By Davy Crockett
During the last 25 years of the 19th century, the sport of ultrarunning (called pedestrianism) became the most popular spectator sport in America for a time. Hundreds of endurance athletes became professional runners. More than 500 six-day races were held worldwide during this era, involving more than 6,000 starters.
What became of these six-day pedestrians? What did they do? Where were they from? How many wore mustaches? What became of them? How long did they live? Here are the short bios for 82 of the most prominent six-day pedestrians, ordered alphabetically. Half of them were immigrants to America who found their fortune in running the six-day race.
Stephen Gilbert “Old Soldier” Barnes (1846-1919) was from Pennsylvania. He was a Civil War veteran and a proud member of the G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic). The G.A.R was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union who served in the Civil War. He brought attention to the G.A.R. as he ran. In 1898, he became a professional pedestrian and competed for ten years during the sport’s final years. His best six-day race came in 1900, when he reached 539 miles. After he retired from the races, he became a pension agent in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He continued to make plenty of public appearances, carrying an American flag at marathons and other shorter races. He died in 1919, at age 72, of stomach cancer.
Thomas Beachmont (1875-1950), was from Halifax, Canada, and Bath, Maine, where he worked at an ironworks in the shipyard. In 1895, in Halifax, he reached 516 miles in six days, perhaps as a solo event. He also claimed to have reached 87 miles in twelve hours that year. He became active in races starting in 1899. In 1902, he set the New England record for ten miles in 56:04, at Worcester, Massachusettes. He was an argumentative runner. During a 1902 six-day race in New York City, he continually chastised a scorer for being too slow registering his laps. “He would stand there and argue in an excitable voice about being cheated out of a lap.” Later, in the same race, he accused the doctors of trying to kill him. He continued to compete into 1904. In later years, worked as a furniture salesman, served as a referee in boxing maches across New England, and fought in World War I. He was one of the last-living pedestrians. He died in 1950, at the age of 75, in Albany, New York.
Dave Bennett (1863-) of Canada, entered the sport in 1883 and was one of the greatest long-distance runners at the time in that country. He competed at the Third Fox Diamond Belt in 1887, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and reached 506 miles. In 1889, he lived in Nebraska and competed in the Midwest. He then returned to Canada and settled in Toronto. His greatest six-day race was in 1892, when he reached 540.6 miles in the new Madison Square Garden. In 1911, he was scheduled to compete in a two-man six-day relay in Indianapolis, Indiana, limited to 2.5 hours per day, but did not start.
Steve Brodie (1861-1901), the newsboy pedestrian, was a Bowery Boy tough in New York City. He entered pedestrianism at the young age of 17 in 1879 and had surprising success. It all came tumbling down at a six-day race in California. His foul language ran him out of town and the sport. He later turned to fraud and hoaxes. He fooled America by staging a fake jump off of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886. He later claimed to have gone over Niagara Falls in 1889. But as witnesses came forward to dispute his claim, he eventually admitted that the stunt was faked. The term “pull a Brodie” refers to him. He then backed and handled several six-day runners in prominent races. Brodie died young in 1901 at the age of 39, of tuberculosis. He left behind a large fortune of $75,000 (valued at $2.8 million today) from his liquor business.
Henry “Blower” Brown (1843-1884) of Fulham, England, entered the sport in 1879. He set the six-day world record of 542 miles in 1879. He raised it in 1880 to 553 miles and then disappeared from the sport as the British lost interest in six-day races. He returned to his career working a brickyard but then suffered from serious attacks of illness. He died in 1884, in Fulham, England, at the age of 40, after a long illness. “He leaves a widow and family totally unprovided for.”
Daniel Burns (1860-1914), of Elmira, New York, became a six-day pedestrian in 1879 at the age of 20 and continued competing until 1891. He won a couple of six-day races and preferred 72-hour races. He helped bring many races to his hometown, held in a theater. He went into the hotel business and in 1907 moved to Binghamton, New York, where he was employed in a hotel. He died in 1914 at the age of 54 and is buried in Elmira.
