Salt Lake Tribune | 1891-02-22 | Page 11 | George as an Athlete

B GEORGE AS AN ATHLETE 11 I 1 I 1 t 1 hlll feho low lne sports should celebrate i february f 1 i I 1 BECAUSE IT commemorates A CHAMPION perhaps everybody know that the pother father of hll his country was the strongest aho who vho ilea has I 1 figured prominently in history by J W johnino on oil the twenty second of february I 1 always make it a point to pauso pause and ro re float elect that thai george washington eton was a 1 much better man thin than I 1 am it Is good 1 1 to set bet apart a day for such a purpose pur poso V and it Is fortunato fortunate that na me a man like george whose character removes tho element of doubt from our reflections wo we see so few men nowadays i who he are am I 1 better than ourselves I 1 and george will do as it subject of meditation for any sort of man why c oven john L sullivan could spend hours in thanksgiving that be novas mas horn born too I 1 lato late to encounter the right hand of of the father of his country I 1 have recently t been reading up tho the subject of washington 1 as an ath athlete lote and I 1 have come to the conclusion that no men should more mora F reverently observed his birthday than I 1 these who find their delight in the cultivation of 0 big muscles and in the performance for mance manco of feats of strength and endurance du ranco lie he was called the strongest man in i the continental army and among those patriots were some of the biggest men inell whatever tha that tover ever trod the earth N choso whoso hose muscles had bad been trained by every sort of exercise awill IA will be remembered that la I 1 I 1 1 1 I 1 1 7 Z I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 4 IP I 1 I 1 11 I 1 r I 1 I 1 nak belll zat i 13 1 I 1 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 i 31 1 ew 1 rs IN in COSTUME fayette w hen ban he saw a body of virginia troops march up to his relief exclaimed 11 I 1 have been reinforced by an army of giants yet among those giants there was as not one who claimed superiority over the sinewy commander ln in calef washington wass wasa heavy weight iio was six feet and one ODO inch in hight and alad weighed A SIO pounds m when hen in condition it may be added that ho be was never out of it except w ben ill ills 1119 weight never went vent aboe even his seden sedentary lary life as president of the united states with its banquets late hours and other luxuries not consistent with the rules of strict training did not put him in hi bad trim lie he was one of those men who do not grow fat under any provocation ills his fine physique was in a groat great measure a gift from nature a matter of inheritance and circumstance his father was a very strong roan man m who ho used to shoot boot swans on the potomac holding his bis fo fowling ling piece out at arms length like a pistol this weapon was so big and heavy that few men could fire it at all without a rest george inherited not only the gun but the strength to use it his muscular powers were brought to perfection by plenty of outdoor exercise during his youth A As aa a school boy of fifteen he was well gro grow n and the best all ajl round athlete in those parts his balky frame did not handicap him lu in those sports requiring pure agility indeed it was in these that he be most notably excelled he as the local champion at running and at high and broad jumping as well as at wrestling arid and pitching og the bar a sport something like tho the modern game of putting the shot another game at which ho he appears to have had bad no equals was throwing stories bronea of course it Is impossible to compare his bis recorded teats feats in this department part ment of athletics with the only analogous sport of today to day til throwing thomase the baseball and yet he be must have had a good deal of spring in his arm aria to have cast a pebble from the bod bed of the stream to bo the top of the natural bridge or another across the Rappa bannock lanDock river at the lower ford at fredericksburg it la Is said that nobody else ever performed this latter teat feat though record la Is 30 yards more than the width of the stream I 1 will not mention just jur how idette that point for fear of straining the readers credulity but bul it if N washington ashington made the throw and here much doubt of it I 1 will bet that he be could have beaten 3 ards with a baseball at school he be learned fencing and became at least as good li as his bis teacher the redoubtable van braam it Is a great pity that boxing was not then popular tor for washington was wad built just right fo tor it 11 his reach was something enormous and his hand band of unusual strength a and nd size die lafayette said that it ft was tho the bill gest and alad most po powerful erful hand be ever saw aw with such a duke as a mr sullivan would say and an arm of iron bo be tide aide it washington should have had no lie trouble about carrying off tho the heavy championship if he had tilt felt a desire for it it if his strength had