Foreword by Dwight
Would you spar with the President of the United States? Which one? Clinton? Bush? What about the rotund Roosevelt? Well, Professor Mike Donovan was an avid sparring partner of President Roosevelt in the late 1800s. He wrote a book about his experiences in 1909, titled "The Roosevelt That I Know". Mike Donovan was considered one the best practitioners of the sweet science at the time. This section continues with the perspective of caricature artist, Mrs. Carew.
A Good Political Prophet
"So you didn't vote of Parker?" Professor "Mike" looked at me comically and if I had been a man I think he would have given me a playful top on the ribs. "Ha! ha!" Not Mike. Oh, I knew how that election was going to come out. I read a lot you know. I get a great many papers from all over the country, and I knew that a powerful lot of Democrats were going to vote for Roosevelt.
And then on Election Day I ran into a party of friends of mine at the polls, all Irish, who had never voted anything but the Democratic ticket, and they said, "Well, Mike, here goes a bunch of good votes for Ted." "The fact is that President Roosevelt is more democratic than any Democrat. He's a democratic Republican - that's what he is. Why he's got democracy in his blood. Look at his uncle, Robert B., who's a regular old-time sage, or whatchemaycallem, of Tammany Hall. Yes, I always say that the president is a democratic Republican."
And Professor "Mike" cocked his head sideways with a glance of simple satisfaction at having thus reconciled his hero-worship with his instinctive politics. "Has short-sighted any bearing on boxing? I asked. "Not if it ain't too bad. A boxer don't need good enough sight to see the color of the other man's eyes; all he needs is to be able to see the shifting motions of his arms and body" with the pantomime of arms and torso which is second nature to Professor "Mike". "And the President - he is short sighted isn't he?"
"Yes, and he wants to get in close - wants to get right at you all the time." "Did he ever hurt you?" "Did he ever hurt me? He gave me a black ear once!" We live and learn. I had never heard of a black ear before. Professor Mike spoke of this peculiar decoration indulgently, not without a touch of pride. "Yes, I had been boxing with him one night, and brother Jerry was with me, and when we came away from the mansion" - I think this referred to the Governor's mansion at Albany - "I felt a sort of numbness and burning in my ear, just like frostbite, and as it was a bitter cold, frosty night, I says to Jerry, 'By golly! Jerry, my ear's frost bitten!' And I kept on rubbing and rubbing it, and went to bed firmly believing it was a case of frostbite. But next morning brother Jerry looked at my ear, and he laughed and said, 'It ain't a frostbite you've got, Mike; it's a sting!' And sure enough, my ear was all black."
"And you hadn't felt it at the time Mr. Roosevelt struck the dreadful blow?" "No - that is, I did feel a slight sting, but I was so used to that that I didn't notice it." "Have you ever boxed with the President's boys?" "Oh, my, yes!" "How do they box?" "Oh, they are splendid, manly little chaps, full of fight. They come right at you." "Do you think any of them will develop into as good a boxer as Mr. Roosevelt?" "Well, it's difficult to tell about boys. Judging from present performances, they're all going to turn out fine. Why, there's little Teddy, who ain't the strongest-looking in the family, he uses his hands just like his father - comes right in at you."
I think that was all about the President and his boys. Ah, if I only had space and leisure to tell all the observation and humor and philosophy that was shed graciously upon me by Professor Mike Donovan. But, at all events, please be consoled with the thought that the President of the United States will not be harmed by association with good Professor Mike.
Musings
I don't know if I can imagine getting hit so hard in the ear that it turned black and looked frostbitten. I found this particularly interesting since you don't see this at all in MMA, well at least I haven't. Usually, I see the participants with cauliflower ear, which is equally as messed up. Thank goodness for modern medicine.
Another area I picked up on was the idea of association. It could be construed that there was some sort of negative connotation with the President associating with a boxer, a fighter. I guess some people may feel the same way, not necessarily with martial artists, but with MMA fighters. It might be worthwhile to investigate the social construct between martial artists and the rest of society.
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
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