Boxing injury left former president with vision loss in one eye

A former U.S. president disclosed in 1917 that he had lost vision in his left eye after a 1905 boxing match at the White House. The former president described the incident during an interview at a health farm in Connecticut. He said a young artillery officer cross-countered during a sparring session and broke a blood vessel.

Injury details The blow caused a detached retina.

Physicians later advised him to stop boxing after the injury. He wrote in his autobiography that the damage left his sight dim and that he abandoned both boxing and wrestling as a result.

Background and aftermath The former president had boxed regularly while serving as governor of New York and continued the practice after becoming president. He had boxed in college competitions before entering politics. He told only a small circle about the severity of the injury at the time.

The officer involved learned of the outcome years later when the former president publicly described the event. After the injury, the former president took up jiu-jitsu for a period. He stated that he considered himself an elderly man at roughly age 50 and decided to stop boxing.