The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-03-24
No. 1|OIE RAY By PATTERSON M'NuTT


 other exclusive Age-Herald feature.
 No. 1-JOIE RAY
 By PATTERSON MNuTT
 "Chesty Joie" the fans call him. He has earned the name because he be- lieves in sticking his chest out. He believes in the exercise at ali times
 It is his belief before a race is won when he sticks out his chest and an nounces that he will beat all competi- tors, including the Scandinavian and old Father Time.
 It is his belief at the finish of a race, when, in the majority of cases, tape with it before another chest may have that privilege.
 Ray will be one of the most powerful of the American guns when our track and field barrage is laid down at Paris and the attack made to win the im- portant positions that will mean con- tinued supremacy in the Olympic games.
 Confidence Plus
 He will be one of our most power full weapons because he has the legs. the lungs, the technique, the experience and the racing heart of a great run ner. Then again he will be great be- cause he is "Chesty Joie," chesty and supremely confident of the power and powerful lags of his.
  = ty Joie'' always thinketh that he will be in fronteth of any other racing man who liveth, and most generally he is. It Is to be hoped that no reader of these phrases will gather that Ray is in anyway objectionable because his chest expansion is so complete. He isn't. He is naive in his perfect confidence in himself and likable because of that naivette. '-,'
 A story is told of a leading fiction writer, who, on hearing that his only rival was getting $4,000 for a short zine that he must be paid $4125.
 But why the $125?" the editor queried.
 I'm the best fiction writer in the world" came the reply, "and I must get more money than other writers" "As a man thinketh so is he." On the ship that carried the American athletes to the 1920 Olympic games, Ray distributed postcards, on which were written: From Joie Ray, the greatest runner in the world" In a cafe in Antwerp one night, he jumped upon a table and called for three cheers for Joie Ray, the worlds greatest runner.' "As a man thinketh so is he."
 In A Hurry, So He Ran
 According to rumor, Ray first began running because he was in hurry. Chesty Joie is Chicago taxi driver, and, so the tale goes, he was late for 2 date one night and, becoming impa- tient at the snail-like pace of his taxi he deserted the motor-driven vehicle and went where he wanted to go in a hurry on his own two legs. "Get out of my way" Ray Is reported as saying to his taxi that night, "and let some one run who can run."
 Even though the taxi for that one night may have made him impatient, it is entirely possible that Joie may have learned a valuable lesson from the man-made motor, for Joie in motion suggests nothing quite so much as a beautifully tuned motor instantly re- sponsive to the application of power by a skilled driver.
 The Ray legs are like the pistons of . motor in their smooth. even. monot- onously regular. steady heat. The heart is the carburetor that feeds the power into the vitals of the engine. The will to win is the spark that ig- mites the power and drives his home to a grim and winning finish that is often machine-like in it's crushing power.
 Like A Motor
 Above all, however, he. is like a motor in the perfect rhythm with which the piston legs keep their pace. Ray needs nor wants no pacemaker. Usu- ally he takes the lead as soon as possible and, with a judgment of speed as keen as that of an Earle Sande, he starts about the business of destroy ing the dignity of old Father Time. Does he want to do the mile in 4.32? All right, so much power is needed The The power is applied evenly and the mile is passed within second of 432. If the beat of the pistons must be faster to accomplish his task more power is applied, but with no loss of that steady and deadly rhythm.
 It was in 1923 that news paid Ray his greatest tribute. New is the un- usual and the news headlines last year frequently read: Ray Fails to Break Record" It takes a ftrst-class racing man to make news out of the fact that he was so off form that he failed to break record.
 Achievements Of Ray
 Although Ray has already listed him. self by his achievements as one ofsthe immortals of American running, he is not yet listed among the worlds record holders. This curious fact is better understood when it is revealed how ever, that the International Amateur Athletic federation has before it Rays application for the worlds record at two miles, with mark of minutes 8 2-5 seconds. Official action on the application will be taken during the Olympic games in Paris, and the bet ting is 100 to 1 that the record will be declared official
 It was in setting this mark that Ray delivered his most miraculous perform ance of a career that has been studded with magic efforts. He was competing in the 3,0O0-meter race at the Wilco A n A. games in Brooklyn on February 10 1928, but he continued on after win ming that event to run the fastest two miles ever run by man. Ray was at his best that night. His judgment oi pace was -uneanny, for he stepped out in front of his field almost at the start, and kept to clock-like schedule through to the finish, when, still full oF running he. came through with a fighting finish that brought 10000 track fana to their feet screaminR their hYs