| Show Backseat j I D Driving riving By B FRANK K K BAKER Telegram m Sports is Editor i Reams of copy COPp have been written about how Glenn r Cunningham the Kansas Flyer scampered to fame on a aL L pair of scarred fire-scarred legs but the Jayhawker has not nor been alone when it comes to athletic achieving brilliance despite physical handicaps I Just as Hen en Shell has continued to star on lo local al golf goll courses despite having his hand and forearm crushed between the rollers of a huge press the athletic firmament is full pf stars WhO lc overcame great physical odds in achieving their brilliance I Few sport fans about Lou achieve- achieve fm iTt on the cinder path are aware of the heart-breaking heart effort I. I he has ma made e keep to-keep going as one of the nations nation's leading harrie har- har rie tiers s. s i Jt At the age of 3 came uncomfortably close dose to losing a toe At 10 the Southern California stretch-burner stretch ran an iron pipe into his hipbone At 16 he suffered a splintered splintered spun spun- knee when pitched from a broncho at a rodeo A year yearL t L later his ankle was fractured by a kick from an equine in in- in corrigible Less hardy souls souis would have given up as an athlete t long tong before that but kept plugging although r i it wasn't the end of his tough breaks At 18 is the Italian tore a ligament in his left leg in an automobile accident At 20 he broke an ankle when he failed to land properly on skis A According cording to Harry Grayson of N E A Service Leslie MacMitchell MacMitchell MacMitchell Mac- Mac Mitchell the year old New York university miler who has joined the leaders two or three years ahead of schedule had to learn to walk again at 7 Paralysis of the left leg developed following following following fol fol- lowing diphtheria It is also a matter of record that surgeons feared they'd have to amputate Archie San Roma Romanis Romani's lis li's leg when as a grade school hool boy the Kansan suffered a multiple leg fracture when 1 struck by a truck Bill Bonthron another of the famous runners had his legs r badly burned and scarred when he came in contact with a high tension wire while climbing a tree as a boy Walter Mehl's Mehi's exploits in the two-mile two run represents one of the most startling achievements over a handicap A broken bone in Walters Walter's foot failed to knit properly and had to be removed Mehl lehl h had d always run tho the half mile but when he resumed training he switched to the two-mile two at atthe atthe atthe the suggestion of Wisconsin Coach Tom Torn Jones who argued that the slower pace of the longer route would be easier on the tender pedal 2 The third time Mehl Mehi ran the he dista distance r distance in in- in Ten c conference meet meet meet-he he set a new re record ord Next lowered dowered his iS mile mark from to t. t tow tow-I V The track and field world remembers Gene Gene- as the picture runner because of his flawless motion while in full stride Nobody watching him run his rhythmic races races' would A have ever guessed that 50 buckshot pellets are re still in his thigh following a hunting accident when he was only 18 The Pennsylvanian usually ran second to Cunningham in inthe th the old days but he had his moments too as witness his pair of miles last year when he was 31 years of aget age t Yes indeed some of our greatest names in sport have J had ad t to overcome great physical handicaps Jimmy Foxx the great baseball slugger has carried on persistently as a o topnotch p performer for years despite an attack of sinus difficulty difficulty dif dlf- which would have benched a majority of p players ayers Theres There's Bill Delancey the new Pocatello Cardinal skipper skipper skipper skip skip- per per for example At 2 21 1 he was a star backstop for the St. St Louis Gas House gang gang of Dizzy Dean Pepper Martin anc and Joc Jo Medwick which beat the Detroit Tigers in the 19 1934 Almost overnight he was on a stretcher heading heading head head- ing ins f for far r- r Phoenix Ariz to recuperate from a lung tion The Cardinals installed him as manager of their farm club at Albuquerque and last year he was back on the St. St Louis squad again Established as a brilliant ant player himself marked for lor his determination and touted as a fine line developer of young talent he came west again agai 1 this hl year to direct the Pocatello club in the Pioneer league Indeed here is another star who by deeds exemplifies the high character and sense of determination de devel developed developed de- de vel by athletic participation Virtually everybody knows too the story about Mrs Opal Hill the feminine golfer Sent to the golf course at her doctors doctor's insistence the former Kansas not only recaptured good health by her faithful devotion to the game but also became one of the nations nation's greatest players I |
