Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1958-01-09, Page 7Jockey's 'Reward— Glass Of Sherry There was even more excite- ment than usualas the big field lined, up for the start of the Cambridgeshire. For everyone irk the betting world knew that the greatest gambler of all time, Charlie Hannam, was in deep 'slater and had chosen the big handicap as his last despair- ing "get - me - out - of - trouble" ' wager. • He owed the ring $180,000. And he had plunged d'@sperately on Gordon Richards' mount, Dorraha, to win him $200,000, As they streaked up the straight, three horses forged to the front, flashing past the post together. Domaha was one of them, and with no photo -finish in those days, 1938, a good many punters thought Gordon's mount had won. But the judge placed him third ;and gave the race to Helleniqua. Hannam was finished. _. He vanished from the racing world forever after a battle with the bookies that had lasted 40 years, ever since, as a humble book- maker himself, he suddenly realized that his lightning -quick brain could majce him more money backing horses. His yearly betting turnover was more than $10,000,000. Some - tithes, for weeks on end, he would gamble $5,000 on every race. "There's no such thing as luck in steady betting so long es a man can judge which race will give him a chance and can calculate correctly the odds against him," he said. "Yet Hannam's gambling was not confined to racing," says Meyrick Good in "The Lure of the Turf", a well illustrated and fascinating book covering over 0 years of racing activity, "He loved a game of billiards and thought nothing of backing him- self for $1,500 or $3,000, The more at stake the better he would play. There was one oc- casion when he lost $50,000 on a game of darts in a Liverpool hotel." Meyrick Good nominates the late Joe Owers, of Sutton, as the most astute gambling char- acter he ever met. He had to torr•ow $500 to get to Monte Carlo for the first time. But after that he went there year after year and never brought back less than $30,000 with hint. He, too, had a wonderful brain for figures and he soon dis- covered a secret that made him thousands. He noticed that the croupier in Trente et Quarante always showed the last card, after cutting them, before plac- ing it back in the pack. Owers never wagered until the turned up card had been dealt. Then he memorized the rest of the pack and placed his bets accordingly. Unwisely, after a few drinks, he disclosed his secret to a party of Greeks who formed a syndi- cate and reaped a rich harvest until the Casino officials dis- covered the flaw. After that the cut card ceased• to be shown. Once Owers was "caught" for 000 by a man. He got his own back, however. He bet him the same sum that he could esti- mate more accurately than the other the weight of a huge sal- mon that waslaid out in their hotel for supper. He won getting the weight right to within a pound — which was hardly surprising since he had already got the chef to put the fish on the scales for him! Though not much good at golf, he could never resist gambling — and usually losing — thou- sands of dollars at the game. His most freakish match was when he contracted to drink a whisky at every tee. It's reported that he' reached the fourteenth green, where he had driven his ball into a banker. He went in after it and stayed there! "When a jockey wins the Der- by he looks for a present of at least $3,000 or ten per cent of the stakes," says Meyrick Good. Then he cites the case of poor W. Bullock, who won the Turf's Blue Riband, and the Oaks as well, on Signorinetta, in 1908, for the Chevalier Ginistrelli, All he received from' the grateful owner was a glass of sherry! On the subject of the Epsom classic, the author recalls how St Arrant won in a raging thun- derstorm, with lightning flashing over the famous Downs. The colt, owned by Mr. Leopold de Rothschild, got away like a bul- let and never faltered until the post was reached. Most people thought he had won because he was scared out of his wits by the storm. But his trainer, Alfred Hayhoe, could have refuted that `theory. In order that his horse would not be put off by the storm, he'd taken the precaution before the "off" of stuffing its ears with cotton wool! His greatest thrill, says Mer- rick Good, during a career on the Turf lasting sixty years, was when he was asked by the late Lord Derby, in 1921, to go to his private box at Ashtree and "call" the race for a distinguished guest: King George