“Like father, like son,” is an adage as old as the hills, but it is very often true. I was in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1932 to referee a fight and paid a visit to the Governor, Theodore Roosevelt, son of the great “Teddy.” Years ago, when I was a reporter, I made the acquaintance of the grand old warrior of the Roosevelt family, and meeting his son in San Juan, I was deeply impressed by the resemblance of the offspring to the sire. Teddy Jr. was a chip off the old block. The smile, the handshake, and the energy put into his work as Governor were not the only reminders of his illustrious dad. His love for sports was another. Teddy Jr., like his father, was an expert at squash tennis and racquets and a boxing enthusiast. A few days after young Governor Roosevelt was inaugurated at San Juan, I watched him box Frank O’Ben, the Island’s leading instructor, at the latter’s well-equipped gymnasium. His father, President Theodore Roosevelt was a remarkable man: politician, ranchman, soldier, hunter, and all-around athlete. The Roosevelt boys were brought up on an athletic diet and each was taught the art of self-defense at school. Boxing was always one of Teddy’s favorite hobbies. I recall the day in 1908 that the American Olympic team returned triumphantly from London, where little Johnny Hayes, our marathon runner, gained international fame in his race with Dorando Pietri, the Italian who collapsed at the finish. I met the homecoming team at Sandy Hook and accompanied the victorious brigade back to New York City. The hero, of course, was Hayes. When the ship reached quarantine, we received word that President Roosevelt had invited the entire Olympic contingent to spend the following day at his Oyster Bay Estate where he would officially welcome each of the members. Out to Oyster Bay the little army traveled, and when we reached President Roosevelt’s estate, we were met by the Roosevelt family, government officials, and a large delegation of home town folk. It was heart warming. I learned much about Theodore Roosevelt, the athlete that day. Beaming with delight, he shook the hand of every member of the returning team. Then he told us how he had become so interested in athletics. In his youth he was referred to as a chicken-livered kid because his delicate health did not permit him to play in vigorous games with other lads. He didn’t like being kept in the background, however, and had no scruples about letting his parents know it. “I made my health what it is today,” he said. “When I found that physically I was not the equal of other boys, I was determined to make myself fit.” Here he was, receiving America’s foremost athletes, the young men upon whom the youth of the land looked with envy and admiration, and he immediately realized the opportunity to bring home a point to hundreds of thousands of American children.