Evening star., 1938-11-29
Many Trades Forecast League Magnaes Look Meetings
From the
Press Box
Loss Of Thinking Cap
Costs Garcia Title
By JOHN LARDNER,
Special Correspondent of The Star.

nest Hemingway, the old fight fan,
was remembering how he came to
write his good fight story, Fifty
Grand whose leading character Is
modelled after William Breslin, bet
ter known as Jack Britton, the one
time welterweight champion.
Il was talking to Britton once"
he said, "and I asked him about his
fight with Benny Leonard-what he
did to outslick slick fighter like
Benny.
"'1ll tell you Britton said. You
know how smart Benny is. He
thinks out every move He's always
thinking in there. And all the time
he was thinking, I was hitting
him"
Ceferino Garcia did no thinking
whatever the other night. He was
not thinking from start to finish,
and all the time he was not think
ing, Henry Armstrong was hitting
him. You cannot imagine a fighter
more unlike Benny Leonard, or, for
that matter, Jack Britton, than this
stolld Filipino. 1t only goes to show
that there is such thing as too
little thinking in the prize ring, as
we'll as too much thinking.
Goroio Too Bewildered
To Use His Strength
1t is pretty generally agreed that
Garcia had no business losing to
Armstrong. That's no knock to
little 1r-l0 VII ~
fight and fought it we'll But Gar
cia had the size and strength to
take the fight away from the cham
pion and make it over his own way
and he never made a gesture in this
direction.
1t should have been no secret to
the reformed sugar ravager from
the Philippines that Henry likes tc
climb upon your chest. bite his in
itials there and stay for the evening
But when Henry did this. Garcia
seemed bewildered and even stunned
Garcia is big and strong enough
to push man away from him for
few moments here and there
though, of course. Henry clings very
'tDi 'ooiS' HAVING koI 1llII III tIlS
proper range, it should have been
no trick for the bolo puncher to
knock the little man stiff. He nearly
Gid so anyway when Armstrong tired
in the closing rounds.
But Garcia never thought a
thought that could be heard above
whisper from beginning to end
He dociley permitted Henry to
light his own fight, smuggling upon
Ceferinos bosom and pumping
blows to the head and body. If the
Filipino enjoved this. he masked his
pleasure very skillfully. But he
permitted it to go on.
Every time he did start a rallv it
was because the little man let down
and practically invited it. Garcia
had the punch to win by a knock
out. He showed this in the fourth
and 18th rounds, when he staggered
Armstrong and had the champion s
hram f1lckering. But his policy
after landing a punch. was to reach
carefully down to the floor and trv
to bring home an uppercut from
there, BY the time he got it up
Henry was somewhere else.
Fons Get Kick" Watching
Boxing Broin Work
The fight fan gets kick out of
watching puncher work, but there
Is thrill, too. in watching a man
with a boxing brain. Sometimes
you see a combination of puncher
and thinker, and that is fine thing
indeed. Tony Canzoneri was an ex-
ample. Benny Leonard was another
though he met an even cutter char
acter in Jack Britton. who. as he
says, kept hitting Benny while Benny
was thinking.
To watch a boxer like Britton
at work. see him carry out a STRAIT
agem or a whole design. sideslip.
roll, cover, feint, lure the other
fellow off balance and into punch
is almost as good in its way as to
look on at one of those slugging
carnivals.
Brltton, incidentally. never read
Hemingway Fifty Grand" Not
being much of reader. he is willing
to take the boys word for it that
the story is good and the leading
character great deal like himself
Mr.. Dumb Dan Morgan. who man.
aged Brltton, never even heard OF
the tale until your correspondent
mentioned it to him a few months
ago. Mr.. Morgan was somewhat
hurt
why didn't he come to me?'
he demanded. Il would of told him
a million stories. I would of kept
him up all night with them"
That is no exageration. Mr.. Nor
gan is a nonstop conversationalist
of the first order.
Mr.. Ernest Hemingway yields to
very few as fight bug. He has
seen them all, for long time back
He used to be pretty fair boxer
himself, and he does not miss a
fight show when he can help it.
He once discovered third baseman
(noW working behind a bar in Key
vest. and it would not be strange
at all If he bobbed up some day
with white hope. The managing
germ can pierce the toughest hide
though Mr.. Hemingway is not what
you would call the flght-manager
type.
Meanwhile, Joe Louis still is get
ting his IA hours of sleep.
(Copyrieht, 1898. by the North American