sports

The Great Intercollegiate Regatta of 1874

July 25, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Nothing is quite as exciting as being part of the crowd at a Super Bowl or at the Olympic Games. That type of excitement must have been experienced by Saratoga Lake dwellers in July, 1874 when the “Great Intercollegiate Regatta” came to our community.

Nine colleges – Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Wesleyan, Dartmouth, Williams, Cornell, Trinity and Princeton all entered six man shells. While each school brought their own fans to the area, most interest (especially betting interest) centered on the fierce Harvard – Yale rivalry. In a race five years earlier, Yale had beaten the boys from Harvard but were charged with unsportsmanlike conduct and disqualified. Bad blood existed between these two prestigious members of the Ivy League. [Read more…] about The Great Intercollegiate Regatta of 1874

Albany’s John McBain Davidson: Safes, Steamboats & Horse Racing

July 21, 2021 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

The Saratoga Dreams B&B at 203 Union Avenue gives a modern day traveler, the opportunity to step back into the marvelous past of Saratoga Springs. Climbing the stairs starts the adventure, where you first see the statue of Seabiscuit at the National Museum of Racing next door, and across the street you may catch a glimpse of runners being “tacked-up” in the paddock at Saratoga Race Course.

The large covered porch, typical of so many of Saratoga Springs’ Queen Anne style homes, allows an elevated view of “Tex” Hughlette Wheeler’s fabulous sculpture. Charles S. Howard, Seabiscuit’s owner, commissioned cowboy sculptor Wheeler (who’s unique given name of Hughlette was the surname of the doctor who delivered him during his mother’s difficult pregnancy), to “capture the horse from life,” and had two castings made. Howard’s heirs graciously donated this casting, originally at the Howard’s Ridgewood Farm, to the National Museum of Racing. The other bronze which Howard had cast has always stood in the Santa Anita paddock. [Read more…] about Albany’s John McBain Davidson: Safes, Steamboats & Horse Racing

Horse Racing History: Westchester County’s Bowman Park

July 14, 2021 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

The 1920s witnessed a new era of Americans who were at ease committing their hard earned dollars toward the privilege of being spectators of live sport. In horse racing, John McEntee Bowman became the President of the United Hunts Racing Association, an organization of cross-country enthusiasts in 1922.

Bowman was an impressive fellow, certainly one of the best rags-to-riches stories in turf history, from immigrant groom to multi-millionaire owner and track operator, while developing a successful national business brand, the Biltmore Hotel chain. Through his flagship hotel and banquet facilities in New York City, Bowman was able to cultivate the social side of jump racing during the winter months, which increased the sport’s following immensely. [Read more…] about Horse Racing History: Westchester County’s Bowman Park

Staten Island Boxer Bill Richmond Delivered the Punches

July 12, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 3 Comments

Archaeologists in Central London are involved in a massive undertaking excavating St James’s Gardens, a graveyard close to Euston Station, before a terminus for the controversial High Speed 2 (HS2) railway project is built on the site. Among the 45,000 skeletons due to be dug up it is hoped that the remains of Bill Richmond will be identified.

By the end of the eighteenth century boxing was England’s dominant sport. Confirmation of its repute occurred at the coronation of George IV on 19 July 1821 when eighteen pugilists were invited to guard the entrance to Westminster Abbey. One of the ushers selected for the grand occasion was Bill Richmond, a formerly enslaved man who descended from Richmondtown, a colonial outpost on Staten Island, New York. [Read more…] about Staten Island Boxer Bill Richmond Delivered the Punches

NY Islanders New Home Has A Fine Sporting Pedigree; Manice Mansion Once Stood On UBS Arena Grounds

July 1, 2021 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

UBS Arena, the $1.5 billion multi-purpose facility being built next to Belmont Park race track in Elmont, Nassau County, NY, is expected to be home of the New York Islander hockey in the upcoming 2021–22 NHL season. The location has a storied history.

The Westchester Racing Association raced in that county at both Jerome Park and Morris Park, prior to their move to Long Island. The privately held Westchester Racing Association was able to acquire several farm properties, the most notable being the former Oatlands Estate of William DeForest Manice.

The new racing facility, which would become Long Island’s Belmont Park, was comprised of 400 acres north of the Hempstead Turnpike and 160 acres on the south side. [Read more…] about NY Islanders New Home Has A Fine Sporting Pedigree; Manice Mansion Once Stood On UBS Arena Grounds

Belmont’s Terminal Course Survived Dark Days of Horse Racing

June 27, 2021 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

Steeplechase and hunt racing have long annals in the Empire State, and with more interest recently in turf racing, some long forgotten aspects of this history in New York are interesting to explore.

A dedicated turf and steeplechase venue, known as Belmont Park Terminal Course, operated on the Queens/Nassau County boundary from 1907 to 1927. [Read more…] about Belmont’s Terminal Course Survived Dark Days of Horse Racing

Fulton County Baseball History (Podcast)

March 12, 2021 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

This week on The Historians Podcast, Mike Hauser, author and Leader Herald columnist, has stories about major league manager Jack McKeon, Parkhurst Field and Moonlight “Doc” Graham from Fulton County baseball history. [Read more…] about Fulton County Baseball History (Podcast)

Museums, Grave Robbing & The Dissection of Boxing ‘Giant’ Charles Freeman

March 7, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

Grave robbing has a long history in religion and science. As monasteries and churches were repositories of relics, religious institutions competed to take possession of bones, teeth, or skulls. Members of the clergy supported grave robbers – long before the word came into circulation – if a body, or parts thereof, were worthy of reverence. [Read more…] about Museums, Grave Robbing & The Dissection of Boxing ‘Giant’ Charles Freeman

Circus Artists and the Flying Trapeze Metaphor

January 3, 2021 by Jaap Harskamp 2 Comments

Equestrian artist Philip Astley was a pioneering entertainment entrepreneur. His demonstrations of trick horse-riding at London’s Royal Amphitheatre in 1768 constitute the origins of modern circus.

Astley performed his routine in a circular arena which would subsequently be referred to as the ring. He interspersed his displays with a variety of additional acts. Both in Europe and America other producers copied and expanded his new style of entertainment. [Read more…] about Circus Artists and the Flying Trapeze Metaphor

Slang, Stirrups, Paris in the 20s, and the Invention of the Bloody Mary

November 9, 2020 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

Although much remains unclear about the origins of Cockney rhyming slang, there is a consensus that it stems from London’s East End, dates back to the 1840s, and is alive and thriving. One slang expression reads “on one’s tod,” meaning: on one’s own; all alone. The phrase is a shortened version of the original “on one’s Tod Sloan.”

In full, these four words offer a multi-colored mosaic of socio-cultural events involving Manhattan, London, and Paris. [Read more…] about Slang, Stirrups, Paris in the 20s, and the Invention of the Bloody Mary