The evening world., 1919-02-15
Years Meant Nothing
to Gypsy lem Mace.

Forty or ffty years ago Jom Mace
| was the greatest boxer in the world.
! lie fought with the raw 'uns." Al
/ though he weighed only iG5 pounds
/ h. fought all tho best hcavyweights
n England. Australia and America,
ana the entire modern school OF box
ing was founded on the skill he de-
| vcloped. Mace was doing his best
Z hghting when he had passed forty
years Of age--and the kind of firhting
! he INDUCED into n finish with bare
| hsts-was anything but "A parlor pas
! time. ] saw old Jcm Mace wears ago
/ IN London, and had quite tall; with
I MIN about his old fighting days. Hc
thought his long career in the rlng
was due partly 10 the fact that nc
was OF gypsy blood and for centuries
ms people had lived out OF doors
az all times lie was a natural out
. door man and rover. When he was
/ over sixty he went to South Africa and
iought half u dozen bouts and easily
| hcld his own with some fairy good
local boxers or less than half his age.
have often heard people say that
athletes die young. The fact is that
lots OF people die young, but when 4
noted athlete happens to die young
everybody comments on It and the un &.
athletic person congratulates himself
and says; AHA, you see what happens
TO athletes, I'm glad never strained
IY heart"
but let's look into II. At Harvard
and Yale few years ago. when there
: was some agitation against rowing by
people who were sure all the oarsmen
! would die OF shortly after leaving coll
, lege, the athletic authorities compiled
complete lists OF the class members
: Tor quarter OF "A century. and as far
. as possible traced them and noted
} down whether they were stll alive
! ana, " not, when and how they died
4 Ana they found by actual fgurcs that
i the crew members were longest lived ot
2 al the students, Perhaps this may be
A explained in part by the fact that crew
. members were picked men. and natur,
e ally fine physical specimens. Bur thi.
o wasn't always the case in the hpgin,
3 nlng' OF course, Many were quite or
Il binary and became fine physIca
I specimens only through long season.
70 or hard training out Of doors couplet
c with simple food and regular hours
= As matter OF fact, no man eve
was hurt by athletic training. Som,
=, men have been hurt by abruptly stop
ping all athletic training, and after
6 ward living the soft life. There is n,
a such thing as an athletic heart
a meaning heart weakened by athlrti
- training and competition. But thor
Is such a thing as "A heart Injured ~
giving up healthful outdoo: eNcrci.C
~ llld you ever see well built man /,
g himself grow fat and sluggish and al
: out Of shape through dissipation o
lazy indifference? lie is the uutwal
symbol of what some people call NJ
athletic heart" They ought 20 en-
II an "unathetic heart" That's wha
II really is,
The late war was a great thing 10
a lot ~ our run down men | ca
10 mind at this moment scores tina
knew who had let themselves be
come fat lazy and unathletic. Their
was spark Of life and ambition lef
IN them somewhere, and patriot
desire 10 get into the fight made ther
aeny themselves all luxuries and trai
INTO fltncss again, In some cases
: was actually a heroic process. Blu
Z lhcy made good, and I believe tina
IN lne future very few OF these me
VIII let themselves slip back agair
ldie that Is full Of vim and amh,t!o
ls too good to trhde for tho lie Z
=. s'oth, They viii be the strongest ad
N vocales or out-do natural llvin
~ that we have
% It's a natural thing that not ever
10 one can be like HergAndo villa