George “Noremac” Cameron (1852-1922) originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, immigrated to America in 1881 to compete in the six-day sport. He became one of the most prolific and successful six-day runners in history. He opened a saloon in Brooklyn. In 1883, his longtime friend and trainer, George Beattie, shot and killed his wife, in front of her children, and then turned the gun on himself. Noremac eventually married again, returned to the sport and piled up a long list of accomplishments. By 1906, he operated a hotel in Philadelphia. He finished his six-day career with a world best of 17 finishes of 500 or more miles from 1881 to 1891. He reached at least 100 miles in more than 70 races, with a world best 19 six-day race wins. He died in 1922, at the age of 69, of pneumonia.
Napoleon “Old Sport” Campana (1836-1906), from Bridgeport, Connecticut, was the most popular runner in the sport because of his clownish antics during races. He entered the sport in 1878 and seemed to be in every race. During the off-season each summer, he was a street peddler at fairs and sporting events. During his prolific six-day career, he ran in at least 33 six-day races, and reached 100 miles in 45 of his ultras, averaging more than 300 miles in all of his races. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he sold chewing gum on the streets of the city. He became seriously ill in 1906, and died later that year at the age of 70, of heart disease. His friend, boxer John L. Sullivan, sat on his deathbed and made sure he was not buried in the Potter’s field. He was buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois. The author wrote an entire book on his life and running in Old Sport Campana: Ultrarunning’s Most Popular and Amusing 19th Century Runner.
James Albert Cathcart (1856-1912), from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, started his pedestrian career in 1879. He exceeded 500 miles in six six-day races from 1881 to 1888. In 1888 he broke the six-day world record with 621.7 miles, and still is the American six-day record holder. He became a great businessman and invested wisely in real estate in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He became the wealthiest of all the six-day champions. In 1912, he went missing after failing to return home from a duck hunting trip. A search went out for him on Christmas Day. They found him lying face down in the boat anchored two miles from where he started out. A heart attack was suspected. He died at the age of 56. He left behind a generous amount of his fortune to a hospital. Besides his six-day American record, he also held the five-day world record, the four-day world record, the 400-mile world record, and the 72-hour American record of 348 miles. His world records were eventually broken, 96 years after he set them, by Yiannis Kouros of Greece, but many of his marks remain as American records that may never be broken.
George Cartwright (1848-1928), was born in Bilson, England and became a coal miner. He entered the sport in the early 1880s. He was a true runner, with great speed, and started to be referred to as “the champion of England.” During a race at Westminster Aquarium in London, England, in February 1887, Cartwright broke the 50-mile world record in 5:55:04. He was the first person in the world to break six hours and held that record for many years. He immigrated to America, where he competed in many six-day races. He exceeded 500 miles in six races, with his best of 546 miles in 1888. He settled in Syracuse, New York, where he became a laborer, and died in 1928, at the age of 80.
Patrick Cavanaugh (1863-1908) was born in Ireland, immigrated to America in 1884 at the age of nineteen, and settled in Trenton, New Jersey. He became a hod carrier, a construction worker who hauled around a heavy masonry tool. He ran his first six-day race in 1901 and became the greatest six-day pedestrian of the early 1900s. He surpassed 500 miles in three races, with his best of 532 miles in 1902. He died in 1908 at the young age of 45, following surgery for intestinal trouble that developed as he was training for a six-day race.
Ephraim “Eph” Clow (1854-1927) was originally from Prince Edward Island, Canada, and emigrated to America in 1872 at the age of seventeen. He became a shoemaker in Arlington, Massachusetts. He started six-day ultrarunning in 1879 and quickly rose to become one of the elites in the sport, finishing with 460 miles in the Rose Belt. He left the sport after taking an enormous bribe in 1881. He moved to Minnesota with his brothers and turned to farming. At times, he managed running events. He died in 1927, at the age of 72, in Humboldt, Minnesota.
