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

HUNTINGTON, W. Va.-Today ]
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. It 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 il is:
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 it be from ore punch).
He is not the victim Of the reck-
lessness Of youth. He is sound In
body and in mind-exccpt for mo-
ments when he slips into darkness.
Well. what WAS wrong with Bob
Martin?
An impairment Of the muscles and
nerves that control the equilibratory
apparatus Of the human body leaves
him incapable Of moving al a rapid
pace. rising or sitting without en-
counteriag a dizziness which az
times him. And that
some impairment halts or disrupts,
at times, even the funct;oning 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 eyes 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 70
side until they apparently come into
focus again. During this period he
is without the usual balance or
equilibrium that the ordinary man or
any creature has.
Martin is probably q lease" IN
the eyes Of physicians and special
lists. That hasn't helped him to
date. however. The onsensus is that
a blow on the head az some time
or other produced a blood clot. This
clot has passed away. but has left a
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 layman-and Bob-a clear
er explanation is msde-that the
pendulum" in his brain. which
sweeps back and forth 10 govern
this equilibrium. is prevented from
switching freely by this scar. Touch
ing this scar. IL is halted, leaving
Martin unable 70 regain his balance.
This organism is directly related e
the nerves OF the ewes and brain. ot
course. and hence the action Of the
eyes. and the blank moments that
leave him wavering mentally. as
we'll
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. VI. c. A.
hut in France. A plea for all who
could box. wrestle. sing. dance or
act. to volunteer their services 70
entertain their buddies. Bob voluu-
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 240 pounds. Bob
knocked him out in two rounds.
"I guess that rave the bows and
myself the idea I could box" says
Bob. "and II wasn't long before I
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. "aad ne
outpointed me. After that We
snuoht rs times. but they were ex-
hfhitio- affairs for the bows. and so
/ suppo thsy dnn't sanzA ] AAxa<