Foreword by Dwight
Would you spar with the Governor? The President of the United States? Well that is exactly what Professor Mike Donovan did in the late 1800s. He wrote a book about his experience in 1909, titled "The Roosevelt That I know". Mike Donovan was considered one of the best practitioners of the sweet science at the time. Besides this point, the picture above of Donovan punching the "teddy" part of Roosevelt is very amusing. Part one describes his first encounter with Governor Roosevelt with some jarring consequences. Enjoy!
(Corresponding Podcast)
The Roosevelt That I Know
All the world knows Theodore Roosevelt, the statesman; the man who turned the light on the corporate highwaymen. He has made the "Big Stick" respected. But the "Big Stick" must be guided by law not so the fist; wherever you see a head hit it is the fighting rule; a word and a blow, but the blow first- the reverse of legal practice.
In the following pages I propose to describe Theodore Roosevelt, the fighter, untrammeled by legal restriction; the lover of fistic encounter, as I know; the man of brawn and muscle, with a genuine fighting spirit and the courage of two ordinary men to sustain its promise. I intend further to describe his methods of attack and defense, and to note the analogy between the spirit he exhibits in boxing and that which has urged him on in those political encounters which have made him famous.
A succession of glove-fights with him, covering a period of more than ten years, in which we have met as man to man, where it was give and take, with no restrictions, gives me the right to speak authoritatively, and I wish to say here that, whether or not he was champion of his class in college, about which there has been some discussion in the press, it is admitted that he was an able fighting man then, ready to take his medicine and try again. I can say that he is the same man now- a man who asks no favors, cool in a fight, determined, aggressive, consumed with the purpose to overcome resistance, to win; a glutton for punishment, as the ring phrase goes. It is no exaggeration when I say that, in some mix-ups with him, I have been compelled to resort to all the arts and devices that have come to me from years of serious fighting, often to slug right and left to save myself.
I have noted his career in politics, seen him go for the mark there with the same pertinacity that he shows when boxing. Resistance, discomfiture, hard knocks in one domain as in the other server only to make him keener, to whet his appetite for the fray. Had he come to the prize-ring, instead of to the political arena, it is my conviction he would have been successful. The man is a born fighter; it's in his blood.
There are some who are easily diverted from their purpose, some who go impetuously forward with dash and spirit which will not be denied, but once the attack seems hopeless they hesitate and fly panic stricken in hopeless disorder. A few only remain; these, with conviction imbedded in their souls, cannot be stayed, even though they themselves would will it. They go tumultuously forward, even to the death.
Theodore Roosevelt is one of them. He reminds one of the biblical general who his men faint-hearted, wavering, at sight of the overpowering on-rush of Philistines, faced the tide undaunted, so firm was his purpose that he furiously laid about him till the last.
Even in death, the Bible tells us: "His sword clave to his hand" That is to say, the hilt of his sword was found to be imbedded in his palm, a sure indication that he never wavered from his purpose of attack. I have a vivid recollection of my first fistic encounter Theodore Roosevelt. The Governor left me in the old billiard room of the Executive Mansion at Albany, which he had fitted up as a gymnasium for his boys, in order that they might begin their physical education under his eye.
He then went downstairs to don his boxing clothes. In a few minutes he returned. It was the Governor of the State of New York who had left me. It was a fighting man who entered the room. He wore a sleeveless flannel shirt, his khaki rough rider uniform trousers and light canvas shoes without heels. First, I was struck by the expression of his eyes, which are large, light blue, placed well apart, aggressive, fearless, persistent. He is about 5 feet 8 inches in height, but his great breadth of shoulders and bulk of body make him seem shorter. His arms are short, but heavy and well-muscled. His head is that of the typical fighter. It is broad and symmetrical, poised on a powerful neck. A plumb line could be dropped from the back of his head to his waist. That formation shows not only the fighting spirit, but the physical vigor to sustain it. His short, thick body with its high, arched chest, is sturdily set on unusually strong, sinewy legs. I noticed he wore no belt, and told him he had better put one on.
He borrowed one from my brother Jerry. After pulling on his gloves he stepped forward on to the mat. Most men, on coming to box for the first time with a champion, present or retired, show some trepidation. There was none of that here. After we shook hands I studied him carefully. Then I led a left jab, following it up with a faint-hearted right that landed like a love-tap high up on his cheek. He dropped his hands and stopped. "Look here, Mike," he said indignantly; "that is not fair." I was afraid I had done something wrong. "What's the matter, Governor?" I asked. "You are not hitting me," he said, shaking his head. "I'd like you to hit out." "All right, Governor," I said, thinking to myself, this man has a pretty good opinion of himself.
We started in again, and I sent in a hard right to the body as he rushed in, and then tried a swinging left for my jaw. He stepped inside and drove his right to my ear. It jarred me down to the heels. I realized at that moment that the Governor was no ordinary amateur. If I took chances with him I was endangering my reputation. From that day I have taken no chances with Theodore Roosevelt with the gloves. I've hit him many times as hard as ever I hit a fighter in the ring, without stopping him, and thousands know how hard I can hit.
I want to say, now, that I never saw him wince or show even by an involuntary sign that he was discomfited in spirit, no matter how severe the bodily pain. On the contrary, it met with only that characteristic turning of the head a bit to the side, a grim smile and determined setting of the bulldog jaw, followed by another rush. Theodore Roosevelt is a strong, tough man; hard to hurt and harder to stop.
References:
Donovan, Michael Joseph. The Roosevelt That I Know; Ten Years of Boxing with the President--and Other Memories of Famous Fighting Men,. New York: B.W. Dodge, 1909. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=x7QaAAAAYAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA8&dq=boxing&ots=MYv8NVrKwf&sig=N21fmrbbSTU8P3S0scqcxphbg9M
"Quick Facts About and Almanac of Theodore Roosevelt." Quick Facts About and Almanac of Theodore Roosevelt. Web. 16 Oct. 2015. http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trbioqf.html
"Teddy Roosevelt's Little-known Secret." Tribunedigital-chicagotribune. 7 Oct. 2002. Web. 16 Oct. 2015. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-10-07/features/0210070158_1_boxing-final-bout-theodore-roosevelt-association
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