The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, February 16, 1945, Image 3
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V - OU may recall the time when
1 Jim Braddock, supposed to be all
washed up, removed the heavy
weight championship crown from
Max Baer’s carefree dome. After
that party we suggested that the
“primrose trail” rarely led to any
pugilistic heights, or any other ath
letic heights. There are certain
physical freaks—I won’t mention
their names—in boxing, baseball
and golf, who trained largely on gin,
scotch and bourbon and still made
the headlines. For a while.
But for each one of these excep
tions I can name you ten who
trained correctly
and reached the top
of the hill — Gene
Tunney, Jack
Dempsey, Joe Louis
Benny Leonard,
Bobby Jones, Bill
Tilden, Byron Nel
son, Sammy Snead,
Jug McSpaden,
Gene Sarazen, Don
Budge, Ellsworth
Vines, Bill Johnston,
all of our track
rtars and 98 per
cent of our great football and base
ball players such as Mel Ott, Carl
Hubbell, Blozis, Nagurski, Bill Dick
ey—but why go on? Most of these
are the ones who count.
This question was raised by the
recent meeting at Madison Square
Garden between two primrose trail
ers from the past—Lee Oma and
Baksl. Both started out along the
soft and easy road. Both were phys
ically qualified to do a much better
fob than they displayed in their
efforts. But neither was willing to
pay the price of condition—the price
that Tunney, Dempsey and Joe Louis
paid to be ready with the best they
had to give. And I’m giving you
three of the tops along this rug
ged road.
As a general rule the so-called
“primrose trail” has a sudden,
abrupt and dismal finish. At the
start of their careers Oma and Bak-
si were galloping merrily along this
trail—and getting nowhere in a hur
ry. Now both are supposed to have
changed their earlier habits—in the
understanding that both are ^bout
the two best heavyweights left, out
side of war service. Both wasted
valuable time in improving them
selves. It took a world war to plant
them up near the front. Oma seems
to be going up faster than Baksi.
He beat the tough ex-miner deci
sively in 10 rounds, weighing only
185% pounds to Baksi’s 211.
Keeping in Condition
This isn’t any sermon or lecture
on the matter of keeping in shape,
or the value of hard training. But
there is a general writing and talk
ing tendency to overplay some of
the playboys who traveled a long
way up in spite of their odd ways
of training.
Harry Greb was one. So was
Mickey Walker. Walter Hagen was
another, later on in his career. And
there was Rube Waddell, Bugs Ray
mond, Shufflin’ Phil Douglas—great
pitchers. Even the overpowering
Babe Ruth had his lapses. So did
Jim Thorpe. So did Grover Cleve
land Alexander.
But what about the great majority
of stars who made a point of being
in shape—who trained for the job?
The best conditioned fighters I’ve
known in the last 20 years were
Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey and
, Joe Louis. And they were not so
bad.
Most of the star ballplayers be
long to this list—I should say about
92 per cent of them. I mean such
big leaguers as Ty Cobb, Christy
Mathewson, Tris Sneaker, Eddie Col
lins, George Sisler, Lou Gehrig, Carl
Hubbell, Mel Ott, Hans Wagner,
Lefty Grove, Joe Gordon, Bill
Dickey—I could keep on for two
columns.
I’d say about 99 per cent of the
college and pro football players—
the top ones—keep in shape and re
frain at least from the gentle art of
getting cockeyed.
It makes a better story to write
or tell about the fellow who was
plastered the ,day or the night be
fore—and yet came along to win.
But I could also tell you about many
more who might have won—many
more—who flopped for the same rea
son.
There are, of course, certain ex
ceptions. But there are not so many
exceptions when you rank them
against the vast majority who took
the other road. Those who lack the
courage—or perhaps the fortitude—
who hope to be athletes without
proper training and conditioning-
are in for a heavy price and a heav
ier jolt. They at least are buck
ing tremendous odds.
* * •
Football Weaknesses
Football officials have been given
too heavy a burden. They can make
or break any close game. It is for
this reason that we suggest two
changes that will not only help out
the officials, but will also help foot
ball. The first would permit for
ward passing any place, back of the
line. The second is that after a for
ward pass is thrown, it would be
made a free ball for both receiv
ers and defenders. It wouldn’t mat.
ter who went after it.
