{"id":3516,"date":"2015-10-06T08:29:40","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T12:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/preserving\/?p=3516"},"modified":"2015-10-06T08:29:40","modified_gmt":"2015-10-06T12:29:40","slug":"the-sports-world-in-1894","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/2015\/10\/06\/the-sports-world-in-1894\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sports World in 1894"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Sporting periodicals began sprouting up in the latter half of the 19th century in\u00a0direct response to an increased participation in both amateur and professional level sports. The growth in sports in America during\u00a0the 19th century was spurred on by\u00a0many factors, such as increased\u00a0leisure time, improvements in the standard of living, as well as the overall shifting populations, mostly from the emancipated African Americans and the\u00a0large influx of immigrants\u00a0from Europe.\u00a0Sports during this period (and even afterwards) offered a pseudo-safe haven for the disenfranchised members of society, allowing participants the ability to circumvent or\u00a0rise above some of challenges of discrimination, societal mores, and other prejudices through merit and achievement.\u00a0Beyond the growing working class and immigrants, there were other factors contributing to the rise of sports in America. Daily newspapers, cheaper printing methods, and telegraphy, all helped to disseminate and publicize national\u00a0sporting news.\u00a0Some of the sports\u00a0we recognize today,\u00a0baseball, football, boxing, track and field were starting\u00a0to see a steady increase in event attendances. Even an occasional horse race, with an acclaimed\u00a0thoroughbred, might be big news and attract some fifty thousand people. America’s first sporting magazine appeared in the second decade of the nineteenth century, but the large majority\u00a0were established and published by the end of the century.\u00a0In this rare pocket booklet\u00a0from 1894, the Boston publisher Franklin K. Lanpher offered an annual sporting manual that recognized the great achievements in sports, cited official\u00a0records, documented current\u00a0rules, and offered other anecdotal information.<\/p>\n

Some advice is given to the burgeoning athlete:<\/p>\n

If one exercises till he is fatigued, he will<\/em>
\n tear down and not build up. The muscles are<\/em>
\n strengthened by moderate exertions and not<\/em>
\n violent and fitful ones…Where the most heat is,<\/em>
\n there is the most reduction. Fleshy persons<\/em>
\n should keep the fattest parts of body covered<\/em>
\n the most\u00a0when exercising. Also wear a heavy<\/em>
\n sweater. If feeling thirsty, gargle the throat<\/em>
\n with cool water for a minute or two. Then<\/em>
\n slowly drink a little.<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1894, boxing was widely\u00a0recognized as the premier world sporting\u00a0event. This manual notes the\u00a0achievements of prominent pugilist, George Dixon, who was the first black world boxing champion in any weight class, as well as another\u00a0black boxer, Peter Jackson, who fought champion James Corbett to a 61 round draw.<\/p>\n

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Jewish cyclist, Arthur Augustus Zimmerman, was\u00a0considered\u00a0one of the world’s greatest sprinting cyclist and became the winner of the first world championship in 1893.<\/p>\n

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In\u00a0addition to many\u00a0familiar sports, such as cycling, baseball, horse racing, rowing, and track and field, the manual also provides records for\u00a0ocean steamships, trains, ice polo, bowling, and walking.<\/p>\n

Some interesting nuggets:<\/p>\n