V. The ex- periment was such a success he was asked to repeat it three more times. When Master Robert won, in 1924, the King, who had backed the winner, shook Mr. Good warmly by the hand and told him how much the race had thrilled him, 'King George Liked to have an occasioal wager of five or ten pounds," he says. And he adds: "His Majesty believed in moderation in all things, es- pecially in smoking. "Just after Master Robert had passed the winning post, the Ting took out a gold cigarette case ... I thought he was going to ask me to smoke, but instead he took a cigarette from the case and broke it in half. One half he put in his holder, the other he put back carefully into his case. And I didn't . get my cigarette after all." Meyrick Good, who has seen fifty-eight Derbys, tells in his book many such lively stories of the leading Turf personalities he has known. TRANSPLANTED? — Strongly re- sembling the Eiffel Tower, this new TV station in Tokyo, Ja- pan, shown here In artist's sketch, will be the second high- est structure in the world when It is completed in December, 1958. It will rise 1,982 feet, almost 100 feet taller than the Paris landmark and second only to New York's Empire S t a to Building, 1,472 feet high. GIMCRACK, a great race horse in 18th century Britain, was portrayed for posterity zby George Stubbs. It is one of more than a .dozen pictures -in the Georgian show which 'will interest horse breeders and livestock men. The exhibition of 18th century British painting includes 86 masterpieces and is at. the Art Gallery of Toronto January 11 to February 16. TOUGH TO BEAT—Wilt (The Silt) Chamberlain, seven -foot Phila- delphian, makes Kansas basketball fans happy by outleaping two Northwestern University players to grab off a rebound. THE END—Grimly humorous is location of this "Dead End" sign on a street beside a cemetery. Indeed, for some it will be "the last stp". Killer Now A Champion Scholar Nat Leopold and Dicic Loeb were the sons of Chicago mil- lionaires. They had everything: vast wealth, good looks, brains, charm. There were no follies marked up against them by the begin- ning of May, 1924. On the con- trary,they were both under- graduates with fine scholastic records. Then one May morning a car aped through the city and out into the countryside. Smiling Nat and gay Dick were taking fourteen -year-old Bobby Franks for a nice drive. Or so the boy believed-Cflat- tered, no doubt, by the apparent friendship of these two older youths. But at eighteen Nat Leopold and Dick Loeb were already satiated with the good things of life. They lacked, they told one another, the final, the ultimate,thrill; the committing of a per- fect crime. - `The smiling, happy fourteen - year -old was their chosen vic- tim. They stopped the car at a lonely spot, battered little Bob- by Franks' head in and thrust his body into a culvert. Then the killers experienced a violent reaction. Not from pity or regret—but fear of the consequences. W8§ this "the perfect mur- der"? Doubt seized them. They panicked. They made all the mistakes of amateurs in crime. The boy's body was found. The chisel which inflicted the fatal blows was found. The perpe- trators of the murder were traced and arrested. Court photographs taken dur- ing the early hearing of their trial show two handsome, im- maculately -dressed youths seat- ed on either side of a sad -faced counsel, Clarence Darrow, the most famous barrister of his day. - Both youths are grinning broadly. The good fairy who had been so lavish with gifts at their birth had apparently omitted to giveeitherof them any sense of decency or justice. Chicago demanded death for both killers. The whole of the United States endorsed that demand. For a crime so heinous only, the electric chair was suf- ficient penalty. The vast wealth of the Leop- old and Loeb families was mobilized for the defence. But „-there was no defence, advised Clarence Darrow. Both must' plead guilty if he was to han- dle the case. The last chance was to be his plea in mitigation. Darrow defended many mur- derers, and made some of the greatest defence speeches in the annals of the American Bar. This was his greatest triumph, for, in the face of siztling public fury against his clients, he saved them from the electric chair. •Each received instead ,a ninety- nine -year. sentence of imprison- ment. Richard Loeb is now dead. He was murdered in prison by fellow convicts in 1936. But Nathaniel Leopold is still living. He is now fifty-two years old. To -day, the .gilded' youth of •1924 is a grave -faced scholar. He . is short and. stocky. The dark hair is receding from his brow, 'his eyes are black, large and luminous. - But over the regular features of the once handsome youth there', broods an expression of abiding sad- ness: During his great speech in mitigation at the trial, Clarence Darrow claimed that both men would be fit for parole at fifty. By then, he told the judge and jury, both would have become, as it were, new men, no longer a danger to society, redeemed by long years of punishment and the self -searching of their own hearts. Has it gone like that with Nathan Leopold? Recently he applied for parole, and this is what he said: "I can look into my own heart and soul and know positively that I could and would become a useful, de- cent, law-abiding citizen. . How to prove' that to others is another matter." It is improbable :hat Nathan Leopold will ever be given the opportunity to prove his worth as a free man. But he has al- ready proved his worth as a man while still serving his sen- tence in Illinois State Peniten- tiary, in Joliet. It is a record without parallel in prison history. What Nathan Leopold bas achieved in thirty-three years as a prisoner it is given to few men to achieve in a long life- time of freedom. He has made himself one of the greatest all- round scholars in the world. He knows thoroughly no few- er than twenty-eight languages, including that ancient Greek in which;. as an undergraduate be- fore the crime, he shone above his class. Useless knowledge in his posi- tion, you protest? Not at all... With the sanction of the gov- ernor Leopold set up as prison schoolmaster. Among the pri- soners serving long sentences for every kind of major crime there are many clever men and some brilliant ones. Leopold offered a course first of all in ancient Greek, • and rapidly his class -room filled with enthusiastic students. One idea led to another. There were other men of learn- ing who also helped by teach- ing. But why courses only for men "inside"? Leopold explain- ed a new idea to the governor. That was in 1933, when Leop- old had been in prison for nine years. The first prison -run cor- respondence school ever was the outcome. It succeeded from the first, led by Leopold and staff- ed by graduate prisoners as teachers. Strangely enough, examina- tion results showed a . higher score for prisoner studeras than for students working as free men. Soon a "pass" from Leop- old's Joliet Correspondence School counted for' higher edu- cational purposes. Some univer- sities even accepted it. You might think that enough for one man doing a life stretch. But it is only part of the Leop- old story. He worked for three and a half years as a laboratory as- sistant when the director of the lab. was seeking the cure for malaria, He mastered the tech- nicalities of that work. He also offeredhimself for, guinea-pig experiments. Shifted to the radiological laboratory Leopold studied that, science for fourteen years and became a self-made radiologist expert. Assigned to reorganize the prison library after a f ire, this astonishing man did the job so thoroughly that he was made; custodian of the books. It is probably true to say that Leopold has worked out his: own redemption; . that to -day, at CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING AGENTS WANTED GO INTO BUSINESS for yourself. Sell our exclusive house. wares, watches and other products not found in stores. No competition. Profits up to 500% Write now for free colours catalogue and separate confidential wholesale price sheet. Murray Sales, 3822 St, Lawrence, Montreal, ARTICLES FOR SALE SPARK-O-MATIC LIFETIME Power Spark Plugs are guaranteed to start your car in the cold weather. Save gas, gain horsepower, faster pickup, six electrodes,. only $1.69 each. Shipped C.O.D. Satisfaction or full re- fund. January orders receive FREE set of lifetime points. LANG BROS. — Box 25 E., Avonmore, Ontario DETECTIVES. DETECTIVES earn big money. Experi- ence unnecessary. Detective particulars Free. Write WAGONER, 125 West 86th, N.Y.' FOR SALE FLORIDA Lots for Sale! $40 each, $5 down. High and dry Pensacola -Gulf area. Free Brochure. Orange Proper_ ties, 2146 Ponce De Leon, Coral Gables, Florida. FARM FOR SALE INSUL brick seven rooms, Hydro, lots water, three barns, fifty acres, eight miles west Starthroy on Highway. M. Gough, Strathroy, R.R. 3, Ontario, HELP WANTED BETTER JOBS await young men as Telegraphers, Ass't Agents. Union