THE NAZI OLYMPICS
(“The German minister of propa
ganda declared that the German
idea of a good world was one
where the Olympic games provided
the only conflict among men.” —
News Item.)
100 yard dash—All Nazis to get a
head start of 99 yards.
200 yard dash—For pure blondes
only.
Quarter mile relay—Germans of
pure strain to have wind at backs.
Half mile relay—Open to dis
gruntled paperhangers, postcard
painters and revengeful corporals
only.
High jump—All contestants other
than Germans must concede that
the Germans, however high they
may jump, have really jumped two
feet higher.
Pole vault—Herrinvolk to have
first choice of poles. No figures to
be official until passed on by a com
mittee made up exclusively of Prus
sian military officers. (Note. No
poles to be permitted for Jews, Ne
groes, English or American pole
vaulters.)
Javelin hurling—Javelins for use
by Germans to be of special de
sign. Practice in streets crowded
with little children to be compul
sory.
Discus throw—All contestants oth
er than Germans to throw left-hand
ed, using sidewheel delivery.
Running broad jump—Germans
to jump down hill with Gestapo at
backs. (Anybody jumping higher or
farther than a German to be dis
qualified for impertinence.)
Shot put—This event to be limited
to contestants named Fritz, Adolf,
Heinrich or Otto.
Marathon—All contestants other
than those officially approved by
Berlin committee on sportsmanship
to wear pig lead in running shoes.
Special watches to be used to time
German runners.
Hurdle Races—Those of pure Ger
man bloodlines may compete at
any time they may wish; others
must compete immediately after a
full meal.
•
Swimming Events
Fifty yard dash—Outboard motors
for Nazis compulsory.
100 yards—Nazis to swim in regu
lar tanks; other nationalities to
swim in hot oil.
Under water swim—(All contest
ants other than pure Germans will
come up at their peril.)
Water polo events—Opponents of
Nazis to swim on backs. German
players to consider spiked shoes as
proper equipment. ,
*
The laying of mine fields on all
tracks after Germans have con
cluded their part in the event shall
be legal.
All cups given as prizes may have
booby traps attached. No further no
tice of this shall be necessary.
Experiments with new jet bombs
and other horror weapons shall be
conducted on all parts of the field
except when German^ are compet
ing.
All cash prizes shall be paid in
wooden money.
• • •
YE GOODE OLDE FILMS
Once in a while an old film is
fe-shown, and it is surprising how
often they seem far ahead of the
later ones in humor, drama and
general interest! Such a picture is
“If I Had a Million,” first shown
over a decade ago, relating, with
gorgeous fun, what a half dozen or
dinary people do when they are left
a million by a gooney millionaire.
We have seen few funnier pictures
since and lost no time making for
the theater that was showing it
again.
•
What a bunch of stars in one
comedy! Charles Laughton, W. C.
Fields, Charles Ruggles, the late
Richard Bennett, Jack Oakie,
George Raft, Gary Cooper, May
Robson and a half dozen others!
There has never been a more side
splitting episode in pictures than the
one where Fields, his brand new car
just wrecked by a careless driver,
buys a flock of cars with his sud
denly acquired dough and devotes
the day to smashing into roadhogs.
•
Incidentally, Gary Cooper and
George Raft, not then famous, were
just attracting attention at the time,
and it was Charlie Laughton’s first
American picture bit.
• • •
Do You Remember
Away Back When—
The envelope* fitted the ttatumery?
You could count on feeing the tome bar*
tender?
You could remember the name of the
cigarette you’re smoking?
• • •
It Helps
Fifteen thousand dollars was paid
at auction the other night for a
Frans Hals painting “Portrait of a
Laughing Boy." It goes to show
what it means to have anybody
around the house who seems to fee]
pleasant these days.
• • •
“Muddled Meat Crisis Grows”—
Headline.
•
Muddled meat? That’s a new
name for modern hamburgers, we
assume. .
Gene Tunney
THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY, S. C.