George Connor (1863-), an Irishman from Bow, London, England, entered the sport at the age of nineteen and was the smallest six-day pedestrian, standing only 5’2”. He achieved 537 miles in November 1888 in Madison Square Garden and, in 1889, stayed in America to further compete, reaching 535 miles in the Sixth Fox Diamond Belt race. He settled in Chicago, Illinois, and retired from the sport about 1892. He became a track coach for the Chicago Athletic Association, and also trained cyclists. In 1897, he competed in a six-day bike race.
Thomas Cox (1859-1903), was from Union City, Pennsylvania and later claimed to be from many other places. He had a twin brother, John Cox, who also competed in the sport for a time. Thomas ran his first six-day race in 1883 and by the late 1880s became one of the most prolific six-day runners for those years, but he often did not finish. In 1889, after he finally won a 36-hour race in Wheeling, West Virginia, he took upon himself the title of “Champion of West Virginia,” and finally finished his first six-day race in 1890 with 475 miles. He died in 1903, at the age of 44, due to a stabbing during a holdup in St. Louis, Missouri. He had been working as an athletic trainer.
Peter Crossland (1842-1899) of Sheffield, England, was a knife maker, known as “The Sharp Sheffield Blade.” He was one of the pioneer heel-and-toe pedestrians in England. He was credited with walking 120.9 miles without a rest in 1876, breaking the 24-hour world record. He competed in many ultra-distance races and in 1879 went to America to race in the First O’Leary Belt. He returned to England and continued to compete until at least 1885. He then peddled vegetables in Manchester, England. In 1896, he was still offering challenges to run 20 miles. He died in 1899 at the age of 57.
Benjamin Curran (1833-1907), of New York City, was a longshoreman and one of the oldest pedestrians who took up the sport. He served for two years in the Civil War. He entered the sport in 1877. In 1879, he became an instant hero of his fellow longshoremen when he achieved 438 miles in May 1879, in O’Leary’s Heel and Toe Championship. During his first six-day competition in 1879, at the age of 46, betting odds were largely against him, because he looked so old. Spectators were stunned that such an old man (age 46) could do so well finishing in second place. He continued to compete until 1888, when he was 55 years old. He died in 1907 at the age of 74.
William Dancer (1841-1894) was from West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England. He immigrated to California in 1880 and worked for the Market Street Railroad, in San Francisco, as a train car washer. He entered the sport in 1880, competing in the Second Diamond Belt race, reaching 434 miles. In 1881, he won the Third Diamond Belt with 518 miles, setting a new California six-day record. In 1887, his troubled marriage and physical abuse became very public. His wife, Phoebe Dancer claimed, “he did not want to be bothered with a gray-haired old wife when, if he could get a divorce from her, he would be able to marry a little seventeen-year-old daisy who was just crazy about him.” His wife would not grant him a divorce, not wanting him to marry the girl, but she still sought financial support for her and the children. He died in 1894 at the age of 53.
Samuel Day (1852-1913), originally from Northampton England, was one of the most prolific six-day runners in the world. He entered the sport in 1878 and specialized in the six-day race limited to 12-14 hours. He set early world records for those formats and won four six-day races. He immigrated to America in order to continue to compete into the 1900s. He lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, Newport, Kentucky, and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he became a painter. He exceeded 500 miles in two races, with his best of 540 miles in 1900. When he died in 1913, at the age of 61, George Noremac, John Glick, and other runners helped to satisfy his wishes to be buried on his family lot in Pittsburgh. Old Soldier Barnes organized a race at Old City Hall to raise money for his headstone in Eastern Cemetery.
