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Show HO is the top fighter in the world, pound lor pound? This query covers many years, in addition addi-tion to the present calendar. On the human side our selection has always been Harry Greb a 160- Tlnimr4 u;htr1uHn4 who in ring contests or training periods practically wrecked such stars as Gene Tunney, Jack Demp-sey, Demp-sey, Tom Gibbons and Jack Dillon. I am referring to the Greb that had two eyes, when he first wrecked Tun-ncv Tun-ncv and Gibbons and when he com- Grantland Rice pletely bewildered Jack Dempsey with his speed in training spot. My friend Frank Buck joes on beyond be-yond Greb or Stan Ketchol, Joe Gans or the pick of the human lot. Buck nominates the Wolverine a 35 or 40-pound terror from Michigan and a few other northern mid western west-ern states. "The Wolverine, pound for pound, Is the world's earnest and greatest fighter," Buck says. "The Badger is tough, but not quite that tough. Vou know even a 250-pound bear doesn't match any part of the Wolverine who is not only fast and strong, but who likes to fight. I can't think of any animal who won't give the Wolverine the right of way. What he could do to a 100-pound police dog wouldn't even be close. I can't think of a dog that a 35-pound Wolverine wouldn't wreck in a few minutes." Our knowledge of Wolverines had been largely limited to Michigan football teams. These also haven't been any too soft. But they haven't quite been able to match their namesakes name-sakes since a team known as Minnesota's Minne-sota's Gophers have annoyed them no little in recent years. In animal parlance the Gopher is no great killer. But he is something different on a football field. I asked Dr. Buck just why a Wolverine Wol-verine is so tough. "Every part of him is tough," Frank said, "including "includ-ing teeth, claws, and especially heart." World's Best Fighter I tried to pin Buck down to naming nam-ing the world's greatest fighting animal. ani-mal. This naturally leaves the human out unless you give him a gun. The human is a rather puny animal when he isn't armed. Twenty or thirty animals would outclass him on even terms. Among the best of the animal breed Mr. Buck Includes the elephant, ele-phant, the gorilla, the tiger, the lion, the leopard, the grizzly and the big python. "The elephant is just toe big," he says. "But one of the greatest fights ever known would be between a tiger or a lion thrown against the grizzly bear. They would be well-matched well-matched In weight. The grizzly is much stronger than either a tiger or a lion. He isn't as quick but he has a thick, protecting coating of hair around the throat. But either a tiger or a liaa would have to get him in a hurry or lose the decision. And I don't think either could get him in a hurry." "What about the grizzly, lion or tiger against a big python?" I asked. Buck had brought back a python that measured 29 feet. "You may remember," he said, "that in the python-tiger fight picture pic-ture I made, the python was on the winning side. I wouldn't want to bet on any animal against a big python. I saw one kill a leopard in just a few seconds." Gorillas Tough, Too Then we began talking about Gar-gantua, Gar-gantua, the big circus gorilla. How would he some out against anything any-thing except an elephant? Mr Ruck admitted that finrpan- tua would be something to stop. Big, powerful, fast and vicious some 600 pounds of dynamite Gargantua would be no pushover against tiger, lion or grizzly. We are offering these vital statistics statis-tics to those who keep asking how Louis and Dempsey, or how Tunney and Corbett would come out in a swinging joust. Our answer is that Louis, Dempsey, Demp-sey, Tunney, and Corbett i would be completely outclassed by any grizzly, griz-zly, lion, tiger, gorilla, python or king cobra in any hand-to-hand or fang-to-fang collision. Gene Tunney still thinks that a good fighter can lick a gorilla. I don't think Greb, Tunney, Dempsey and Louis together could handle Gargantua. Best Football Teams "Which section of the country on a general average produces the stronger football teams?" This is one of the favorite queries you get from service mail where men from every section are thrown together around the world. This includes in-cludes the East, the Midwest, the South, the Southwest, and the Far West. My guess weuld be the Midwest, which Includes the Big Nine and Notre Dame. |