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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1956-08-16, Page 7The Day Chevalier Fat Carpentier When Georges Carpentier, fa- mous French boxer, was ten he fought a big school bully of thir- teen and was getting the best of it when his opponent's three pals joined M. Georges was fighting on fiercely against these over- ' whelming odds when a man came up and, dragged him away, de- manding: "What do you kids think you're up to? Do you want to kill the boy?" He asked Georges' his name, then said: "My name's Descamps. I run the gymnastic club at the Maison d-1 People. The lads meet twice a. week, Tuesdays and Fridays. Why don't you come along? I'll teach you something better than fighting in the street." That proved to be the most fateful meeting of Carpentier's life. For he duly went to the club at Lens, near the small mining town in N. France where he was born, and Descamps be- came his manager and friend throughout his career.The finger of destiny was already pointing the way. At Lievin,e George's father drove a horse and cart for a fac- tory and in Lens became a brew- ery maltster. One of a large fa- mily, Georges says of his child- hood: "We drank beer at all meals, a sort of very light pale ale. I was actually weaned on this light beer ... when the time came for me to go on from milk this beer was put into a feeding bottle—and I thrived on it. At school he soon won a repu- tation as a scrapper against older bullies who thought he was easy game, but quickly found that height, weight and brute strength weren't -everything; speed and accuracy were much more im- portant. After a time, Georges no longer waited to be attacked; picking a lad of suitable size, he challenged hien, and only rarely came off second best. Twice a week for two years he attended "Professor" Des - camps' gym classes and learned French and English boxing. 'When a -German circus came to Lens one of the acrobats told Descamps that in the troupe was an Algerian boy, Ali, good at English -style boxing. "Is he?" said Descamps. "Well, I've got a boy here who's not bad at all." A fight was fixed which lasted only ten seconds. Ali went down for the count from a series of quick jabs to the fade from -Georges. A few days later Descamps said: "You like boxing, don't you?" He was sure he could make a champion of the lad, and soon promoted -him to his adult class, where he became best pu- pil. On leaving school, Georges worked as riveter's mate at a boiler -maker's; lawyer's messen- ger boy; then as a collector for an insurance company. He wasn't quite thirteen when Descamps put him down for a regional tournament in Bethune against a well-built young cor- poral about twice his. weight. "I was more skilful than he was and very much quicker,"• he says in a vivid autobiography, "Car- pentier by Himself," translated by Edward Fitzgerald. "Before long I found I could land when- ever and wherever I liked. Two sr three times he lost his bal- ance trying to avoid my attacks and measured his length on the boards." It was so much a case of lit- tle David flooring Goliath that the audience began to laugh, and• after his victory a crowd of well-wishers wanted to know his age. Hating to give it, he re- plied: "Three years old next Christmas," Three months later, Descamps entered him for the French ama- teur boxing championship to be held in Paris. He couldn't afford the fare, so booked only to Arras, then spent the rest of the jour- ney dodging out at stops, jump- ing in again when he saw where the inspector was, and at the Gare du. Nord slipping out with a crowd of passengers. He reached the semi-final, but was defeated by an older lad who 'floored him with a painful swing to the face. "It made me realize," he says, "that if I were ever going to turn boxing into a profession I should have to find ways and means to avoid taking blows of that sort." For a time Descamps and some of his best pupils — including Carpentier — toured villages and small towns giving boxing exhibitio: If there was no hall they did gymnastic tricks in cafes, balancing on chairs and tables, then passed the hat. Later, they supplemented this with spoof thought -reading. As this racket brought in a lot of money, Descamps proposed that Georges give up his insur- ance work for full-time boxing. They made an agreement that was neversigned or witnessed and never disputed by either throughout Carpentier's whole career. Only once were its terms • changed when Descamps sug- gested, after Georges' victory over Jim Sullivan, that his share should henceforth be only twenty instead of thirty per cent. - Georges was assisting at Des - camps' boxing lessons at the ° Lille Sporting Club when a client who happened to be pass= ing through came in for a little practice. "He's not very old, is he?" he said when Descamps presented Georges. "You'll find he'll do," said Descamps.. "He can use his hands." It was Mau- rice Chevalier, the famous comedian, who was fond of box- ing. Later they became fart friends. At fourteen Georges got his great chance when' Salmon, a young English stable lad, chal- lenged all comers at his own weight 130 pounds, and Georges went into strict train- ing, fought him, and won on a foul in the third round after flooring him with a left hook to the chin in the second round for a five seconds' count. In a return match a month later Georges was dragged out of the ring in the eighteenth round, ex- hausted but unwilling to give up. Soon after this he went to Paris for good, and was well launched on his professional career. At fifteen, in 1909, he was champion of the North and the Pas de Calais, lightweight cham- pion of France. In 1911 he won by a knock -out seventeen of nineteen bouts, including the first European title, in London. The story of his great victories over Bombardier Billy Wells, Gunboat Smith, Joe Beckett and more than a dozen others, and his epic defeat by Jack Demp- sey, makes