OCR Text |
Show ty- ENE TUNNEY'S Interview on vJ fear in competition is one of the most interesting articles I have read." writes H. F. L. "He told what tear does to any competitor in ; any game. But please explain this . I always have un- i derstood that most soldiers going into battle were packed with fear fear which they overcame. over-came. I thought the j test of true courage : wag overcoming I tear, it is my opin- Gene lunney ion that most brave men are afraid, facing death or defeat, de-feat, but Uiey rise above this fear." This happens to be, by all odds, the msst Interesting angle In sport, t'ertalnly, the brave ran be afraid and the dumb, minus any Imagination, Imagina-tion, can remain unafraid. A complete absence of fear Is one of the rarest of all qualities. We have known only three men so blessed Theodore Roosevelt Jr., ('apt. Kddie Kiekenbaeker and t'ol. Wild Hill Donovan. There must have been many oth-' oth-' era. We are speaking only of the three that we have seen tested, where death was a completely unimportant un-important matter where life was even more unimportant compared to the job they had to do. They also had imagination. Hut in the matter of fear and courage, there is no possible way to compare sport with war. In this re speet, they belong in two different worlds. A brave soldier might curl up in some competition In sport. A 1 strong sporting competitor might nut be so hot in war action. Two Different Games Sometime back I was talking with a famous boxer. He was an army instructor "I can't figure It all out," he told me. "When I tap a few of these soldiers in the nose they want to quit. But next day they'll go over the top or lead a charge. I don't mind being hit in the nose or knocked down. At least I don't fear it. But I don't believe I'd lead any charge against machine funs, without ducking Into the first foxhole I saw. I guess it's two dif , ferent games two different an ; gles." Here he called the turn two dif ferent games and two different an gles that are far apart. Rack around 1911 1 saw Christ) Mathewson cut the corner of the plate against Home Itun Itaker tot the third strike and the game. Onl) I the umpire called it a ball which later led to Baker's home run. "I cut two Inches over the plate," Matty Mat-ty told me later. He had the eour age to do this in a world series. A few days later in a golf match Mathewson and I played with Mike Donlin and Fred Merkle. Matty : missed a putt by three inches. Hif ! hands were shaking. Here Is the answer. Baseball was Matty's game. He had the skil: and confidence to meet any situatior ; In baseball. Golf wasn't his game On a general average, I would saj that the basic quality of fear anc : courage in sport must include threi factors skill, experience and condi tion which lead to confidence. Th ; confident competitor, who is it shape, who is experienced, who has i his share of skill, usually comej ! through. Fett; Are Quitters There are not many quitters In sport. Quitters don't like hard com I petition and the grind needed to get them up around the top. This ap ! plies especially to football and : boxing, the body contact games. Among the most fearless the greatest competitors I have seer. In sport are: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth Hans Wagner, Old Pete Alexander Walter Johnson, Bobby Jones, Wal ter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Harry Greb, Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney Tommy Hitchcock, Dev Milburn : and too many football players to ; even start a count. Tnnney's idea or angle was this: "Get ready with the best you have to give. Condition is terribly important, im-portant, although there are notable nota-ble exceptions. You can throw these out against the thousands who need condition. There are always exceptions that prove no rule. "But once the game Is on, whatever what-ever it is, fear of defeat and worry about the result must be eliminated. For fear of what might happen will upset your brain, freeze your nerves and, in turn, wreck any chance for coordination between mind and muscle." Desperation often gets credit for courage. So does raw luck. All you can figure on Is the general gen-eral average. In 80 per cent of this division you will find those who worked to develop their skill, who ept in condition, who had the con-Idence con-Idence needed to face the problem jt tackle the handicap. This doesn't include everyone. It merely takes in the majority, including those mentioned above. No race or nation has any copyright copy-right on courage. But those equippfd with what it takes to win usually get the call. |