Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-07-12
By NORMAN e. BROWN
Staff Writer for Central Press and
The Brownsville Herald

HUNTINGTON, ". Ya.-Today 1
saw Bob Martin.
! caught at first glance again that
same old boyish smile, mop Of black
hair. the giant wonderful shoulders
"a sort of background for the bob
bing heads in front of him.
Then he stepped into the open.
Something vas wrong 1t was his
stride. The rolling, zigzag ait OF a
sailor-the kind a gay COB acquires
from his days afloat an partly
from the few brief hours Of the
joys ashore.
A handshake. The smile Of recog-
milton, then a frown from a man
puzzled over his new acquaintance,
his whereabouts and the world in
general.
And he gave me the facts-the
strang story Of Bob Martin.
Here it is:
Unless science comes to mis- rescue
Bob Martin. who once flirted with
the fame that came TO Gene Tunney,
will wander through the rest OF his
days a sort of derelict. Not punch
drunk. as they say in ring par
lance (~unless il be from one punchl.
He is not the victim Of the reck-
l~essness Of youth. He Is sound IN
body and in mind-except for mo-
ments when he slips into darkness.
Well. what WAS wrong with Bob
Martin?
An impairment Of the muscles and
erves that control the equilibratory
appartus Of the human body leaves
him incspable Of moving az a rapid
pace. rising or sitting without en-
countering a dizziness which az
times overpowers him. And that
some impairment. halts or disrupts.
at times, even the functioning Of his
brain
Aware OF the fact that he is roam
ing slowly toward the edge Of the
sidewalk as he plods his way about
Huntington streets. Martin is unable
to right his course as he desires.
Watching his ewes as he turns to-
ward you suddenly. you see them
culver like those Of a sleeping doll
hen its head is shaken violently.
only Bob's eyes waver from side TO
side until they apparently come into
focus again. During this period he
is without the usual balance or
equilibrium that the ordinary mar or
snv creature has.
Martin Is probably q "cEse' IL
the eyes Of physicians and special
lists. That hasn't helped him TO
date. however. The onsensus is that
a blow on the head ct some time
or other produced a blood clot. This
clot has passed away. but has left q
so-called "scar" that impairs the
usual movement or action Of the
nerves nearby-the nerves response
bic for the normal functions de-
stroyed.
To the lavman-and Bob-a clear
er explanation is msde-that the
pendulum" in his brain. which
sweeps back and forth to govern
this equilibrium. is prevented from
switching freely by this scar. Touch
inc this scar. IL is halted. leaving
Martin unable to regain his balance.
This organism is directly related n
the nerves OF the eves and brain. Of
course. and hence the action Of the
eyes. and the blank moments that
leave him wavering mentally, as
well.
Where Martin acquired this in
jury he doesn't know.
Bob's memory isn't impaired, ex-
cept for those "cloudy" spells.
He recalls wildly the manner In
which he broke into the boxing
game.
There was a notice in a Y. NJ. c. A.
hut in France. A plea for all who
could box. wrestle. sing. dance or
act. 70 volunteer their services 70
entertain their buddies. Bob volun-
teered to box. And laughs as he
recalls the first bout.
His opponent. one Arthur Alexan-
der. was six feet. six inches tall
and weighed $40 pounds. Bob
knocked him out in two rounds.
II guess that gave the bows and
myself the idea ! could box" says
Bob. "snd It wasn't long before !
had won the heavyweight CHAMPION
shin Of the A. Z. F. and then Of the
allied armies.
"Gene had won the Fight heavy
weight championship. 7 fought Tun-
lev in a regularly scheduled fight
~ four rounds" saws Bob. "and he
~outpointed me. After that VIC
Fought IS times. but they were ex-
hihitior affairs for the bows, and 50
I . thsy don't eaunk ! AaEa<