The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-07-01
TALKING
IT OVER
by JOE WILLIAMS

EAUGA LAKE, O., July l.
VI There must be a law out this
way by which heavyweightS are kept
in their place. You may recall a
day or so ago I went out to see Max
Schmeling and found him on the
midway of an amusement park
along with a number of other old
line freaks. Well, 1 called on the
Striblings, and it's the same story.
w. L. is running in opposition to
the snake charrner and the sword
inhaler, to say nothing Of the air.
plane swing and the carousef.
All along / have suspected that Ring
linEs ought to be putting on these heavy
weight championships maybe as q side
show. and what have seen here seems to
offer complete confirmation. w. L. wasn't
around when called. Pa 5tribling wasn't
around either. He had gone over to the
cambridge race track. hard by. to place
a few nutmegs on the horses. Pa likes
his horses Well. was Ma Stribling
around7 It developed that she was.
I found her In a little mud-colored cot
tage set back from the lake. She was In
front of a radio listening to baseball
broadcast. well set-up young man
walked in. This is baby" she said. Baby
Is all Of 90 or %. the younger Of the
stribling boys. and a welterwe!ght nghter
in his own right. 1 wanted to know what
her emotions were as she. the mother. sat
at the ringside. watching her boy trade
punches with the giants Of the ring.
Il don't feel no different than anybody
else" she said. IT know my boys as
good as any fighter in the world and that
no can take care Of himself"
But when he gets punched, when he is
hurt. doesn't that worry you" I pressed.
Nobody can hurt my boy anymore than
ne can hurt them" she answered. and
with a crispness which. seemed TO imply
that she considered this phase OF the in
terview little bit ridiculous.
a
AEOTHERS usually feel different
INIabout danger faced by their Off
spring. Very few mothers, for in
stance, ever go 10 see their fighting
sons fight. But Ma Stribling
comes from unique stock. She prac-
tically was born to the show bust
ness. Most of her life was spent
back of the rostrum lights.
Within her there is a constant conflict
between mother instinct and Snowman
ship pride. I don't think she is calloused
or hard. 1 don't even agree with her
that she lacks emotion at the fights. On
tho contrary she is wholly feminine. You
can tell that by the way she looks after
her family from Pa down to the newest
ale do
thing for them around the house-she
must do 1t herself. 1t just so happens
that she has a vast pride in her boy as
a fighter. 1t couldn't be any deeper or
more flaming II he were q promising
painter or scientist.
The truth is she is In several respects
very remarkable woman. In her early
forties, grandmother twice. she still
looks young enough to be w. LIS sister
She used to do the heavy work in the old
family acrobatic act. At the close she'd
walk of the stage with Pa and w. L.
in her arms.
Baby spoke up. 'why only the other
morning we we're out swimming and ma
picked me up and carried me from the
bath house to the beach,
We finally swung around to the fight
with Schmeling in Cleveland Friday night.
Naturally she thinks w. L. will win. In
fact she contends he has never lost a
hght in his life. To be sure, he has
dropped some decisions. but he didn't lose.
The referee was wrong and the newspaper
writer's who agreed with the referee were
biased.
w L. shouldn't have been in the ring
with Sharkey at Miami two years ago,
she said. land vet he won every round"
The referee, you may recall, gave this
one to Sharkey. / still have mind pic
ture Of her climbing over the press rows
after the fight, shaking her hand at the
referee and calling him a robber.