Evening star., 1933-06-04
BY EDWARD J. NEIL,
Associated Press Sports Writer.

URCHASE, N. Y, June 3.-Wil-
- liam Muldoon. mightiest man of
the gas-lit 'sos, sports solid
man" Of honesty and fairness
for half century, died peacefully to-
day at the health farm where he added
years to the lives of thousands He was
SO years old nine days ago.
He passed away at $40 am. (E S. To
meeting death with the same staunch
fearlessness with which he fought
through the Civil War, tanned the turbu-
lent spirit Of the great John L. Sullivan,
ruled boxing in New York for 10 years,
and bent to his will such men as Pres
idents Theodore Roosevelt and william
Howard Taft, and Elihu Root, Chauncey
Depew and Edward II. Hartman when
they came to his acres seeking health.
A few days ago, after Gene Tunney,
who was as close to him as a son, and
other friends had visited with him on
his birthday, he called his adopted
daughter, Margaret Farrell Muldoon,
and told her casually that he wasn't
going to get well. He said he would
march in a Decoration day parade
with the few Grand Army veterans left
Then he'd lie down to die.
DUT the inroads Of cancer he never
- knew he had, kept him abed, SO
weak when parade day came he
could scarcely move. His last illness
dated back three years to severe at
tack Of neuritis that left him with little
use in his right arm. A fall broke sew
eral ribs and injured him internally.
Cancer developed and palliative gland
operation failed to bring relief.
But up to the start of his decline,
Muldoon was the martinez of sports, an
aggressive, at times domineering, force
full character whose belief in the care
and treatment of the human body was
his religion. Postmaster General James
A. Farley called him the last link be-
tween the sports worlds Of the past and
present" One of the sobriquets was
taken from an old song, "Muldoon, the
Solid Man." which did not however re-
fer to him when it was written. To the
sports writer's Of decade on decade he
was the "Old Roman"
His career was more fanciful than
fiction. Born May rs, 1845, on a farm
In the Genesse Valley, In upper New
York State, in a township later known
as Belfast, Muldoon enlisted at Is, as a
drummer boy in the Union forces.
A TALL Irish lad Of tremendous ply
"A sique and handsome appearance
he quickly set aside mis- drum and
went to fighting. Even then his fetish
OF cleanliness and bodily care was evi-
dent. One day. feeling that there was
not enough bathing going on, he found
an old pail. punched holes in the bot
tom, hung it from limb and invented
the shower bath.
He came back to New York City with
knowledge Of wrestling gained in army
| rough and tumbles. Though hating
drink and tobacco, his first wages In
New York were earned wrestling all
corners in the prominent bar room
hang-outs Of the day.
Later he joined the New York police.
won their wrestling championship, then
branched out to beat such famous stars
as Clarence Whistler, Edwin Bibby,
William Miller, and become the undis-
puted champion of the world He once
threw John Theurer, Ohio champion,
10 times in % minutes while Ban john
son, reporting for the Cincinnati En-
quirer looked on in amaZement.
| He turned to the theater, played the
parts of the Fighting Gaul In Spar
tacus" and the Wrestler in "As You
Like II" held Ethel Barrymore, a baby,
in his arms in the wings trouping
with Maurice Barrymore and Madjeska,
and trod the boards with Robert Man
tell, Frank and Sidney Drew, Marie