not dot the contest his nil vast endurance and astonishing agility would have made a sure thing of it all the same what a clever man bo be must have been on his legs these legs by the wa way v were of that rare rara typo type which Is perfectly straight and yet without suspicion of a knock kneed galt gait he walked with that pec peculiar light footed grace graca which characterized the noble rod red man loan in those days before agency whisky hid had corrupted his aboriginal charm washl agton s legs were ere so strong and his bis footing so sure t be visa invincible as a wrestler there Is no record that he was eier eer thrown by antibody attar after he bad gotten his growth ills his triumphs at tills this sport mere annum innumerable r one of the prettiest of the them 1 was the discomfiture of the strong man of virginia I 1 dont remember his other name barne but at any rut he was an athlete 0 of f grest great strength aud and skill washington attended al AS ail a spectator a tournament 0 of outdoor sports for th the cham of virginia virgin la where the strong man walked away with every everything thin g I 1 in the wrestling rest ling line nobody was wan goes goad enough awen on to lo giva alv him enudio llo he won tho the final bout bent so p a ay iy that tha ho he satisfied feet as it if hod hed given the crowd an exhibition which was waa worth their money so ho be wont font romping round the iho ring calling upon anybody to come coma in slid anil lot him mop up tha file earth with a now victim meanwhile hail had retired to iho file shade of a tree and was reading ft a book lie ho had bad no interest lu ill such wrestling as that but by and by the bonnier boaster became so 0 o loud that a friend of 0 caroo came up and said ald george will you go and stand bland that follow on his spirited sp senu d entered tho the ring without taking head washington reluctantly conor his bis coat and at the first clinch throw abrow the strong man to so violently that the judges go gase him tho the bout boul tho the strong roan man was not a bad follow fellow after iii all and instead of going round with excuses and complaints ho he admitted freely that thai lie never was in it perhaps peculiar build atthe at the waist had bad bode to do with nith bia s as a ills his adopted son 0 IV parke curtis re relate lattiA that ho he went ent into the generals room ono one morning and caught him clothed only in that dignity which he never laid aside mr curtis thod then observed that body was about the same size all the way up and that the muscles ol of the lower I 1 e 4 I 4 J 1 I 1 I 1 V 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 11 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 4 11 f T I 1 I 1 t WASI LINGTON TIM DAIL part of the trunk nere mere enormously developed he also remarked a peculiarity of chest chert which instead of being round and full as with most strong men was somewhat sunken in mr curtis carlls attributed this to the pulmonary troubles m with ith which washington had been afflicted in earlier life but I 1 am inclined to think that he be Is in error on this point 1 I believe that the appear anu was due to ill the great development of those muscles of the chest which pull the shoulders forward at any rate there was no weakness in that part of his bis physique the length and strength of his bis legs gave him a great grip oo on a horse ile ho wix was a perfectly fc fearless arloss rider all he be asked of L horse hore was that the beast should be able to go slid and he be laughed at the idra idea that bo be could cougil bo be throw n so long as the bor bore borc c kept on his bis pins to illus irate his mastery of the horse a story ll Is told which Is much preferable in my opinion 1 on to the cherry tree table fable and containing contat the same valuable in moral oa I 1 lesson leson 6 was bin gatons mother who was aas fond on of fine hortes hores had bought a spirited animal which had never been brok broken to the saddis some of her sons friends wore were at the house to dinner onedas and after tho the meal ineal george proposed that they should bring forth the untamed arned steed and try to ride him they did so and several of the company took short promenades along the lawn on the bridges of their noses in consee consequence nonce 0 of f their inability to stick to th the a beasts beast 9 back george however succeeded in ill getting a sure seat and then began a battle royal roval A slip and a bad tall fall then and at aa of us today to tn day might be as much the subjects of groat great britain as any fifth aenne dude but fate had not so ordained the long legs of the youthful rider gripped tho the flory fiery horse like the folds of an anaconda and his iron hand restrained the animals flight fight it m as a hard tussle and was fought w a decisive sivo finish lor for the horse toll fell stone dead when hen he perceived that he was conquered when george behold beheld at his bis feet the corpse of his bis mothers fa favorite horse ho he doubtless realized that hat