pay, Pension. Train at home with Self -Teach. Ing machine. We secure Positions. SPEEDHAND ABC Shorthand recog• rifted by Dept. of Education, trains for Stenographer In 10 weeks at home. Big demand. Freefolder either course. CASSAN SYSTEMS 7 Superior, Toronto. fifty-two, his crime has for him the aspects of horror and rev- ulsion it had for the whole world in 1924. Recently, a Jewish author published a novel in which this terrible story is but thinly veil- ed, under the title ."Compul- sion." Leopold wishes he had , not done so; for, just when he is working to bring about his parole the now nearly -forgotten horror story is revived. "If I obtain a parole," he says, wistfully, "I have an offer to work with a church organiza- tion in Puerto Rico.. My de- sire is to devote the rest of my life to others as further expia- tion for my crime." This amazing man recently finished his autobiography. Of it he says: "My book describes my activities, lady thoughts and my feelings about the world, the prison and my- self." That book should be worth reading. NOT ACQUAINTED "This is obviously genuine Queen Anne," said the furniture dealer. "Just look at the legs." "What's the good of doing that?" retorted the sceptical cli- • ant. "I never knew Queen Anne." MERRY MENAGERIE -5 'Wouldn't they be more useful if we grew 'em straight down?" HELP WANTED SOUTHERN California needs skilled unskilled workers. Good pay, ideal' climate, Los Angeles, San Diego em- ployment lists $1,00 each. Housing con- ditions Included. - Calemployment, 844 Oaklawn,Chdla Vista 3, California.. INSTRUCTION EARN more! Bookkeeping, Salesman- ship, Shorthand, Typewriting, etiY,. Lessons 500. Ask for free Circular. d 33. Canadian Correspondence Courses 1290 Bay Street, Toronto MECHANICAL PARTS, REPAIRS MOTALOY RING AND VALVE JOB While you drive' for only $8.00, For cars — trucks — tractors, etc. Un- conditionally guaranteed. Effective for we of car. Motaloy saves you money. Motaloy Sales Co., 34 West Street, Goderlch, Ontario. Dealer inquiries invited. MEDICAL GOOD RESULTS — EVERY SUFFERER FROM RHEUMATIC PAINS OR NEURITIS SHOULD TRY DIXON'S REMEDY. MUNRO DRUG STORE 335 ELGIN, OTTAWA. $1.25 Express Collect POST'S ECZEMA SALVE BANISH the torment of dry eczema rashes and weeping skin troubles. Post's Eczema Salve will not disappoint you. Itching, scaling and burning ecze- ma; acne, ringworm, pimples and foot eczema will respond- readily to the stainless odorless ointment regardless of how stubborn or hopless they seem. Sent Post Free on Receipt of Price PRICE $3.00 PER JAR POST'S REMEDIES 2865 St. Clair Avenue East TORONTO OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEN AND WOMEN PART Time - selling, men and women, excellent product, very large profit. Box 3, Snowdon, Montreal. COMING TO FLORIDA? Send now for current wages, lob opportunities, living costs, $1.00. Florida Outlook, Box 66, Pompano Beach, Florida. BE A HAIRDRESSER JOIN CANADA'S LEADING SCHOOL Great Opportunity Learn Hairdressing Pleasant, dtgnied profession; good wages. Thousands of successful Marvel Graduates. America's Greatest System Illustrated Catalogue Free Write or Cali MARVEL HAIRDRESSING SCHOOLS 358 Bloom St. W., Toronto Branches: 44 King St. W., Hamilton 72 Rideau Street, Ottawa PATENTS PETHERSTONHAOGH & Company Patent Attorneys, Establlshed 1890. 800 University Ave., Toronto. Patents all countries. PERSONAL LOOK 1 THE BIBLE SAYS — - "PEOPLE perish, because lacking knowl- eddg�e,, Brow truel Thousands sick Or dying needlessly! Send postage, (Mine or dollar) for life-saving information, (genuine Christian service) describe youtrrnillness, Box 205. Canningtoe. *1.00 TRIAL offer. Twenty -Ave deluge personal requirements. Latest ca logue included. The Medico Agen , Bog 8.2, Terminel "Q" Toronto, Ont, SWINE TBARSAN Landrace, registered. two to AVe months sows and boars of unre- lated Nock. GEORGE TANNER, Walkerton Ontario. ISSUE 1 — 1958 SLEEP TO -NIGHT AND RELIEVE NERVOUSNESS MAW TO -MORROW! SEDICIN tablets taken according to directions Is a safe way to induce sleep or quiet the nerves when tense. ® $1.00-$4.95 SEDICIN Drug Sims oelyt WARNING TO EARTHMEN The American Association of Motor Vehicle, Administrators made a satellite -inspired plea for safe driving during the Christmas holidays. The Association propos- ed the foul safety maxirr.i, sketched above, in warning "earth- men propelling four -wheeled vehicles" that their cars have enough horsepower to "launch them on a career ?n the next world."