The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-12-10
To-day's Sport
 Parade
By HENRY NcLEMORE

31I 1Akt1N4N4 8GCAAAAAAOAh64 United Press Stan Correspondent.
 New York. Dec 10-(UP)- Legend has 1t that the sun- baked babies of the Foreign Legion are che last word in toughness; that compared with the men who stand watch for France in the outposts of the world. the rest of us are nnollyooddles.
 May be 50. but if we were asked 10 cast a vote in a contest to deter mine the worlds toughest Hom- bree, we'd mark our tally in favor of those hard-hitting dare devils who ride the ice in big time pro- &essional hockey.
 We've known for a long time that the men of hockey were a race apart, but not until we picked up Q program at Madison Square Garden the other night did we fully appreciate just how the play CTS can take it--and like 1t. The hockey editor. needing . filler, de- voted a page or 50 to describing a few of the injuries suffered by a few of the players. and the mod est little write-up was a saga of courage, an epic of fortitude.
 Ching Johnson, we guess, Is ex. hibit A among the toughers. off the ice Ching is the most modest and unassuming of fellows, but once the whistle blows he becomes the wild man of the frozen field. sChing's been patched up so many times he resembles crazy quilt, and in these patching operations enough thread to keep a knitting mill busy for a week has been used.
 One season Dit Clapper of Bos- ton, checked Johnson into the boards and Ching suffered a com pound fracture of the jaw. Wires were used to hold his shattered bones together and special har- ness created for his neck and face, when Ching insisted on continuing play.
 And Helgie Bostrum of the Chi cago Blackhawks. In a mix-up with the Rangers last year Helgie dropped to the ice, with a tremen- d6ps slash just above his right ankle. For even weeks he lay in the hospital, waiting for the wound, which required nearly a hundred stitches, to heal. His comrades cheered him in his trou- bie by mailing him coffin adver- kisements.
 Doctors said Bostrum would never play hockey again. Lionel Coracher, Canada's most famous all-around athlete, is . respected member of the Tough Guys association. Near the end of the 1881 season Lionel drew a nasty gash in the first period, of a game with the Americans. He fin- ashsd out the period with blood ozAing through his heavy pads. When he returned to the dress ing room the doctor offered him an anaesthetic.
 sC3ive Us a drink, Doc, and never mind the dope," Lionel said. Then he put on a clean uniform and went out and finished the game.
 Dave Trottier of the Montreal Maroons came within an ace of death a few seasons back when a skate blade gashed his neck, miss ing the jugular vein by a whisper. Dave,s still riding high, wide and handsome.
 Eddie Shore, Boston's "bad boy" once had all his front teeth knocked out in game but re- fused substitution, and Chuck Gardiner, Chicago goalie. caught a puck square in the face and re- onired 18 stitches. Chusk used chewing gum as an anaesthetic while the doctor did his sewing.
 Early last season Pete Lepine, Canadian forward, crashed into another player and fell to the ice near the players box. He started to crawl to the sideboards, but couldn't quite make it.
 "Come on Doc, give me a hand" Lepine yelled. "T've busted leg or two."
 Near the end of the season he was back in uniform and sweep ing up the ice with ali his original speed and power.
 These are just a few examples of how the men of hockey can take 1t. We'd tell you more but we've got cold in the head and feel like we're going to die.