enters it. One may see two fel- Jews representing different organiza- tions fighting before a crowd-the size of which must make the eyes of the boxing promoter jealous with envy with nothing more at stake than mythical title. but with so much vim and pep in every move as Mike Dono- van ever gave to the game in his life. Talk about patriotism, these prize 1 fighters of yesterday, now in the army have as much of it as the cleanest amateur that ever lived. Think I'm kidding. eh? Well the day this article was written a prize fighter who has | 1 the old days. a fellow who has fought his way well to the top, came to me with proposition.
 Say" he said, I'm in fine shape for a fight and I wish you would get me one. I don't want anything out of it.. I'll turn the whole thing over to any fund that needs it but I'd like to buy boxing gloves with whatever we can get to help the other fellows in this game"
 Now if that isn't patriotism Pm at 1 :si Also, if that isn't a complete revo- lution from prize ring ethics I must be wrong. As it's human to err, in this case I'm pretty sure I'm inhu- man.
 When you want to see real scrap ping go to an army bout, right in camp where there is nothing at stake but an intangible thing like the spirit of one organization pitted against that of another They go to it with vim and they get results from start to fin ish.
 Brutal, did you say? We'll. man, you must remember that these boys have a big job ahead of them. Got to clean
 up this Kaiser crowd. and gloves don't go. Furthermore, if you think it bru-
 tai, just remember that the boys who
 do it have lot of fun: it isn't all confined to the spectators, either
 Here's an example:
 Two of them were whaling each
 other with walloping blows and a
 black haired boy. who had more
 strength than skill and whose olive
 skin suggested sunny Italy, was get
 ting the worst of it. Down he went
 once and back he came on the re- l ha Ina
 from blow that turned him clear
 around and sent his face over the
 edge of the ring into mine
 It was an odd face. for it showed
 little trace of the pounding he hat
 been getting. It was covered with z broad grin. It's eyes sought mine witt , frank familiarity, and from that grir } sprang these words:
 ,, q think I'm getting licking, al < right
 He was, but scarcely were the word. 3 out of his mouth than he arose to takt it. He was game. They all are. NJ . wonder generals and colonels sa!
 words of praise about the boxers. The! are there to the end. and they ar, showing others what good old Ameri
 can nerve is.
 The army is having it's innings a i, baseball. too. Everybody is doing it F as the saying goes. But the best ar 5 my story about baseball was in con knection with the loss of quite a To of the Clark Griffith baseball equip
 ment which had started abroad I
 got no farther than the bottom of tn . ocean-some $S,O00 worth of it. 2 When the news of the sinking c Q this boat got around 10 the sportin I goods house, man named Van Bus Q kirk in that business, pulled goo ? line.
 q q 'Tve always heard about Jule Q Yerne's Twenty Thousand League = Under the Sea- though I never too 2 much stock in those leagues" he saic :, "but now I guess there's equipmen Q enough for all of them.''
 ,- 'One must remember always tha
 sport in the National Army is some
 thing different than we ever conceiv
 ed of. There is no precedent to go by ) A salesman from a sporting good | house learned this to his mortified e tion. He was selling equipment t 2 fhP caDtain of Co D with whom h