I recently stumbled upon a chapter in the history of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), that begs for sunshine. Founded in 1888, the AAU set out to bring order and purity to amateur sports, to see that amateur athletes truly were amateurs and not “ringers” brought in to play in exchange for cash.
To achieve this [...]
Archive for the ‘sports’ Category
Goal Displacement
Posted in sports on March 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
He Got His Money’s Worth
Posted in sports on March 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
“Among those who furnished entertainment were: Champion Lightweight Freddie Welsh, who boxed three rounds with One-Round Hogan.”
– “Boxing for Charity: Society Folk Attend Big Athletic Show in 71st Armory” in The New York Times, March 5, 1915
Photo of San Francisco fighter One-Round Hogan by White Studio of New York
Cooped Up
Posted in sports on December 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
While researching the sport of polo on the Web, I stumbled across this illuminating snippet from a biography of professional wrestler Tommy Polo:
“Polo was eliminated by Brimstone with a ‘Chokeslam from Hell’ from the balcony to the floor of the JWA Arena. Polo was hospitalized, then a spell was cast upon him by the dark [...]
Flash Gordon, Yale and Polo
Posted in Film, Literature, sports on December 5, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Yale graduates who have excelled at polo include J. Watson Webb, Winston Guest, Lewis E. Stoddard (chairman of the United States Polo Association, 1922-1936), Tom Buchanan (of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, 1925), Flash Gordon (of Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon comic strip which began in 1934, and subsequent movie serials with Buster Crabbe), William [...]
Big Fish
Posted in Photography, sports on November 24, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Clair Winship holds a muskellunge he caught in Chautauqua Lake, sometime in the 1950’s. I recall seeing photos of larger muskies, but this one will give you an idea of what my grandfather could do with a bamboo fishing pole from a rowboat. One of my favorite things about this picture is the bandage on [...]
More Polo
Posted in Art, sports on November 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
While I’m on the subject of polo posters, this beauty by artist Ludwig Holhlwein is also available at allposters.com. And you can find more polo posters at barewalls.com, as well.
Polo in Munich, 1909
Posted in Art, sports on November 16, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
The poster above is by artist Christian Jank, and can be found at allposters.com.
For polo here and now, you can do no better than to visit a lively blog, Backhander.
The African Queen
Posted in Film, Literature, sports on November 16, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
“(We) did the underwater work there — of the broken propeller, etc., where you had to see Charlie and Rosie in deep water. Oh, how Bogie hated that swimming — he froze. I swim all winter in Long Island Sound: ten degrees above zero and with a north wind blowing is my record. One of [...]
Good Words
Posted in Literature, sports on October 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
“Gravity does what gravity does, you know?”
– Jake Brown, Australian pro skateboarder after sailing off the end of the Big Air Ramp at the X Games and falling 45 feet, hitting the ground so hard his shoes popped off.
Incorrect
Posted in Commentary, sports on September 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“You get the feeling that even though he knows the right answers — work hard, persevere — the universe is asking different questions.”
– Jeff MacGregor in his profile of Mixed Martial Arts fighter Shannon “The Cannon” Ritch (43 wins/68 losses), “Making the Best of Bad,” in ESPN Magazine, September 21, 2009
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