The Washington times., 1930-01-09
ANCESTORS
FOUGHT As
VIKINGS
BY SID MERCER


NEW YORK, Jan. 9.-shy
Otto Won Porat. who goes into
action tomorrow night at the
Garden with Pauline Uzcudun,
the Beezark OF the Basques, Is
proud Of an ancestral background
he can trace back to the age Of
feudalism, when hand.to-hand
fighting was highly specialized.
Otto Is a descendant Of The
hardy Vikings Of the North, and
was born to the purple in
Sweden, because one Of his fore
bears was a master broadswords-
man. That accounts for The
"von," which Is an appelation
denoting upper class distinction
achieved by personal valor in
Northern Europe in the middle
ages.
His family tree on his fathers
side goes back to 1900, when Gus
taYuS Adolphus the Second was
the great war king Of the SwedeS.
His mother is NOrweglan,
and traces her ancestry back
to the Tenth L Century, when
Norway also was ruled by
fighting kings.
Otto's father was a master
fencer and swordsman, restless
soul who was born a Swede,
served nine years in the English
army, conducted a school Of
languages in Denmark, married
in America and finally settled in
Norway.
Otto himself was born in
Sweden, but shortly will become
a naturalized American citizen.
He speaks five languages
Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Ger
man and English-finished his
schooling in the University Of
Islo and was projected into pro-
fessional boxing by force Of cir
cunstanceS.
His family had high social posi-
ton and wealth in Sweden but
Otto's particular branch, after
taking root in Norway, came upon
evil times and so this learned
young man, who might have be-
come q famous physician or
scientist If necessity had not
Jared him out Of conventional
lines, is capitah1ing the trade OF
his forefathers.
81 don't believe there would
be any parades in my honor
IL / returned to Sweden aS
heavyweight champion Of the
world" Won POrat admitted
ruefulIy yesterday after he
had polished off some spar.
ring partners and strOlled
into the Garden to see the
stage setting for the Ice Car.
nival-a frosty reminder OF
his homeland.
NO" he continued in very
good English, they don't think
much Of boxing in the Scanol'
navian countries. Talent is scarce.
The profession Of fighting with
sists is regarded as an unworthy
calling, am afraid. AT least
that is what I gather from my
relatives in Sweden.
MY family was quite wsu OH
when I was a boy. NY father
had a big estate near Waxio: He
had been q soldier and adven'
turer, but I am sure he never
would have approved OF fist
fighting. -.
Boxing is not taught in the
schools. It was strictly taboo at
the University Of Oslo. I started
in a little gymnasium and sort OF
bootlegged my talent until I went
to Paris in 1924 and won the
heavyweight Olympic games
championship. I weighed only
I'll younds then. Charley Hoff;
the pole vaulter, was a school
mate of mine. He was a runner
then and gave UP the study OF
medicine to specialize IN attn
leteS."
Won Porat adventured to
America by himself In 1SS1s
"I always felt that I was partly
American anyway" he relates,
because my father and mother
were married here. Father was
a cavalry officer in the English
army back In the 'sOs, and for
several years was q British sub
ject. have some Of his old
medals for service In Africa. He
was stationed for some time in
Australia and New Zealand.
In his subsequent ,wanderingS
he visited the United States and
in Chicago met and married a
Norwegian girl. She is my
mother. They went back to Swe-
den, where I was born in 1904.
I was only four years old when
we moved to Copenhagen, where
my father conducted the BerNtI
School Of Languages. +