San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-08-09
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A Very Strong Man.
He Takes" Body :.
Punches.
Is Immune to Pain.
There's One in Ireland.
Have You Heard This?
= By Damon Runyon


Copyright, 1925. international Feature
Service. Inc.
Here's q man who defies any mau
IN the world to hurt him with body
punches. In fact, he defies any mum.
Der Of men.
He is f. A. Richards Of Los An.
geles, q former sailor in the United
States navy. He offers, in letter to
the writer, to appear at boxing show
in New York and let himself be
punched around the body by from
three to thirty pugilists, separately,
or en- masse.
That is to say, Mr.. Richards is will.
ing to let as many as can do so punch
him at the same instant. The punches
can include smashes to the solar
plexus, the spot which proved most
embarrassing to James j. Corbett the
day ne fought Robert Fitzsimmons at
Carson City, New, some IS years ago.
Richards calls himself "The Iron
Man."
This photos show him a chunky
built fellow, not so very young, with
a prodigious chest. He is an exponent
Of physical culture.
The writer gathers from the litera.
ture exploiting Richards that he is
strangely immune to pain from pound.
ings against his torso. Nothing is sail
about the strength of his chin, but
then Richards does not pretend to be
a boxer.
He merely says that no boxer can
hurt him by smuggling him in the body.
The writer could name five or six men
who would be champions If they pos.
sessed the same immunity.
Many boxers who shake off punches
TO the chin without trouble fall easy
victims to body punches. That is per
haps because they fail to pay SUI
ficient attention to the development OF
their bodies.
The most damaging blow n fighter
can possess is good body punch. Jack
Dcmpsey's left hook to the body is his
best punch. Mickey Walker delivers
tae same blow with deadly accuracy.
Richards says in his literature that he
once offered to let Dempsey take
few smashcs at his body, perhaps in
the interest of science. ..
Dempsey jocularly declined on the
ground that he didn't want to hurt his
hands. Dempsey is not given to deliv-
cring ad lib body punches by way OF
experiment.
Speaking Of strong men, here is q
story that may be old to you but
witch is new TO the writer. 1t comes
From Frank f. Kelly, architect, o.
Brooklyn and Philadelphia, who says
he can assist the ubiquitous Fred
TWindy" Winsor in his quest for
strong young man to lick Dempsey.
If you follow this column you will
recall that Fred windy" WinsOr Isl
combing the Canadian Northwest for
such a man. He must have overlooked
Richards. Let us go on with the story.
One year ago Mr.. Pollack had a
fine idea" writes Mr.. Kelly. HE
reasoned that all the wrestlers in the
line were either Russian, Polish, Ger
man or Italian, and if he could get an
Irish wrestler his fortune would be
made, as the Irish would turn out in
great numbers to see one OF their
own in n new field.
MY associate, Mr.. Mccarthy, adj |
NIsEu " ku w 80 |
for himself and Mr.. Pollack started |
forth in quest of the strongest young
man possible.
4 HE arrived in Queenstown and in |
auired of the various sports of the |
strongest young man they knew. They |
we're all of the same opinion that |
man named O,Rourke was the best in |
the country and that he lived near |
Leiterfract, just outside of Galway.
Mr.. Pollack went there and in
auired about O'RouTke and was told |
how strong he was. The natives said |
he was the strongest man IN the |
world, bar none.
SO the next morning Mr.. Pollock
started on the road and after walking |
a couple of miles he saw man pick
ing up trees and breaking them over |
his knee and piling them up for cord.
wood. He went up TO the man and
said, Say, O'Rourke, / want TO speak
to YOU
The man stopped work and came
over to Mr.. POllack and said, I'm not
O'Rourke, but thanks for the compli-
ment, for O'Rourke is ten times as
strong MS me, and If you go on down
the road bit you'll find him at work
in his fields
"Mr. Pollack kept walking down the
road and finally came to a man plow-
ing in a field. The man did not have
horse attached to the pillow, but was
simply pushing it along with his
hands.
mfr. Pollack stepped into the field
and hailed him, saying, 'O'liourke, I've
come a long way to talk to you
The man stopped and said, I'm
not O'Rourkc,' and lifting the pillow in
his left hand pointed to house. and
said, That's where O'Rourke lives:
He's the strongest man in the world.
well said Mr.. Pollack. what
did you ever see him do to justify the
claim
"I1I tell you, Mister American,
rcplied the man. I saw O'Rourke on
n Fair Day stand before ten thou
sand people, grin himself by the rear
end Of his trousers and by main
strength hold himself out at arms
length for ten minutes ="
FITZ OFF TO CLINCH