I love reading and researching my most beloved great chess player of history, Paul Morphy. Recently, on the internet, I found a more accurate picture (portrait rather) from when Morphy was attending Spring Hill colege in 1854. If you would like to see the "REAL" Paul Morphy - not like so many ancient sketches of him - I suggest going to this site: http://batgirl.atspace.com/TwiceRemembered.html!
He was a rather handsome young man. 🙂 Go to the very end of the page.
I also am interested in Morphy. I'm not sure the author of the article really knew Morphy. And I'm not sure anybody did. One little tidbit added at the end was Morphy's interest in collecting women's shoes. This i have never heard. Another little sidelight which makes the man even more mysterious. If there genius in chess, Morphy personified it. The author hinted that Morphy's concentration on intellectual matters and his avoidance of physical games at school might have been the initial cause of his collapse. Typical 19th century oversimplification. Also, his suggestion that Morphy put aside chess while at Springhill sounds too neat to be correct. Although Morphy played few serious games compared to modern masters, I wager he played thousands and thousands of off-hand games before college, during college, and after college. and i'm sure he applied his intellect to chess the the same way he applied himself to law.
Originally posted by buddy2I do think you are correct in that nobody truly knew the real Paul Morphy. But, I do know some things that everyone does know for a fact due to historical records from his college, etc...:
I also am interested in Morphy. I'm not sure the author of the article really knew Morphy. And I'm not sure anybody did. One little tidbit added at the end was Morphy's interest in collecting women's shoes. This i have never heard. Another little sidelight which makes the man even more mysterious. If there genius in chess, Morphy personified it. The au and i'm sure he applied his intellect to chess the the same way he applied himself to law.
1) Paul Morphy was a gentleman in the truest sense of the word.
His instructors at Spring Hill mentioned this.
2) Morphy was not only one of the greatest chess players of all
time. He was also an exceptional student, and still today is
considered Spring Hill's finest graduate. His portrait can be found in
their school.
3.) Yes, Morphy was a Christian. He believed in Jesus. Amen! One of
my favorite things about Morphy. Doesn't matter he was Catholic.
There's saved Catholics, too. 🙂
4.) Morphy had a friend named Maurian in college who asked Paul to
teach him chess. Maurian was bedridden. I'm pretty sure he
would have shown the ill Maurian how to play out of kindness.
Why wouldn't he if Maurian was his friend?
And, there are other indisputable facts about Paul Morphy out there.
But, he was a rather quiet fellow, not prone to being the life of the
party so to speak... until it came to the game of chess. Then, whole
worlds of personability came out in Morphy from what I can gather.
The sad part about my love of Morphy history and games is this: why don't we have personalities like this today? I never hear of the wonders of the past coming to fruition in our own time. It seems Benjamin Franklins, Abraham Lincolns, Paul Morphies, and George Washingtons just don't exist today. Where are our heroes today? Are the only heroes we have being sent to die in Iraq and the foolish wars of our time? What happened to the good ol'e days when a man could borrow some gas and pay the gas station owner back the week after he got paid? I sometimes find myself being horrified at the thought that I was born in a time of waste, violence, ridicule, hypocrisy, the Federal Reserve of America... all of it is crap! America is printing up money we don't have! If we hadn't gone off the gold standard maybe our country would have hope. But, evil men in high towers have infiltrated the good values of a true American. Now, the war with Iran is looming. What? Nuclear war? Man, I just wish everyone would could get along. But, looking into the past of Paul Morphy and other great figures of history helps me to remember the Days of Real Heroes (DRH) and Real Men (RM).