thrilling reading. No'w he runs a celebrated bar in Paris, and in retirement has some challenging things to say about present-day boxing and boxers. He was married three months ago, atthe age of sixty- two, to a pretty blonde fashion model. IN THE DOGHOUSE—Canadian• soldiers at Camp Gagetown, New Brunswick, have developed a novel punishment for men in - Volved in traffic mishaps and other minor misdeeds. Penalty Il► a spell in the doghouse; built especially for the purpose. Above 5/Sgt, Bob •Weatherill, from Coldwater, Ontario, tests the struc- ture, with •condolences being offered Joy Sgt. John Sawchuck, of Barrie, Ontario. MEET MISS UNIVERSE—Caro[ Morris, 20, daughter of a minister, Is this year's. Miss Universe, chosen in competition with beauties from all over the world. Hermit Borrowed Goat's Whiskers Ever feel you want to be alone — to get away from it all? That sudden yearning for soli- tude comes to most people sometimes — it's only natural. But most people do nothing about it. An outstanding exception is a Midlands factory worker. He wants so much to be alone that SHALL WE DANCE? — The waltz- ing Sam without his Matilda, above, is D. V. J. Anthony of London, England. Anthony end- ed up in this dancing pose after throwing the hammer at a track meet in the British capital. His dancing may be awkward, but he hammered his way into se- cond place with a 186 -foot, 10 - inch toss. he told the world about it in an advertisement. Describing himself as "Gent., 42, seeking solitude," he appeal- ed for a lonely job in a remote or inaccessible part of the coun- try. Said he: "I want time and solitude in which to think. I want to get away from ' it all and I'm free to do it. I'm single and have no ties." If he'd been living in the days when wealthy people employed hermits as ornaments at their pleasure grounds, this Midland- er would have quickly landed himself an ideal job with noth- ing to do but think. A very rich 'duke, for in- stance, advertised 150 years ago for a professional hermit to live in the lonely grounds of his Kent mansion. He stipulated that the hermit must live for seven years in the isolated her- mitage, without talking to any- body. The man he engaged agreed never to cut his hair, beard or nails. He was to wear a single robe of coarse material, and the only furniture in his her- mitage was a . mat to sleep on, a hassock, and an hour -glass. The whimsical duke hoped the hermit would impress the •friends who occasionally wan- dered over his estate. He told him' "Fulfil these conditions and I'll feed you well and give you a bonus of $1050 when the sev- en years are up," The man tired of his strange "job" in less than a month, gave • it up and went and had a shave that kept a barber busy for nearly two hours. He said the silence had bored him. Another paid hermit employ- ed by an English nobleman car- ried on for fourteen years. He had to be "on duty," showing himself off to visitors, complete with beard, during the daytime. At night he was given comfort- able quarters. When he left, it was found that he had never actually grown beard; he wore one that originally belonged -to an old billy -goat. Less than fifty years ago, a hotelkeeper employed an old sailor as a professional hermit to attract visitors to a hotel in Vermont. In the grounds was a little valley known as "The Devil's Glen," with a cave where hundreds of people came to see him during the summer. He was well paid. But one day two doubting boys decided to "test him" with a prod from a woman's hat- pin. The result was startling. The "hermit" leapt from the cave, girded up his robe and, shout- ing threats, chased the e boys to the door of the hotel. Because he wanted to be alone and hated 'paying taxes, a shep- erd in an isolated part of south- ern Italy set up some time ago on an "autonomous republic" of • his own on six acres of land he owned. He annuoncecd that if the government wanted to comuni- cate . with him they must send an ambassador. Instead, the government sent three police- men with an ultimatum and the shepherd's bid for privacy and freedom from taxes failed. One of the loneliest jobs in the world to -day is that of Mrs. Juanita Westbrok, of Negley, Texas, a forest firespotter who guards 58,000 acres in north- eastern Texas by keeping vigil at the top of a look -out tower. Every day she climbs the tower's 126 steps to look for signs of fires. But she says she is quite happy and never lonely. 4 Rest before starting out on a long trip, don't try to drive too far in a day, stop for regular coffee -breaks on the highway, CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING AGENTS WANTED PERSONAL GO INTO BUSINESS for yourself. Sell exclusive huuseware products and appliances wanted by every house- holder, These items are not sold in stores. There is no competition. Profit up to 500%. Write immediately for free .color catalog with retail prices shown. Separate confidential whole. ;sale price will be included. Murray Sales, 3822 St, Lawrence, Montreal. ARTICLES' FOR SALE NEED a new roof? 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How can Y remove stains from white enamel furniture? A. By adding a small piece of potash to a kettle of clear wa- ter, letting it stand for a few minutes, and then washing the furniture with this solution and soap. Q. How can I re -use used paraffin? A. By heating it to the boiling point and straining through three thicknesses of cheese cloth over a funnel. Repeat this operation if necessary. It can be cleaned with a brush and warm water if not too dirty. ISSUE 33 — 1956 Si d6 of Insect Bites— Neat Rasil ites//eatRasil Quick) Stop Itching of insect bites, heat rash eczema, hives, pimples, scales, scabies, athlete'' foot and other externally caused skin troubles Use quick -acting, soothing, antiseptic D. D. D, PRESCRIPTION. Greaseless, stainless. Itci stops or your money back. Your draggle( stocks D. D. D. 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