New Britain Herald Newspaper, July 21, 1915, Page 9

Photos by American Press Assoclation. Upper illustration shows great lung carrying capacity of Elionsky, one un- derneath shows him close to finish of thirty mile swim, with hands and feet shackled. One in center shows a section of Niagara falls, where he “may attempt hazardous swim. 'Lower center, Elionsky street clothes. On right, Elionsky shackled, hands and feet. One on extre right shows /his 'great chest d ment. One on Idwer right shows Elionsky being taken out of water after his Hell Gate swim. F ‘Henry Elionsky, the New York siaquatic marvel, carries through the program he has mapped out .+ for himself for the present sea- 8on _he will smash into atoms every swimming record from five to 100 4 miles. 'Ellonsky is a glutton for rec- .- ords, and he now holds quite some of ., them. § He has performed some marvelous feats of daring and endurance in the watér; in fact, he is bored to death if a8 swim does not carry with it an ele- ment 6f chance. Before enumerating the various stunts included in “Ell's” program a word. in passing about some of the feats which he has already ‘accom- plighed. He has swum on various occasions .ten' to thirty miles with hands and[ feet shackled and several times he| #dded to this handicap by carrying passengers on his back or by hauling boats with from ten to twenty-five passengers. His most remarkable feat of endurance he performed at Palm Beach, Fla., last summ when he ¥ i WHAT HENRY ELIONSKY INTENDS TO DO Steeplechas . er, Coney lIsland, to| Albany to New York city, Battery, 119 miles, i Niagara rapids, the most hazardous feat ever attempted by a swimmer and one which has already caused the death of a half dozen or more who have tried it. From Bay Ridge to Stesplech park, a distance of five miles, in Might A with hands and feet +, shackled and carrying two men on back. Ten miles, shackled, towing boat containing twenty-five men. ~“Charleston bridge to Boston light, ¥ shackled. Forty miles, shackled. Golfer Hagen a Man of OM M'NAMARA, the professional, . says that “Walter Hagen has a tre- us advantage over the majority of golt It is a well known fact that Hagen is one of the strongest men physically playing the game of golf. He has a grip of iron, and the'grips he has on the end of his clubs are very coarse, It is well nigh impossible for his clube to slip in his hands, so that where most of us are worried Hagen is 7ias & lark. When one begins to. 1 trouble it is pretty sure ¥ to come. Then, again, the fact cannot overlookéd that under ordinary con- . ditions Hagen {s a great golfer, but * give him a drenching rain in a tour- nament game and it's dollars to dough- nuts that the former champion. will land the big end of the coin. “You might wonder why the other professionals do not use the club grips that Hagen does, but an ordinary mor- “ytal’'s hands would %e torn and cut to such an extent after trying them that he would be compelled to give up the €ame to have fils hands treated, and the consequent inactivity would fall heavily on the finances of the profes- sional. I know what I am talking ebout because I have tried the grips that Hagen has on his clubs, and I dropped them quickly for the afore- mengioned reasons. “Let me cite an instance of Hagen's great strength of arms. Not long ago “Tommy Kerrigan and myseif grabbed Hagen's right forgarm while he was seated in a chair, the two of us using both ‘hands and putting on all the pressure. we possibly could. . 1s one of the strongest little in Boston, but without rising chalr Hagen threw us off as ‘we were a couple of fiies, and e. process of ‘breaking our grips on ¥ nearly sent me out of 3 ow, which was a couple 4 the ground. nd of bird thls gent last a long time in says that E. K. McCar- . wmel "y g Photo by American Press Assoclation. WALTER HAGEN. Florida Country club is an- | hits a mighty long ball, but he has y the command of his nothing like h"n mtu:pmy | strokes that Hagen has. MeCarthy, 18 a teacher of physicall ;EVERAL VIEWS .OE HENRY ELIONSKY hauied a sea dory containing nine men and carried two more on his back, with his hands and feet shackled, five miles through a heavy sea in the re- markable time of two hours and fifty minutes. At another time he tiated thirty miles, shackled, hours and twenty minutes. He has taken part in scores of races, and while he has not won any great number of these events, still he has never been forced to quit and has never trailed far behind. This season he will not take part in any races except against time and will pay most of his attention to exhibi- tion swims, mainly of the freak: va- riety. Following is a list of the swims he has on. his schedule for the present season: Steeplechase pier, Coney Island, N. Y. to Battery, N. Y. shackled, a dis- tance of about fifteen miles, all of it through treacherous water. Two ten mile swims, shackled. in ten In culture as well as being a professional golfer. He was chief/gunner on the U. 8. 