New Britain herald., 1926-12-27
1926 DEATH TOLL
 IN SPORTS HIGH
Many Leaders in All Lines
 Died During the Year

most colorful figures in 1926-Eddie
 Plank, famous southpaw of the worlds champion Athletics of 1910- 1 1914; Andy Smith, noted football
 coach of the University of Califor- l mia: and Harry Greb. picturesque
 ring figure and former middle
 weight champion.
 Smith died in January after an ill-
 ness dating from a cold contracted during the Penn Cornell game on
 Thanksgiving Day, 1925. A former , All-American fullback while at Pennsylvania, Smith went to the Far
 West to put California on the foot ball map. He succeeded so well that
 the Golden Bears, under his tute-
 lage, went through five straight sea-
 sons without defeat.
 Plank, at the age of 51. passed from the arena not long after his celebrated foeman Of other days, Christy Mathewson. Eddie had not
 tion since the Federal League was | but memories remained of his great | twirling for the Athletics, when he | formed a triumvirate with Chief Bender and Jack Coombs. Greb, only S2 and still one Of the rings most active figures died sud- | denly at Atlantic City in October | after failing to rally from a sup 1 posedly minor operation on his | nose.
 In thirteen years in the ring, Greb l engaged in nearly 300 bouts against opponents ranging from welter-
 weights to heavyweights. He won
 the middleweight title from Johnny l Wilson in 1923 and lost it to Tiger | Flowers, Georgia Negro, last Febru- | ary. Greb fought Gene Tunney five
 times, winning and losing the Amer | ican light heavyweight champion | shin in two battles with the former | marine.
 Joe Thomas, famous middleweight pugilist of Is to 20 years ago, died
 at Boston in February His greatest | bout was q 32-round contest with
 the late Stanley ketchel which was
 stopped by the referee after Thomas 1 had been floored eleven times and
 Ketchel knocked down seven times. Thomas was S?.
 The death of Clever Sencio, Fili- pino bantamweieht boxer. in Mill i waukee last April, following a bout
 with Bud Taylor of Terre Haute, | Ind, was the climax of a tragic ! series of ring events. It was the
 second time an opponent of Taylor's l had died, Frankie Jerome having l succumbed from the effects Of a | knockout by the Terre Haute fighter 1 in New York in 1924. Sencio was
 the second Filipino boxer in die with l in a short time. Pancho Villa. the
 former worlds flyweight titleholdcr.
 was the other.
 Two other boxers died within 24
 hours of each other after sustaining defeats in the ring. At Hartford,
 Conn.,, Dec. 14, Charles Peguihan,
 French light heavyweight, died fol- 1 lowing his collapse during a fight with Elmer Friedman of Boston. At
 Minneapolis the following day, liar " Berglund, Minneapolis light
 heavyweight. succumbed after a
 knockout at the hands of Carl l Augustine of St. Paul.
 Other sports figures past and
 present, who We're taken from the | I i,a al, | Boxing-James Frawley, father of | the old New York state boxing law;
 Tommy Dixon, featherweight boxer l of the nineties: Andre Anderson,
 heavyweight pugilist and wrestler, | slain in a Chicago gunman' feud; Casper Leon, old-time bantam
 Horse Racing-Spalding Lowe
 Jenkins, president of the Maryland State Fair, operating Laurel track, ! and noted turf leader: Harry r., ! <napp. former steward of New York 1 Jockey club; William Duke. noted trainer. who saddled Freakness and 1 Kentucky Derby winners of 1925, | Coventry and Flying Ebony: Belle Beach, internationally known horse
 woman and winner of more than E,-
 OO0 blue and red ribbons. i I,asehall-Dan O'Neil president { of Eastern League and long prom inent figure in national game; Will ! liam F. Hutchinson. who pitched fol . old Chicago team led by Captain An
 son and led National League tWiri-
 CTS in 1891; Louis Bierbauer, for
 mer Pittsburgh and Brooklyn player
 in nineties: Tom Needham, former i National League catcher.
 Golf-James Hunter, Chicago pro-
 fessional.
 . Miscellaneous-Alfr Jordan.
 claimant of worlds checker cham pionship: Francis F, Hitchcock New | York sportsman, polo player and ] turfman: Martin Delaney. former i athletic director of the Chicago A. ] A.