The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-01
"Spike" Webb Making
 Good As Instructor
Popular Army Boxer Cut Quite Swath in France - Offered Many Fine Positions as
 Boxing Teacher Annapolis Wants Him
By A. J. BOURBON

Army or navy. it's all the same to Mercie H, (Spike) Webb. In their | fighting togs it makes little difference to this hustling instructor whether his proteges wear the khaki of Uncle t, Sam's land forces or the immaculate white or blue of his seafaring fight. | ing men.
 While the great war with Germany was on, and long after the armistice was signed Spike did his little bit to | tighten the monotonv of camp or bil- let by promoting boxing matches and giving the benefit of his varied experi- | ence to the lads in khaki. Now. with the war a thing of the past, he holds down similar position at the United States Naval Academy Annapolis Md | where the future admirals of the American navy are trained along all lines that go to make up a fighting | man.
 Spike long will be remembered by the fight fans of Birmingham as box ing instructor of the Twenty-ninth (Blue and Gravy division where he | turned out a team of clever battlers
 many of whom had absolutely no previous experience. who were capable ! of holding their own against the cream of the mitt experts from the | camps and cantonments of the south ern division of the nrmy
 [ 1 Nor did this end his activities with the ring Inclined athletes at Mcclellan. I Entirely aside from his work with the 1 representative teams of the division and the various regiments Webb gave comprehensive instructions in boxing 1 to practically all the 25,00e or more | men that constituted the command of ' Maj. Gen. Charles L. Morton. inject | ing into his work a spirit of enthusi- asm that persuaded his pupils to take ! joy in their lessons-and to progress much more rapidly as a result. | Boxing, at that time. had not been l accorded the open recognition in army circles that later was granted it. but | the value of Spikes efforts was not underestimated. Appreciation was ex- pressed especially in two places where | it counted most-at division headquar- | ters, where General Morton took occa- l sion at various times to compliment ! the instructor and at the headquarters ! of the Fifty-eighth infantry brigade, l where were quartered Captain Ground, l D. S. C.. of the British army. and ] Sergt. Major William Madden, detailed 1 to the division as instructors in bay onet work.
 1 These British soldiers veterans of the early years of the war and experts l in all that pertained to the use of 'cold steel" appreciated the aid to the sol | ] veloped in the squared circle and Mad den especia1ly--a veritable Irish Wild l cat" himself. and a bundle of high l tension nerves-was an ardent booster for Weeb.
 From the time back in August, 1sl7. that the first of Marylands old Nn- ] tional Guard units began to entrain for Anniston. Ala. there later to be merged into the Twenty-ninth divi- sion, until that proud outfit said good
 bye to Alabama hospitality in June, 1918. Webb was as busy as the pro-
 verbal bee, whipping his ring artists
 into shape and giving occasional exhi-
 hitfoDs himself in Birmingham and
 other southern cities.
 ACTIVITY OVERSEAS | Once overseas. his activities were
 increased. instead of diminished, and I there was hardly a town of any conse- Equence in France. Belgium or later in Eoccupied Germany where American
 troops were 8illeted that Spike and his I boxing troupe passed up. His success with the Blue and Gray team brought
 him command of the boxers of the
 Eighth Corps, and they. in turn. ac-
 quilted themselves so nobly in the A. E. r. finals that. when the time came to whip an "All-American" squad into
 shape for the important inter-allied tournament. it was only natural tha. Spike should be given the assignment. Returned soldiers of the 10th field
 artillery-Spke's old outfit-saw just
 enough of him on the other side to
 make them envy him from the bottom of their hearts. To borrow their ex- preSSion. he surely was sitting on the
 world" and then some. Wherever they
 went--no matter what they were do-
 ing-sooner or later they would run
 into Spike, in his eternal side car. For
 that was only one of the advantages of him job "a side car all to himself.
 Sometimes when the order would come
 for his team to exhibit its prowess, T there would be French train handy
 lots of times the only means of trans
 portation was an army truck-but Spike usually was able to keep his as-
 signment.
 I FAILED ONCE
 l Only once did he fail to carry out his
 part of the programme-and that time. unfortunately. he missed a perfectly
 good opportunity to prove to General
 Pershing and the Prince of Wales how
 successful an instructor be was He
 met the Prince several times. and Gen. l eral Pershing too. but this mayhap was
 before the interallied tournament
 brought him into real prominence, and
 he was sorel ydisappointed. The req
 son was simple merely that the truck | broke 00Wn--an0 It LOOK SD loHS to T complete the repairs that the boxing
 committee at the French town they
 were headed for concluded they
 wouldn't arrive and put on some other battlers in their place.
 On his return to Baltimore. Spike
 found that his successes in Anniston
 ana France had been brought to the
 attention of the athletic powers-that-b be
 of his home town, and many were the
 offers that poured in on him. Among others he was inivted to become the
 trainer at Johns Hopkins University
 to look after, not only the boxers, but also the football and baseball men. and
 the candidates for the lacrosse, basket
 ball. swimming and track teams
 But the one that caught his fancy
 and that seemed to offer the widest field
 of action-was an invitation from the
 naval academy to teach the students the rudiments of the fistic art, for box
 ing now is as much part of the cur riculum at the academy as any other
 branch of endeavor. Each man, tt , qualify for his commission, must con Il vince the academy authorities that he | is capable not only of taking care oi
 himself. but also of imparting to the . men he will command knowledge oi the manly art.
 He carried with him to the staid old Maryland capital the same pep and go-