Show ry rc a t r y f I r I MI 1 FRANK K BAKER tit TELEGRAM SPORTS EDITOR Midshipman C. C G. G Fairfax Salt of-Salt l La Lake e City s day as another nother living example that uphill battles still can be won The rhe press dispatch from froin Annapolis said simply that Midshipman Fairfax will be captain a ari of the of-the the boxing team at the he U. U S. S Naval academy for 1938 but it said nothing about the obstacles the young Utahn h had d to overcome to gain that honor and other achievements which go with it it Fairfax went to West high school where he managed to be bean bean bean an A scholar and play quarterback on the B football team in addition to working part time every day Years were not heavy on his shoulders In fact he turned 16 during his last season with the Panthers And he weighed less than pounds but for all aU that he was a clever ball carrier a better than average passer and was ranked by Coach Roy McIntyre McIntyre McIntyre Mc- Mc Intyre as a heady field genera general When young Fairfax graduated in the tIle spring of 1934 he said he be wanted to go to Annapolis lie He expressed his desires along these lines to the men with appointive power but they said their quotas had already been filled Fairfax had no influential sources to help him bim plead his bis case but that didn't stop him There is still another way to make the grade he be told his bis high school coach A limited number of candidates are chosen from the ranks of the regular navy every ye year r. r A A fellow has to pass a flock of examinations and me measure some pretty stiff requirements but I beli believe ve I 1 can make it So Gene Fairfax enlisted in the navy a and a he w went nt to work immedi immediately in tely-in tely in an effort to realize his long cherished dream of going to the naval academy Every assignment was carried o out t with dispatch E Every Every- eryle lesson so w was s studied studie religiously And he managed to do considerable research work on his own initiative In Jn due time he applied for appointment to to Annapolis and ultimately passed the rigid examinations rigid examinations and was admitted admitted admitted admit admit- ted to the institution Among other things Fairfax reported for football at Annapolis An An- tHe He p played on his battalion team and drew some attention attention attention atten atten- tion as a y varsity prospect until 1 he injured his shoulder His c comparative v lightness and the fact that he appeared to be a mite brittle cramped his outlook on the gridiron but he refused to tobe tobe tobe be stopped entirely and ultimately found h his s step to athletic recognition recognition recognition rec rec- in the ring Nothing however seems to come easy for Fairfax He has had to fight just as hard and diligently to gain his spurs in the fis c game as he did to earn his appointment to the academy In fact he was knocked cold in his bis first ring experience West Vest high went to Payson to play a preseason game game with the Nebo district agers A couple of boxing matches were arranged as part of the program staged during the casaba intermission Fairfax had worn the gloves a anu nu number of times in gym classes so he be asked for the chance a and d made the trip His bout had barely started before the Payson boy connected with a knockout punch Fairfax was not greatly impressed however and he stuck stubbornly to the game Even when he had bad his jawbone cracked in a subsequent encounter he rc refused used to give up lie He learned a alot alot lot in his varied experience In time he held the championship champion champion- ship for his ship at his weight and now hes he's captain of the boxing team at the naval academy all because he didn't know what it is to give up |