COREY FORD'S GYM
I AM Corey Ford," he said, proffering his hand. Pointing to a sofa nearby, he added casually, "Have a seat."
He was a bland, middle-aged man, somewhat heavy-set. His voice was steady and moderate, and as I listened to him I tried to adjust my picture of him as writer, hunter and fisherman - three pursuits for which he is widely known.
I met him in his library, a well-upholstered room adorned with mounted specimens of birds and animals he had shot. Facing me, on the other side of the room, was a fireplace, above which hung a rifle of, I guessed, the eighties. The shelves of books to my left and right consisted mainly of novels and light verse.
I told him about the nature of my visit, and he nodded his head sagaciously, occasionally puffing at his pipe, which he held in the corner of his mouth.
As I took out my notebook, he began to give a general history of his boxing class in a factual manner. He told me that the group had started about six years ago and that it had no other purpose than to provide "experience and fun for the beginners." The class, held twice a week on Tuesday and Friday, was strictly informal. Corey himself and Johnny Monahan '53, a first-year med student, served as the coaches. There had been no attempt to arrange intercollegiate bouts, since practically all the trainees were beginners. And Corey hoped that the group would remain informal and continue its mutual interest. "Gene Tunney may be coming up next time," he mentioned.
Knowing that I came from the East, Corey told me about the summer trip he had taken in 1954. He had travelled as far as Bangkok, where he was pleased to discover a strong interest in pugilism among the natives. With the material he had gathered there, he had written an article for The Saturday Evening Post.
We talked about telecasts of boxing, and Corey narrated an anecdote concerning Marlon Brando. When Corey had written "Come Out Fighting," a television script a few years back, Marlon Brando was assigned to play the part of a boxer. Not content with a superficial knowledge of boxing - which was all he needed to play the part - Brando went to a gymnasium and worked out daily with professional boxers. By the time the show went on, he was almost good enough to be a professional contender.
When I asked Corey about the history of his own gymnasium, he suggested that we should go and see the place first. Opening a door, he led me down a flight of stairs to a large, spacious hall, well illuminated by lights from the ceiling. He told me that the hall had been built by Mr. Larsen, former architect of the College, as a badminton court. By installing a few punching bags, a mat, and other boxing equipment, Corey had converted the hall into a gymnasium for both boxers and wrestlers. In the adjoining room, he showed me where the gloves, shoes, and other necessary items were kept. I also noticed a row of lockers, a shower, and a rubbing table with an ultra-violet lamp. All these things had been furnished by Corey at his own expense.
As we were leaving the locker room, I saw a group of boys trooping down the stairs. "Are they the boxers?" I asked Corey. "They are the wrestlers," he said. "Maybe you want to talk with them." Corey told me frankly that he knew very little about the wrestling team, though the wrestlers practiced at his place. He suggested that I could get most of the information from the group itself, so I stayed on in the gymnasium and found myself talking to Rex Martin '55, the captain of the team. Rex, who was president, secretary, manager, as well as coach of the Wrestling Club, smiled warmly as he began to give me a brief history of his group.
Started in November 1952 by Chuck Ennis, the Club did not have any scheduled matches until one with M.I.T. in 1954. Since then, the group has practiced pretty regularly between three and five on weekday afternoons. With the exception of a few men, the team members all had had some previous wrestling experience in high school. The team, Rex reported, had done very well this year. "At Amherst," he said, "there was a good turnout." And against the tough, almost invincible U. S. Coast Guard wrestlers, the team had managed to score a 14-14 tie.
College wrestling, he said, was fast and serious - nothing frivolous like that on television. To demonstrate the difference between the two types of wrestling, four boys on the team had staged a dramatic take-off on pro wrestling in the Webster Hall "Variety Night" last year. "Tarzan" and "The Ape Boy" were used as the names of two contestants.
I thanked Rex, then went to say goodbye to Corey. When I stepped out of the gymnasium into the open air, I walked slowly toward the campus with a feeling of gratitude for Corey, a man who is doing a lot to nurture the two individual sports - boxing and wrestling - once sponsored by the College but now overlooked.
Corey Ford, author and sportsman, shows an aspiring Dartmouth boxer how it shouldbe done. In a wing of his Hanover home, and at his own expense, he provides facilitiesfor an informal and successful boxing and wrestling program.
The punching bag in "Corey Ford Gymnasium" gets a constant workout at the hands ofthe large boxing squad.
Rex Martin '55, Wrestling Club president (inthe foreground), engages in a practice matchwith Jack Palmer '56.
Martin, Palmer and Howie Silby '57 put ona display of strong-man stuff for the benefitof the photographer.
Sophomores Dan Pollick and Dave Regan shown in a corner of the locker room that hasbeen completely fitted out, even to shower and rubbing table.
DARTMOUTH'S NAVY ROTC RIFLE TEAM, which won first place among New England colleges in the First Naval District, receives its trophy from Captain T. H. Tonseth,USN, commandant of the Dartmouth NROTC. Left to right, the students are Robert L.Barry '56, Meylert Armstrong '58, Team Captain Elliott Hersey '55, Carl Hilker 56 anCharles Henry '56.