8. Brooklyn in the Spanish- American’ war, and one of the first shots that were fired into the Spanish fleet in Santiago bay McCarthy directed and had the satisfaction of seeing the ship soon sink. HOW THE WAR HITS POLO. \HE effect of the war on polp in Eng- land is described in an article pub- lished in a resent issue of the Field and English Sportsman. The paper says: “Polo is the recreation that suffers most from the war. The military element is strong in polo circles, and every officer is now on duty somewhere or other, with other things to occupy his atten- tion than polo stick and ball. “That the game is an excellent one for the cavalry officers, in that it aids them to become good horsemen and ac- quire the dash necessary for a leader of mounted men, has been made appar- ent by the course of the war. The nantes of many expert players have ap- jpeared in the casualty lists, and most of the polo players fit for service are with the colors.” This means that little polo will be played this sedson, although efforts are being made to keep grounds open for the benefit of officers in training. At these few matches. wounded soldiers will have all the privilege of club mem- bers. MAN WITH LEGS CRIPPLED TAKES FIVE MILE SWIM. DVICES from Sydney tell of a notable swimming performance achieved by E. Friedlander of Kalgoor- lie in winning the fourth annual swim through Perth, a distance of five miles. Friedlander, who was third in the 1913 race, is in business at Kalgoorlie and uses crutches, his legs being useless owing to some physical weakness. To win under such circumstances, not- withstanding that he has massive arms and shoulders, is an undoubted triumph. Handicapped at 22 minutes, he did the trip in 2 hours 8 minutes 30 seconds, which is 28 minutes 30 seconds better than the time of last year's winner. He beat the stratch man, W. Reed, by one- half minute. Reed made the fastest time, 1 hour 47 minutes. This is a rec- ord for the race. ) ) nego- | s e, « ,0n DA = one of these swims Elionsky will carry| two ‘men on his back, and in the other‘ | he will tow a boat containing twenty- | | ive men. From these two events it| would appear as if the big blond thatch ed “amphibian” is jealous of the little | tugboats. Another event of the same character | on his list is a swim through Hell| Gate, the most treacherous stretch of water around New York because of| tides and rocks which abound there. On this swim Henry will have the free use of his arms and legs, but he will reed them, for he will have handicap | enough in three men, who will be se-| curely strapped to his back. Two other swims that will put his endurance to severe tests will be a forty mile swim, shackled, and a swim from Charlestown to Boston light, also shackled. The latter swim {s about the shortest on his program, but it is far from being the easiest. Cross cur- rents and tides will make this swim | far from being a cinch. THAT shortstop is the most difficult of the seven fielding positions to play is the opinion of all good judges among baseball men. The shortfielder | has as many chances as the second baseman, and they are usually much more difficult. While the guardian of the second sack has oceans of time in which to make bhis play to first base the short fielder, on account of the much longer throw, must make his plays as clean as a whistle. Plays to his right are exceptionally difficult. He has to cover a world of ground, and he must follow up most of his stops by a long and accurate { throw. He must do his share of touch- Ing runners at second base. In many cases, as {n that of Manager Herzog of the Reds, who is the best shortstop in the National league today, he does practically all of the covering of sec- ond base on thrown balls to prevent stealing. While all' are agreed that shortstop is the most difficult place to play in the infield there is not so much unanim- ity about the easiest place to play, opinion being divided between third and second base. The preponderance, however, is in favor of third base, where chances are less numerous and where, there are only one or two difi- cult situations that can arise. The third baseman’s throw is not considered as difficnlt as that of the shortstop. He plays rather close in, as a rule, gets the ball quickly and has more time to get it away. The third base- man has a hard time when there is a man on second base, with a batter up who can either hit or bunt. The fielder then does not know just what is coming off. If he plays back the batter may lay down a bunt and beat it out, while if he plays too close up on the grass a clever hitter is likely to slip one past him for a clean hit. But, taking it all in all, the third base play is more mechanical than that at second and the number of chances to be taken {s vastly less. Of the four in- fleld positions it seems to be the least difficuit to cover, provided a man has the arm and the mechanical ability, . 