Hide Article Text (OCR)
JEFFRIES MAYIn the Past No Fighter Has Ever C« me Back After He ^ Once Lett the RingShcul J If Wi:i Frcm the Negro h Will Be Because He Does ISot Need Old Form?■Do they ever come buck? How manyever have?Think that over When your are betting your last do]kir on the white fighter.Did you play tenuis up to five years ago. and then give it up? Were you u pretty gunri shot with a rifle five years ago. ami give it up? Did you play foot ball up to the time you left school five years ago. and then confine your interest in the sporting to watching a game frofn the grand stand once a year? Did you wrestle a bit or ho* a little, or do a little spring, or a little long distance running some five years ago. but paas them all up for business? tIf you did any of these things, do you think any amount of train log would make Vou as good today as you were before kvou quit the particular sport In which you were Interested?Hardly. Thousands of men have tried it and no one has ever come back into his old time form, whether his forte was tennis, or rowing, or skimming or shooting. wrestling, or boxing iw riding, or anything else.All this, of course, leads up to the question as to whether or not Jim Jef-rles can ever In- as good again ua he was five year* ago. lie may look as well and fed as well, but will his eye work as quickly as It used to? Will his feet carry hint around the ring ua fast as they did when he was the champion of the world? Will his arms shoot out with the same force that they did five years ago?As n matter of fart. It has been six years since Jim Jeffries had a real fight. That was on Aug 14. 1903. when he put Jim Corbett away In ten rounds in Ann Francisco. One year and two months later he had his little two-round bout with Jack Munroe. and he had spent, very little time actually training for that encounter. He didn't have to fight; the fight was In'- before the men got into the ring, and Jeff knew It. St 111 at the Isat minutes he wanted to ask for a postponement In order to get into a little better condition.Age Counts.And so you see, if Jeffries fights the negro It will be nearer seven yearn than five since he has done any hard work. Can a man stay out of the game all that time and be as good as ever, even though he has Jed a temperate life during the six or seven years? Can he?Hardly.Of course, there Is this to he considered Jeff may not have to he the Jeff of old to whip Jack Johnson, but close students of the game figure that he must he at his very best to win from the giant colored man. who Is a great fighter.There Is another thing to eonslde*\ While Jeffries has led a temperate life during the past six years he has led r t easy one. Very few days have found h1 1 out of bed !*efore nearly noon. He grlt; t tot and Isay. Always ffo«*d-naturcd he would rather sit around and talk than get Into a pair of trunks and work. Pan a man throw aside the habits developed In six years of Idleness, chick from out of the window all of a sudden and begin all over again?Well, let s sec what others have done along the same line.Tod Sloan, after h Ion* period of rest from working In the saddle, was allowed to ride down at New Orleans He got some good mounts, hut everv stable hov at the track put It on him when It came to riding a race. His eye. ills judgment and ids “kill had all vanished.Then there was the case of Amos Rosie. Kver\ body remembers the Giants’ famous pitcher who quit the game, nnd after a Jong rest he had shown no signs of not being as *ood as he ever was he tried to get hack Into the diamond game. What was the result? Bvery old butter who couldn’t hit the side of a barn took a crack at Rosie's twirling, and the one time king of them all went back to work in a lumber yard at 91.S* a day.Some Examples.Hemic Weferx was one of the greatest sprlnlers the world ever saw heran 100 yards In 9 4*5 seconds no less than twenty-seven times and was post-lively unbeoteahle In his day. He easily outran men like M/iybury Hush. lawig and Huik in the short races nnd performed nrodlglous feats of speed a few years after his retirement Wef. rs tried to regain Ids old time for. hut found out that the old snap was not In his stride. He could sprint tolerably well *”** be lacked Just enough of his former dash to keep him from regaining his former place as the greatest short-distance man on earth.There are mmiv distance runners who ‘brough the same experience that * fpr.** old. Non#* of tliem have ever quit the gam* and 11 come back** again.Ft i« tF* 944me utory In every other lino of professional nnd amateur aport. A man who take* care of himself and keeps pit the game may have many veiir?f of •nee**** vt;. t|t*r It b* at tenni* or football or running or hasebwlJ or ftshtin* or anythin* ••!**. Put let him *ive up the sport. stay out of II for a Itrue nnd then W to be • champion again. And where doe* hr- get off? Evet ne Kiowa the an wet.Ring champlona who have fried it and failed arc too numerous to mention. The trouble. however, with moat fixators has heen that they have tried to com* hmk after they were hew ten and after a Ion* period of dissipation. Jeff haa navcr peon l^enten. and he ha* never di**lpfit«d, ao you can’t exactly compare him with Youn* Oirlw tt and Terry McGovern nnd the other chnmnlon* who tried to COM hack and couldn’t connect.Tak^ toe ma* of John I*. Sullivan. The old follow fouffht Jake Klira In and heat him In aeventv-fo»ir ronnda lit Ricbhurc on July 8. Then followeda Ion* period of real —three year* and two month* -and then Jim Corbett put the champion out of the running in twenty-one round* at New Ortean*.Nu ope ha* ever come hack yet.Think it over. pne* Jeffrfe* have to com* haek to heat Jack Johnson?If he doe* have to. dan he?};
Newspaper Details
Lincoln Daily Star
Lincoln, Nebraska, US
Sun, Nov 07, 1909
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
John H.
IL, USA 18 Dec 2017
Other Publications Near Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln Evening Journal
Lincoln Daily Star
Lincoln Daily News
Lincoln Star
Lincoln Nebraska State Journal
