Evening star., 1925-01-13

in hcalthful sports. A sound body
puny youngster can develop into a
the proper exercise in proper doses
My own case IS an example. Base
ball, foot ball and basket ball con-
verted me from an underdeveloped
youngster into an athlete capable of
standing up under the strain Of
hard major league base ball cam
paign. l was fortunte in having the
advice of my brother and Tony
Walsh. Most youngsters can obtain
equally beneficial instruction from
public school athletic teachers. None
should overlook them, whether they
hope to become star athletes or not
They will be better and happier Citi-
zens for building up their bodies.
We played foot ball and basket
ball under almost as many handi-
caps as base ball. Good equipment
came high. We had no dollars to
throw away on fancy togs. Shin
guards were homemade. So were
foot ball pants, headgear and nose
guards. The heel of rubber fire.
quently served as a nose protector.
Sweaters were part of regular Win
ter clothing. and old ones were used
on the gridiron. Mine were knitted
by my mother under the light of an
oil lamp. 1 can picture her now,
busy night after night when 1 went
to bed
Pittston had few street lights in
those days. When the crowd got to-
gether to go to the Y. NJ. c. A. to play
basket ball the boy living farthest
away would whistle shrilly as a sig
nal that he was starting. His nearest
neighbor would answer in kind and
put a lamp in the window as a sig
nal he was ready. In that way we
would mako tho rounds
players were gathered up.
A Tragedy of Inhation.
The Y. NJ c. A. furnished a fine
place in which to play. The gymna-
sium also gave US an opportunity for
exercise on the chest weights. flying
rings, bars and horses. There we
learned rules of personal hygiene
that all youngsters should know. We
were a care-free, lively crowd. To
see US you wouldn't have thought we
had all put in nine hours in the mines
and were due to get up before 6
o'clock.
Still, we had our troubles and dis
appointments. 1 recall one that at
the time seemed a near-tragedy. We
had pooled our surplus cash in
nickels. dimes and quarters to buy a
new basket ball When the fund was
complete we studied carefully the
advertisements Of sporting goods
houses. The merits and demerits of
the various makes were heatedly dis
cussed. If we had been buying a.
country club we couldn't have de-
liberated more. That is how much
the investment of few dollars
meant to US.
Finally we decided to send to a
certain house for the new basket
ball. I guess cheapness recommended
1t more than anything else. The
package was tremendously un-
wrapped and the cover and bladder
removed as II they were priceless,
fragile things. We couldn't wait to
get a pump to blow up the ball. I
did the Job with my own lungs.
Between rests I admired the pur-
chase with the other boys. When 1t
seemed as If my head would burst
from pressure. my task came to a
sudden end. That was a report as
If blown-up paper bag had been
in my hands. The trouble lay in
defective bladder. We were a
broken hearted bunch of kids. Later
the sporting goods house sent US a
new basket ball and restored our
faith In business concerns.
Those early days of hard work and
play taught me good lessons. Like
d.
ing, I learned to smoke early in life.
But I soon realized that tobacco was
bad for me until I reached my full
growth. 1 found myself getting
short-winded when playing basket
ball, a game which calls for speed
and action all the way. Also 1 had
slight dizzy spells when forced to
extra exertion. I told Merle my
symptoms.
Cut Out Cigarettes.
TOO many coffin nails" he pro-
nounced. You've got to cut 'em out
If you want to get big enough to
have a look-in playing base ball.
Wait until you grow up. Then they
all right In its way, but you don't
weigh enough. Lay off until you get
your full growth"
followed the advice. Now I know
how sound 1t was. Not so much the
use as the abuse of certain things
works injury to athletes and men in
less active walks of life. The
trouble is that so many persons don't
know Just where to draw the line.
Being a growing boy and an active
one, was hearty eater. Mothers
cakes and pies were a particular treat
TO me. Still, l learned I couldn't
stun myself with them and feel at
my best when engaged in sports. So,
much to her disappointment, 1 cut
down heavily on my ration of sweets.
She thought she must be losing her
hand at cooking. Her protests and
my own desires finally conquered. Il
ate q whole apple pie at supper.
That night 1 played basket ball.
The pie didn't sit well on my stom-
ach. In fact, it didn't sit at all.
There / learned that so far as I was
concerned, moderation would have to
be my program. I know big leaguers
who seem to thrive on sweets, stars
who are steady smokers. Walter
Johnson, for instance, is an inveter-
ate eater of sweets Every man must
work out his own plan of living.
What is ones meat is anothers
poison.
Copyright. 1921