The advantage of an intelligent, capable trainer cannot be over-estimated, and, one who can satisfy his protege of his superiority in his business, as well as a man of nerve, is what is required. When Dan Donnelly, the champion pugilist of Ireland, was trained by Capt. Kelly for his fight with George Cooper, he was in magnificent condition, but when he met Tom Oliver, having had men to look after him whom he considered only his equal or perhaps inferior, he was in no condition at all. We are of the opinion that John Ennis but for James Cusick would never have got second place to Rowell, or Nick Murphy, Steve Brodie, Hart, Panchot, etc., made the time they did but for men of superior qualification.
It will be interesting to the young athletes to know the length of time taken for rest by the six-day men, and therefore supply this information so as to be easy of reference. We allude to the contest from April 5th to 10th, 1880, inclusive: Hart, 23 hours 2 minutes 59 seconds; Pegram, 31 hours 30 minutes 53 seconds; Howard, 30 hours, 50 minutes 39 seconds; Dobler, 22 hours 37 minutes 12 seconds; Allen, 34 hours 24 minutes 49 seconds; Krohne, 27 hours 18 minutes 15 seconds; Williams, 28 hours 52 minutes 33 seconds, and Hanwaker, 27 hours 58 minutes 21 seconds. Hart’s actual time on the course was 118 hours 20 minutes and 1 second, and his average walk in that time was at the rate of 4 7-10 miles per hour.
Rowell’s regular food when on a six-days march is beefsteak, chops, bread, vegetables, tea and coffee; occasionally he takes a little pudding and cheese. Guyon feeds on beef tea, chops, potatoes, toast, tea and coffee, but no stimulants. Weston, beef tea, custard, lime water and tea, beefsteak and no stimulants. Ennis, oatmeal, beef tea, rare beef and oysters. Hazael, chops, steaks, crackers, toast and lemon soda. Merritt feeds on jellies, fruits, beef, mutton and vegetables, with tea and coffee. Hart eats chops, chopped eggs, toast, corn bread, tea and coffee.
TRAINING FOR BASEBALL.
It is well known that an athlete desirous of excelling in any special sport or game must be trained only to the extent to suit the requirements of the sport he desires to become an expert in. To train young men in a gymnasium alike for rowing, running or for field work in baseball, cricket or lacrosse, putting them through the same routine of exercises, is simply to unnecessarily overwork them for one particular sport, and to give them insufficient exercise for another. Of course, to a certain extent, all kinds of gymnastic exercises, if moderately engaged in, tend to develop a healthful physique, if gone through with under the rules of an intelligent system; but the indiscriminate way in which baseball players enter a gymnasium and go through with what they call their training is ofttimes worse than useless work in preparing them to sustain the fatigue incident to their game. What is necessary for a baseball player in gymnastic exercise is to take only that exercise which makes him agile and quick of movement, and which trains the eye to judge the ball, or the arms and chest to wield the bat, or the legs to run the bases. Lifting heavy weights or exercise which is calculated to develop strength for such purposes is useless. Swinging clubs, if carried to excess; jumping is unnecessary; work on the parallel bars, the trapeze, etc., is needless. In fact, a ball player can find far better training for quick movements, gaining keen sightedness and endurance in a handball or racket court than is possible in a gymnasium. Exercise in short-distance running is good, and all exercises which tend to strengthen the muscles of the ankles—such as skating, for instance—help to train a ball player. But what is particularly required in the system of training for professional ball players is that very activity which handball yields. This game strengthens the hands, trains the sight, and especially gives a player endurance in the very fatigue he has to undergo on the ballfield. A skillful handball player, when he be comes accustomed to baseball field work, will always excel in picking up hard-hit ground balls.
L. E. MEYERS,
The Renowned American Runner.