1 Later he ‘will swim from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to Steeplechase park, Coney island, a distance of five miles, in a straitjacket and with fifteen feet of chain on his legs. In this event Elion- sky will be forced to depend solely on his feet to make the swim. His lungs will also be put to a severe test, for, with his hands tied and the chains on his legs, he will be under the wa- ter most of the time and cannot come up for a breathing spell only every thirty seconds—a task that would al- most tax the lungs of a whale. All of the above mentioned events Henry calls appetizers for the “pieces de resistance” of his program. These are a 119 mile swim, from Albany to, New York city, which will necessitate his staying in the water from twenty- eight to thirty-six hours and a swim through Niagara' rapids. The last named looks like foolhardi- ness. Several years ago Captain Mat- stance Swimming Re 131(H Elioneky would net hurt | | by backing out on this | contrary he will prove &I | sessed of good, old fas sense. Elionsky i= open to in the world in races five miles up to a hi course. Elionsky took wup three years ago, when he W years of age, to reduce time he weighed 320 at twenty-one, he welghs & sides reducing flesh, he a few swimming records to reduce a few more b It is not at all unlikely | time he reaches his t y: he will have lowered every tance record of any aoces eldes he will have set up & | freak variety which @ will™y many years. He will do no doubt, if he does mnot rapids swim. If he does nent of the greatest aguatic sport, tried that feat in a barrel and lost his life, and since then several others have tried it with, and without appliances, | will probably never reach but to date no one has succeeded. century mark. O WHAT HENRY ELIONSKY HAS DO From Battery to within one-half mile|any of the few who have of Coney Island, shackled. Time, 5 hands and feet fres. hours 20 minutes. | ttery to Swinburne Brooklyn brid. to Bay Ridge, shack- turn, shackled, Distance, led, towing seven men in a boat in T 10 hours 20 minutes. midwinter, Distance, seven miles.| Breakers to Gus' baths, Time, 3 hours 40 minute la., shackled, towing ni Battery to Swinburne led. Distance, fifteen m hours 20 minut Only one to finish swim Leng Isl- and sound. Time, 5 hours minutes. Battery to Fort Wadsworth, hands and legs free, with 200 pound man on back. Distance, ten miles. Time, 4| dory and twe men Time, 2 hours 50 mi from and Thirty-ninth Strest, city, to Swinburne island to One Hundred and Fifty and then | F land, shack- | s Time, 6 back. thew Webb, ther in his prime and econsidered the world's greatest expo- WEILMAN t Photo by American Press Association. 'Y COBB HARDEST MAN TO HIT | by fifteen miles. the weorld's long AWM pitchers that has been sistently defeat the clan this year. Out of the the Brown star has guite hie opponents. Although with a club that up in the race, he has 1. winner and to his effective Wi large measure St. Louls sition. He is as much of a youth a veteran. He went to club in 1912, when just jority. He showed mueh year, but had trouble in trol. In 1913 Weilman form, and last year of the leading left hand American league. v frl Wellman has a claim to ing the longest pitcher in National or American celled by only one, Cy big league company. under six feet seven ine His success this year is dus ity in overcoming his wildness, and he will have & ‘be proud of when the season & 10 8 A SHUTDOWN ON SALARIES. PLAYERB who are drawing salaries must deliver. tually the edict of organized W and the chances are that it the effect of awakening a 1ot letes who, thinking that thelr are assured for a number have been taking things dec thereby injuring the Eame earning their pay. It 18 now up to these p a move on or drastic taken which will virtu careers. The troubl t under existing con tions e players are gel At owners very make & 8 S, grade article increased and the o to pay the players as per hich In many instances .l Thapossibie for the renson that the s, and Ty ought to know |Browns, is the hardest man to hit in|ers are not delivering as they as well as any one, that Carl Weil- {the American league today. Wellman, |and as a result the attendance man, the long twirler of the St. Louls [who is a youngster, i§ one of the few !fered.