'The aggressive rationalist goes bout smashing mirrors, walking under Indders, throwing his lat on beds, putting' up hig umbrella indoors, lighting three cigarettes with one match, starting enterprises on Fridays and thirteenths—and feeling slightly uncomfortable about it {in spite of the reassurance of his intelligence—but when it comes to something really serious, like naming one of his children or picking a winner vu the track, an atavistic wave sweeps.over him and the name suddenly assumes importance that is by no means wholly dependent upon' euphony or sentiment. Our ancestors gave their children the names of heroes in the hope that they would live up to the name and enjoy the patron of the mighty dead, A distinguish! fed forebear was chosen when there was one. This is by no means uncommon now. In the lower ranks of pugilism it is quite the common thing for youthful aspirants to assume the name of some great hero of the ving, living or dead, and to call themselves Young Sullivan, or Young Corbett, or Young Willard Apart from the motive of adver ing and apart again from the motive impressing antagonists, there can be no little doubt that the youngster hopes to be inspired to groat things by the name and con-Siders it as a charm or a talisman. 'When we remember that the really great fighters in the modern ring have always retained their own nonics, it looks' as though the Ind with a nomme de guerre was not altogether sure of his own prowess and wanted the encouragement of 'a great name to help him reach heights which he was not confident that be could climb otherwise. Sulliven, Kilraine, Sharkey, Corbett, Fitzsimmons, Jeffries, Willard and Dempsey have all been invoked by rising warriors from featherweights up to boost their courage and put weight into their punches. Duskier fighters in classes B, C, Drand E have drawn inspiration' from the names of Peler Jackson.and Jack Johnson.
An Interesting Message Patting aside the mystic influence which names may have upon' careers, This fist of American boxers world renown does convey an in-world, It shows that for.35-years and more no white pugilist has made a lasting impression upon the pub-Hic—not fight followers. alone, but the general public—whose forefathers have not come originally from the British Isles. This is not for lack of opportunity. America the champir is of every nation have entered the ring and fare still entering it. Some of them are very good, some come every near reaching the Olympic height of the championship, but up to the present no one of them has ever quite done it. In picking a champion boxer the name seems important rather as an-indication of breed than as a talisman: The list given would appear to indicate that a boxer who does not come originally from Great Britain doesn't possess that combination of brawn, brain and stamina which is essential to true greatness in the ring. Of these names two are obviously. Irish, one is English or Anglo-Danish and one, Sharkey, is hard to place though it suggests an Anglo-Danish origin also, The other four are Anglo-Norman. In America the Irish have always been ardent patrons of the art of fistic cuffs and like to lay claim to every promising boxer who emerges from obscurity. They have produced many powerful and gritty fighters during the last generation, but if they want to claim any champion since John L. Sullivan, they will get into serious difficulties with the genwologist. Let us take the names as they come.
Sullivan and Kilrain are obviously Irish, The great John L. is one of the Irish clan of Hua Suilleabhain, or O'Sullivan, The writer is no Erse scholar so will not attempt to analyze the names of either Sullivan or Kilrain, though on the surface the latter looks as though it mi mean "Queen's Church" or "Queen's Servant," The name Sharkey the writer abandons to the learned, Tt isn't Trish or Gaelic in composition, Dut looks like an Anglo-Danish place name, The "Isle of the Shirt, Sarkey. would give us just this name in modern English, for instance, but this is a shot in the dark of course.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.