'T'HAT wisecrack about “the high-
A er they fly the farther they fall 1 '
must have been made with mo
tion picture stars in mind. For it
requires a miracle of sorts to bring
back a star who has once slipped
at box office.
With this in mind, chalk 1945 down
as the year of miracles—the year in
which more comebacks will be suc
cessfully made and attempted than
any other in motion picture history
There are Joan Blondell and
James Dunn in “A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn,” to be
gin with, with
Jimmy staging
that most difficult
of all comebacks,
a star role on the
very lot which
nine years ago
Joan Blondell
counted him
among its bright
est box office suc
cesses. Both Joan
and Jimmy hold
long - term con
tracts at Twenti
eth Century-Fox
since executives chalked off their ex
cellent performances, Joan as Aunt
Sissy, and Jimmy as Johnny Nolan,
the famous singing v/aiter of Betty
Smith’s novel.
Jimmy Dunn
Joan Blondell was to a certain
extent responsible for her exile from
the screen. She was tired of play
ing an endless succession of animat
ed, gum-chewing typists, alternat
ing with wisecracking blonde show
girls. Then, too, her husband, Dick
Powell, was trying to get away from
singing parts and into real acting
ones. But the producers didn’t seem
to want him in either during this
period. So Joan, not wanting to
embarrass him, stopped taking parts
when he couldn’t get any.
Leave of Abtence
Joan toured our army camps for
13 months—went into remote posts
as far north as Labrador and gave
homesick boys of her rich, vibrant
personality. She followed this with
an uninterrupted go of over two
years on Broadway. The new Blon
dell proves that she can be some
thing more than a big-hearted bag
gage with a head of gold. Director
Elia Kazan tells me she gives some
gradations in her performance of
Aunt Sissy that bode well for future
efforts.
Jimmy Dunn never actually left
the screen or the stage. But for nine
years—since 1931, when he played
“Bad Girl”—he appeared in minor
movies of a type that didn’t reach
audiences that knew him as a star.
And when casting time for “A
Tree Grows in Brooklyn” filled his
agent with enthusiastic ambitions,
Jimmy said: “Skip it. You’re wast
ing your time. I used to be a big
star on that lot—they’d never let me
do it.” Darryl Zanuck was deter
mined the screen Johnny would live
up to the singing waiter of the book.
So he ordered every possible appli
cant tested until the perfect person
showed up. The perfect person
turned out to be Ex-Twentieth Star
James Dunn.
Frank Confeation
Few actors are as frank as Jim
my in talking of the things which
helped him to lose out in his pro
fession. “I began watching the
money clauses in my contracts,
Hedda, instead of reading the scripts
carefully,” he said with commend
able frankness. “So I got the dough,
but I began to slip at the box of
fice.”
Jimmy Dnrante’s comeback in all
the mediums—night clubs, radio,
motion pictures—notably “Music for
Millions,” with Margaret O’Brien, is
one of the bright spotfe of the year
just past.
This year Joan Crawford, after
many hesitations, ruminations and
consultations, will essay her screen
comeback in “Mildred Pierce,” a
red-blooded story by James M. Cain.
These are some of the comebacks
that enter the mind at the moment.
Not all attempts to resume a star
status, sometimes lightly laid aside,
are successful. I’m thinking now
of the many times Gloria Swanson
was scheduled for a big comebdCk
which never came off. Buster Kea
ton never got back where he once
had been. Ramon Novarro’s fre
quent attempts to star were fail
ures, once his lucky period had
passed.
Yes, a comeback is a sort of minor
miracle in the entertainment world,
but it can happen.
• • •
Smart Thinking
Frank Sinatra tells me, rain or
shine, he’s going overseas to enter
tain our fellows in June. He has
turned down several pictures that
were unsuitable. He’s looking for
something with human interest.
When I reminded him Bing Crosby
was 13 years getting “Going My
Way,” he replied, “Well, why not
copy Bing and say I’m going his
way too? I’d like to.” . . . “Roar
ing Waters” highlights tho Shasta
dam and will co-star Bill Gargan and
Robert Lowery.
