San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-16
boy ATHLETES
/ IN DANGER Of
!. HEART INJURY
Famous Men in World Of
s;y Sport Advise Against
Severe Strain. ~
q - s--
! TAKE IT EASY TILL Is
That's Bernie Wefers' Ad-
II monition-Many Burn
Themselves Out. ~,
TAKE 1T EASY TILL Is
BY ROBERT EDGREN. GTI

Z Don't let your COY go into any Sc
we're athletic competition until he is at
kIeast 1s," says Bernie Wefers. the we'll
known athletic coach. 81 have known
Hundreds Of fine boys who were broken
down by too much athletics before they
E.were fully developed.
+ Charlie Paddock, the worlds great
est Splinter, says that after the coming
olympic Games he probably will stop
all competition on the track for the
reason that sprinting is a terrific
strain, and he doesn't think any man
can 60 on with sprint racing after his
college years without injuring his heart
and reducing his vitality.
Only few years ago A. A. Q. Of
fieials were doing everything they could
TO promote athletic competitions of all
sorts between school boys, presumably
for the purpose of developing athletes
building up the association. and, incl
dentally, selling more sporting goods.
For Ion; time one the favorite
! sports, because large entry lists could
he expected, was long cross country
running. These runs were held dur
ing any part of the year in and around
New York. The youngsters who com.
peted ran in light summer running
trunks and shirts, usually without even
a sweater, in rain and sleet, cold win
ter winds, even snowStorms.
Never Heard of Again.
The races themselves were terrific
strain. Frequently the winn-rs were
entirely exhausted, and the less sturdy
often broke down, collapsed and fell
on the road. The natural result of
such strain on growing boys couldn't
be long concealed. and that kind of
athletic sport" became unpopular and
died out.
The marathon racing bug hit this
country when Dorando came over here
after Johnny Hayes won the marathon
in London years ago. For months mar
athon races were held in parks, ar
: lnories, on athletic tracks, on country
roads. Hundreds of boys tried to be-
come marathon runners. with an eye
] thN Pulot pau professionals INT
| Dorando, Longboat and st. Yves.
! Some ran very well. But, with very
few exceptions, the winners of races
dropped out of sight in athletics with
in year, and never were heard OF
again. They ran their hearts out.
wrecked their vitality and health to-
yether and disappeared. Some of the
older men, hardened and fully devel-
oped, lasted for several years even at
marathon running, but it was no game
for boys and growing youngsters. 1t
killed them off.
l have seen many boys who made
regulations in the ring before they
were is years old. Very few of them
lasted more than two or three years
before the strain got them. and they
began to skip back. Some were old
men at "a or %.
l. Hanlon Through at 90.
There was Eddie Hanlon Of San
Francisco, a boxing marvel, and as
fine looking boy as ! ever saw. I
watched Eddie fighting the experienced
Abe Attell TO draw when he was only
IA years of age. At 16 he fought a
Atwenty-round draw with Young Cor
bett, famous than as conqueror of the
( greatest little fighter than ever lived,
Terry McGovern.
Young Corbett was at his best Mt
that time. grown man, veteran of
fights with all the best featherweights
from Kid Broad TO McGovern. and
with many of the best lightweighis.
In the eighteenth round of a fight
that had been even to that time Han
ion knocked Corbett flat on his face
with right hook. 1t would have been
a knockout if one of Corbett's tricky
SECONDS hadn't slipped around to throw
cold water on his back and bring him
10 consciousness. Corbett staggered
up at the nine-second count, clinched
and hung on. He stalled through to
the end of the twentieth round. and
was given draw, more because every
body had expected him to beat the
young local fighter than for any other
reason.
That was Eddie Hanlon's greatest
fight, although be went through many
more and beat lot Of good men. He
took several beatings, too. Terry Nc
Govern hung him on the ropes in Phil
adelphia.
by the time Hanlon was 20, when
he should have been Just , ming into
HIS full fighting powers, he was prac.
s-eally all through so far as the ring
was concerned.
Some Coaches Careless.
Terry McGorern went the same way
He broke down physically under til,
strain of doing too much EeIting be
fore he was half grown up.
Bob Fitzsimmons, who didn't begir
fighting until be was a man grow
and working as a horseshoer, LASTED
longer as fighter than any other
ever knew, except Jem Mace of Eng
land. Mace was fighting whel he wa
over go. Fitzsimmons fought his las
ring battle at 81.
Some of the prep school and higl
school coaches seem to care very lit
tie for the future welfare Of their ath
letes, as long as they can be driver