victories may be dearly bought U looke looked d decidedly squally tor for the father of his country ant bis courage did not tail fall him lie went to his bis mother and told the whole story and was forgiven I 1 will not quote her words from the his historians tor lans page because I 1 know in my heart that she said something much moro more tot touching le hing and grammatical I 1 like this better than the cherry tree because there Is more action in it and because by my experience it takes more coura courage geto to facea face a mothers tearful fearful reproof than a shingle a father and add a scene where the tears are furnished exclusively clu by the erring charles wilson poale peale the artist who made a fine portrait alt of washington in 1772 tells a story which shows he how w good a man george was oven even when all out of training he was forty years old at this I 1 1 11 4 I 1 Is 0 t I 1 T 1 I 1 p U I 1 d I 1 A I 1 I 1 4 1 1 I 1 I 1 Z BENT THE GUS GUA BARREL ACItO fiS HIS BIS KNEE AS AB IF IT HAD UYEN A til to 10 time and probably ditc pitched lied the ilia bar in a long time and yet he bo made an exhibition of several oung athletes who he considered thom pretty good at this sport so popular in those days these young men of whom peale was one were stripped down fur for exercise and bad madou ome very good casts when the colonel As was then called appeared adiong them lie he was invited to 0 participate and the pegs which marked the best records were ere shown him bita with a smile that was a doubtless childlike and bland washington stepped to the line took the bar and proceeded to smash a large hole in the record no sooner did the heavy iron bar feel the grasp of his mighty hand band than it bad lout lost the power of gravitation says peale and whizzed through the air striking the ground tar far tar far beyond our outmost limits washington so much as aa taken his coat coal ott off and apparently had mado made acry ory little effort cl Tort this was wh what at made anade atso U so exasperating to be bo beaton beaten by gr 0 rg ile HB never seemed to bo be halt half trying ii you yet butt best iny illy pitch young gen gell said saad he be ill try again he has not yut yet baiten called upon to do so ile n h bad d a wonderfully dl disconcerted er I 1 d gazo gaze which b ic la would have hav helped hirn him I 1 greatly la ID the lle ring it if ha am hail bad ever done dona much in that way I 1 am inclined to believe that this overpowering look saied saed ail his lito life many a time in hand to hand lights by unnerving ba his opponent perhaps Ier haps this may bo be tho the reason ho he mant shot by a poacher one aty on tho the shore hores of nt the potomac roto inac by mount blount ver vcr non the tha bory story of 0 this occurrence illus tra braes es alre nath his bis tou lour rage and I 1 should bo be almost tempted to say sar his luck this occurred alter after the tha peace ot of 83 and before washington wa to tho the presidential chair for some time ho he hod had been annoyed by depredations of his lands ono one day lie ho was walking in tho the woods near the bank of the river when ho he heard a shot near by ilo he walked la in tho the direction from which the sound had come and soon how a burly f follow ellow with A till a glin gin the general fie gave chase an and caroo came up with the poacher just as s ho he was about to shove off from tho the shore in a little skiff washington seized this boat with aith the grip from which nothing escaped the poacher threw down his paddle and seizing his gun cocked it and aimed it directly at breast why he be carr carryout his blada do sign and make himself eternally infamous I 1 am unable to 10 say perhaps it ft was that spirit protection m which the indian prophet said would pre preserve erve washington perhaps it was the catlike cat like lilo quickness of his bis movements at any rate the weapon was wrenched from the poachers hand and washington putting forth his bis gigantic strength in way that must inest hane bae made tho the marauders hair turn gray bent the gun b barrel arrol across his knee as it if it had been a twig then having ruined the gun as a weapon ho he seized the poacher and chastised him as if he bo had bad been a school boy it Is said that trumbulls Trum bulls portrait of washington now in the city fall new nem york gf gaies es the host best idea of his bis form I 1 hao often admired the legs leg and the rounded forearm which tho the picture shows so prominently A good right hander from such a man ought to leave leava very little doubt in tho the mind of the referee lly by the 1 ay wellington washington figured very often in that capacity in his youth ills judgment and fair mindedness were well known at school and he was called upon whenever there was a cloie decision and tor this alone I 1 m call upon all the great army of those who love honest sports to remember today to day the squarest man on record and to rejoice that the father of ills country put the stamp of his approval upon manly exercise FIELDING