Pretty, Practical Apron-Pinafore
Tot’s Frock for School or Play
1272
14-42
Apron-Pinafore
A CURRENTLY popular style is
the mother - and - daughter
theme. This attractive house frock
for mother buttons at the shoulder
and waist in back and is mar
velously simple to do up.
• * •
Pattern No. 1272 comes In sizes 14, IS,
IS. 20; 40 and 42. Size 16, with sleeves,
requires 4% yards of 35 or 39-inch mate
rial: 4 yards of rick rick to trim.
Due to an unusually large demand and
current war conditions, slightly more time
is required in filling orders for a few of
the most popular pattern numbers.
Play Frock
I ITTLE daughter will feel quite
' grown-up in her apron pina
fore to match mother’s. The gay
over-shouider ruffles and sweet
heart neck are edged in bright
binding. Ideal for school or play.
• * •
Pattern No. 8741 is designed for sizes
2, 3. 4. 5 and 6 years. Size 3. with
sleeves, requires 2% yards of 35 or 39-inch
material; 3 yards trimming for ruffles and
neck.
SEWING CIRCLE PATTERN DEPT.
530 South Wells St. Chicago
Enclose 25 cents in coins for each
pattern desired.
Pattern No Size
Name.....
Address.
San’s Weather Studied in
Relation to That of Earth
Since 1941, a unique study to de
termine whether there is any con
nection between the weather of the
sun and that of the earth has been
carried on at Harvard’s observa
tory near Climax, Colo., says Col
lier’s. As photographs of the solar
corona taken during a natural
eclipse could not be used, a spe
cial movie camera had to be de
veloped.
Called the coronagraph, it
creates an artificial eclipse with
masking screens, and automa
tically takes a picture in color
every 10 seconds.
DON’T JUST SUFFER
GET MUkTIPLE RELIEF
RELIEF ONE-Reduce fever.
RELIEF TWO-Eose stuffy nose.
RELIEF THREE-Reduce body udws.
RELIEF FOUR-Eose muscle pubs.
RELIEF FIVE—lessen heododw.
Grove’s Cold Tablets, like many m
doctor’s prescription, are a multiple
medicine. A combination of eight ac*
tive medicinal ingredients especially
designed for relief of usual cold tnia*
cries. Insist on ftenuin*.
GROVE’S t*'.?.’™
WH £N causes
You can’t avoid oxposucu
r to wintry winds, driving rains, sudden
weather changes. But you can relievo-*
, easily and quickly—tho muscular pcho■ ,
and pains they causa. Jest pot on Storm’s
I Liniment and fool It ponolraf* Inst—Hy
I with warming, comforting relief.
Tired Aching Muscles • Sprains
Stiff Joints • Strains • Bruises
W mat you HEED Et
SLOAN’S LINIMENT
Meet the Men
I
The Navy and Merchant Marine send
rapid ship-to-ship messages by battery-
powered flasher signal lights when
radio communication might give a
ship’s position to the enemy.
It’s difficult to locate men drifting in
the sea! Water-tight battery lights on
buoyant lifesaver suits have meant
the difference between life and death
for many Merchant seamen.
For emergency communication by
voice, the Merchant Marine usee a port
able megaphone to broadcast orders
and instructions. Dry batteries give
necessary power to the megaphone.
Two men and a bazooka make a win
ning team! But it takes large quantities
of ammunition and dry battery power
to keep these portable, hard-hitting
weapons firing at the enemy.
Deadly flamethrowers are blazing the
road to Victory! Dry batteries help to
create the spark that sends these
efficient weapons into instant, flam
ing action against the enemy.
The Signal Corps man with a Walkie-
Talkie has freedom of speech as long as
he has plenty of dry batteries! Handie-
Talkies also use thousands of war bat*
teries to power vital communication* •
VPhetl they come Home —• Burgess Batteries will be back again, too
... powering flashlights, radios, telephones, instruments and controls for
millions of homes, farms and industries throughout America.
BURGESS BATTERIES
IN THE NATION'S SERVICE
BURGESS BATTERY COMPANY, FREEPORT, ILLINOIS