The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-04-20
WINNING TROPHY
BECOMES HABIT
Crew Of Mississippi Has
Kept Iron Man For
Four Years

With the battle fleet of the Pacific
which was in port here not long ago
came the superdreadnaught Mississippi
commonly called the Iron Man Ship"
of the United States navy. The Iron
Man is in realty the navy department
general excellence athletic throphy.
which was offered as prize in 1919,
when the big fleet of American war
ships left the Atlantic for Pacific wa
tres. says the New York World. >
> Since it was offered it has been won
each year by the Mississippi, and last
year the Iron Man Ship" took the
coveted thropy by a greater number Of
points than ever before.
Athletics of every kind are encCurag-
ed in the navy generally. said Logan f.
Ruggles, editor of the Mississippi Bulle-
tin, and particularly ON the big ships
the ships that compete in the athletic
trophy contests. Athletics develop the
hodies of the men who man the big
fighting ships, the training quickens
the eye, develops the brain to quicker
sense of understanding, affords plea
sure and eoritentment to the crews and
builds morale, without which the navy,
or any other military organization
could not long function efficiently.
Sixty-Three Events
The battle fleet has an athletic of
ficer who understands all angles of the
sports INDUCED in. In all there are
sixty-three events in the athletic year
June 30 to July /. Commander Il. d.
Washburn of the California is the man
who designates the events and when
they will be held. The principal ones
are: Boxing. wrestling, football. bas-
ketball, pulling races (every class of
boat except motor boats and sailing
iaunches), sailing races with all types
Of boats), swimming. track and field,
rifle team and tug-o' war team.
The Iron Man" is bronze statue
about forty inches high. 1t decipts an
athlete holding aloft floral wreath,
significant of victory. The Iron Man"
is purely "gob" cognomen, but it an
swers the purpose very well, as prac-
tically everyone knows that it takes a
man of iron to win consecutively the
trophy.
The Mississippi has made a great
many of her larger gains in pulling and
sailing races. She has won the rifle
team match for two years and never
stood lower than second in the ten
ships standing in swimming. She now
holds the track and field championship
and also boasts of the champion tug
Took e14 OF 1900 Points
Out of a. possible 1900 points last
year the Mississippi took n total of
Gal. The nearest ship was the New
York with 507 points, while the third
had but 2S5-the Texas. Fourth on
the list was the New Mexico with a
total of but 265. The missy" won
first place in twenty-five of the sixty
three events.
In furthering athletics in the fleet
much help has been derived from cities
along the Pacific coast. Several beau
tiful cups have been given to the fleet
to be competed for each year.
Winning the "Iron Man" four con-
secutive years has not been as easy
az many might think. When a single
ship takes this coveted trophy it means
that practically every man in the ships
company had a hand in the pie. More
than five hundred men actually took
part in the sixty-three events and those
who did not actually take part were out
there on the field, or in roofing parties
urging their crews ahead.
Capt. William D. Brotherton,, u. s.
N, commanding officer of the .Missis-
sippi; Commander Frank C. Martin,
executive officer, and Lieut.. Com
mander f. G. Renicke, athletic Of
ficer; are all athletic enthuiasts. In
fact, the Mississippi has seem0l to
grow up" with the athletic spirit.
Keen Competition
Competition has been stronger the
last two years than ever before. The
rivalry has been more pronounced, be-
cause many have begun to think that
the general excellence athletic trophy
is a permanent fixture on board. AS
this is written, the Mississippi stands
first in the fleet for this year. The
Idaho is second and the Tennessee is
third
That athletics breed eontentment and