CAN A FOOTBALLER MAKE A BOXER?

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVII, Issue 996, 8 April 1909, Page 10

CAN A FOOTBALLER MAKE A BOXER?

AN OLD DISCUSSION REVIVED. Probably (writes Barratt O’Hara) there never has lived a boxing enthusiast who has not exclaim’d at lease once in his life, at the sight of a husky centre-forward tearing holes in the enemies’ line or a giant tackle hammering his way through five or six of the determined but helpless oemen;

“My! If that fellow would prepare himself for a boxer!” For the life of you, you cannot see why a man who can take the measure of a half-dozen other men on a. football field should not be able to attend to one opponen; within the confines of the squared arena, granted, of course, that he first prepare himself in the rudiments, of the hit-and-get-away. But boxing isn’t football, and the chances are that, the fellow who bowled giants right and left on the gridiron would be as efficient in the ring as a locomotive engineer be ore the mast of an ocean schooner during a hurricane. CALDWELL’S WATERLOO. Somewhere in the States there is living a man named Caldwell- Ten years or more Caldwell was centre rush on the Cornell eleven. As a football player he was a wonder. He bad a heart that had never inown

the sensation o’ fear. In a vicious game against the Chicago university ae had the misfortune to break one of his legs. He wept like a baby when the coach wouldn’t let him keep on playing. Nothing in the world yellow about Caldwell. Well —. It was in St. Louis a short time after Jack Munroe had stayed those four memorable rounds with big Jim Jeffries. 'The champion of champions was touring the country with Bob Fitzsimmons, and Charley Haughton, who had staged the pair for an exhibition at the West End Club in St. Louis, offered £25 to anyone who would last four rounds with the champion.

Caidwen came to the writer with fight in his blood. “ I can stay four rounds with that ellow,’” he boasted. “What’s more. I can whip him-” So he wrote out a challenge and sent it to Haughton to be read to Jeffries in the ring. I escorted Caldwell to the club the night of the exhibition. We took seats at the ringside, Caldwell carefully holding on his lap a small valise, containing trunks, shoes and a belt of the Cornell colours that he had prepared for his ring debut. He was as bold •>s a lion, laughing and full of confidence in himself —until big Jeff appeared- Did you ever see Jeff stripped for action ? Mt. Pelee on the verge of eruption hadn’t anything on Jeff, not a bit. Caldwell gave the champion one close scrutinising look, swallowed something in his throat, turned thirty-seven varieties of paleness, and held his chair for support, while the announcer read the challenge. Jeff listened courteously until the reading was finished. Then he said, in a stage whisper, to the announcer: “ Tell Mr. Caldwell to get ready.” The ex-football player was on his eet by this time. He gripped his valise in one hand, looked at the ring and then at the door in the other end of the hall. The door looked the mere inviting. With long, sweeping strides, Caldwell made for it- An usher was in the way and Caldwell pushed him aside as though he were a feather. The writer hasn't seen Caldwell since. The next day he wrote 'e a note, explaining that his sudden departure had been occasioned by a real attack of illness, and begging me not to misjudge his motive- If this

article happens to reach his eye, he wants to know that the writer esteems him as one of the bravest men that ever lived —in a football game. This story merely is merely' to illustrate my po nt that there is many a slip be- . ween the star gridiron hero and the c xin g championship.

Jim Duncan, the Maorilander, and middle-weight champion of the South Coast, would (says the “ Referee”) be pleased to hitch up with Duke Jennings, of Newcastle, for £lO a-side, 60 and 40 or 75 and 25 per cent- of gate, to fight at Cessnock, eleven weeks from date. Failing Jennings, Percy Mason.

There was an exceptionally large audience at the Brisbane Stadium when Tommy Burns opened his season. A very fine programme was provided, and the large audience appreciated it. The champion gave clever exhibitions of ball-punching and skipping, and two very clever rounds with each of his sparring partners- Pictures of the Burns-Moir contest in London, for which Tommy was the lecturer for the first five rounds, and the pictures cf his contest with Bill Squires were shown, and a series of moving pictures and illustrated songs by Mr. Mark Erickson, -contributed to the best entertainment of its kind given in this city.

Two well-known South African Lexers, in the persons of Rudolph Unholz and Arthur Douglas, fought a willing thirteen-round contest at the Sidney Stadium the other night. Honours were fairly' even throughout, and when the thirteenth round was reached there were yet two men m the struggle, till Unholz butted his head into Douglas twice, and, in response to an appeal from Douglas’ “ corner,” within a yard or two of which the offence occurred, Arthur Scott disqualified Unholz and declared Dousdas the winner. * * * Comparing boxing with other sports, Corbett recently said: —They call boxing brutal. I fought seven championship battles and never had my nosebleeding or my eye blackened. I was never severely hurt, except when J fought Peter Jackson 61 rounds and broke my hand. In baseball, and I

have not played much of it, and on a bicycle I have received injuries that hurt a good deal worse than any wallops I ever received in a bjxing contest. And I won’t stop to compare football with boxing, for there is no comparison. There is only a contrast when the question of brutality is taken into consideration. I am optimistic enough to believe that the time will come when the prejudice will die out and boxing will be placed on a more popular basis than ever.