Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-07-12
SPORTS GALORE
FOR DOUGHBOYS
Boxing Was A. E. F. Favorite,
but Baseball, football and
Other Sports Held Sway

Paris (By MaiD-When the legions
of American doughboys leave the
fields of France, Belgium, Luxem
bourg and Germany for home. behind
them will be hundreds of baseball
diamonds cut in the countryside of
these lands. and a host from all the
nations intensely interested in
game that before the war was for
eign and strange to them.
More baseball has been played this
spring and summer by the boys of
the Army of Occupation. and those
awaiting embarkation, than any
area of similar proportions in
America. Hundreds of carloads of
baseball equipment were distributed
among all the Yankee units of the
X. of C. athletic directors.
1t was the knights of Columbus
who first realized that necessity of
sending man to France who played
the game. and knew how to teach it.
That man was Johnny Evers. He not
only paved the way for success for
the game in the A. E. F., but en-
couraged the sport among the SOL
diers of the other allied nations. He
staged games with enemy aeroplanes
swooping overhead. and was first to
handle the enormous supply of ath-
1etic equipment which was given the
boys by the knights of Columbus.
Bill Friel, the st. Louis star. was
placed at the head of the athletic
department managing baseball games
by the X. of c., and he gathered
about him a number of stars from
the big leagues. Bill Laughlin, for
mer captain of the Detroit Tigers,
was one who assisted in the K. of C.
baseball program. He organized a
team in Southern France, and in a
months time captured the honors
in that section. Later he went to
Coblenz, where ne coached the Army
of Occupation champion team. Pete
Noonan of the Philadelphia Athletics
developed strong team at Esch.
and was later one of the umpires in
the A. e. F. finals. Tommy Dowd
another big Lacquer in K. of C. uni
form, developed the Fourth Division
league. Jim Forgarty, former man
ager of the Jersey City, N. j., team.
managed the American Embarkation
Center team. and Jack Barry, the old
New York Giant star, assisted in the
K. of c. baseball activities. John
Carroll, Tommy O'Marra and ]. B.
KERN. one time umpire in the Ma
tional League, held the indicator in
the soldier games. O'Mara set new
Army plane from Colombes les Bellies
to Trier Germany to umpire a game
In these last months of the Ameri-
can occupation of Germany and en-
campment in France, baseball has
been the favorite sport fostered by
the K. of c., but it's record in the
furtherance of boxing as a sport and
not a profession even surspassed the
summer pastime. The K. of c.. made
boxing to the tired doughboy what
the light musical comedy has al
ways been to the tired business man.
In every area where American troops
were billeted in barns. poorly lighted
halls, in open fields and in the spa
cious recreation halls. the K. of C.
staged interesting bouts.
The program of the K. of c. box
ing chief j. j. Carey, provided
amusement as well as exercise for
the enlisted men. He pitted French
boxers against the best in the A. E.
F., and TO the surprise of the Ameri-
can boys, the French made an inn
preston which was hardly the pop
ular idea of their fistic prowess. Sam
Fitzpatrick, a K. of c. boxing man.
who 20 years before brought Peter
Jackson to France, and later visited
Paris with Kid Lavigne, discovered
that the French boxers could fight
with their fists this time. Before
they used their feet continually.
Boxers and fight promoters of ma
tional reputation conducted the bouts
for the X. of c. The record of the
Caseys was such that the Army ath-
letic officials gaye the organization
the exclusive privilege of staging
contests. and approximately a million
soldiers saw the bouts in Paris, Cob
lenz, LeMans. and other Ger ters.
Alex Mclean, K. of C. director with
the Third Army alone staged 400
bouts. Billy Roche, Danny Dunn,
Biz Mackay, Eddie Conway. Frank
Flynn, Judge Duffy. Tommy McFar-
land and Eddie O'Rourke were big
factors in the success of the pro-
gram.
The greatest race ever staged in
France was the marathon the K. of
C. arranged from Chateau-Thierry
over shell-torn roads to the Place de
la Concorde, Paris, which was won
by Matthew Lynch of Newark, N. ].
1t was on the anniversary of the lay
the American machine gunners were
making their attack on Chateau
Thierry bridge. The runners coursed
their way under canopies of flowers
in some of the cities along the route. |
owen Merriek handled the swim
ming meets of the A. Il. +. for the
X, of G. am George Lamothe. inter- |
national champion fencer, taught the
boys the use of the foils. Bill Me-
Cabe, another X. of c. instructor, was
the first to suggest the internation-
al regatta recently held. Together
with basketball. tennis. soccer and
rugby, the K. of C. secretaries assist
ed in all the athletic programs of the |