James M. Dean (1869-) was born in Canada and was a waiter from Boston, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As one of the few black pedestrians, he entered the sport late, in 1899. He was a protégé of the black legendary runner Frank Hart. His first six-day race twelve-hours-per-day race held in the new Madison Square Garden. He led with 61 miles after the first day, but then the race was canceled when the manager couldn’t pay the rent and skipped out with all the money. In 1901, he reached 400 miles at a race in Philadelphia. A few months later, at Pittsburgh, he went crazy during a race. First, he suddenly accused his handlers of attempting to poison him and insisted that the food first be taste-tested by someone else. After reaching 412 miles, he was taken to the hospital in “daffy” condition. He escaped out a window and after several hours was found wandering the streets covered in blood. Hart picked him up at the police station and returned him to the hospital. “It was said that Dean was completely broken down from exertions in the race.” He recovered in a couple of days and two months later was competing in another six-day race in Boston. After taking part in a 1902 two-man six-day relay in Madison Square Garden, and reaching 635 miles, he retired from the sport.
Patrick Dineen (1869-1927) was born in Ireland and immigrated to Melrose, Massachusetts. He became a baker and became known as “the champion five-mile runner” and “the well-known pedestrian of Boston.” He was one of the final successful pedestrians to come into the sport. In 1902 he won five ultra-distance races. That year, he also won the First Weston Challenge Belt with 528 miles. He tried to defend the belt in 1903 and placed second with 519 miles. He then became an athletic trainer in South Boston and competed in shorter races. In 1911, he competed and won a six-day two-man relay in Indianapolis, Indiana, 2.5 hours per day, and then retired from running. He died in 1927, at the age of 58, after being ill for some time.
John Dobler (1859-1891), from Chicago, Illinois, entered the six-day sport in 1879, when only 20 years old as a protégé of Daniel O’Leary. He was one of America’s best ultrarunners in 1880. He set the world record for the six-day, twelve-hours per day format, that year, with 414 miles. He also set a 12-hour American record with 78.8 miles. In November 1880, at the Sixth Astley Belt race in London, England, he set numerous American records, 100 miles, 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours. His last race was in 1887. In 1891, he was declared insane after stealing mail as a postal worker, committed to an asylum, and died later that year at Kankakee, Illinois, at the young age of 32.
Alice (Olive) M. Donley (1861-1940), born in Iowa, was from San Francisco, California. Her sister Sadie Donely convinced her to enter the sport in 1879. She made her pedestrienne debut at the Women’s Six-day Pacific Coast Championship in October 1879, with her sister. At times, they would dress as twins on the track. They were crewed by their older sister Carrie “Cad” Donley. Alice finished fourth in that first race with 286 miles and won a small fortune. She left the sport in 1881, at the young age of 20, married Harry Sherwood, settled in Seattle, Washington, and died in 1940 at the age of 79.
Sarah “Sadie” Mason Donely (1863-1960) was the younger sister of Alice, also from San Francisco. She placed second when only age 16 in the Women’s Six Day Pacific Coast Championship in 1879 with 321 miles and won $780 valued at $25,000 today. She then won a six-day race in Nevada City, Nevada with 311 miles in 1880. She also left the sport in 1881 when she was only 18 years old. She married Benjamin B. Haven and died of cancer in a Bellevue, Washington, nursing home in 1960, at the age of 97. She was the last known surviving pedestrian.
Dennis “Denny” Driscoll (1857-1895), born in Ireland, was a shoemaker from Lynn, Massachusetts and was one of the fastest heel-and-toe walkers in the country. He immigrated to America with his family in 1868 when he was two years old, and started to walk competitively in 1878, at the age of 21. In Aug 1879, he broke the ten-mile American walking record, with 1:23:30. He had a very short six-day walking career. When he competed in 1890, in Detroit, Michigan, he only lasted for 68 miles. He died in 1895 of tuberculosis, after a long illness, at the age of 37.
George Dufrane (1846-1896), originally from Canada, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, ran his first six-day race at the Rose Belt in 1879, where he reached 450 miles, and ran in many of the other prominent races. It was written, “The handsome Dufrane looks as pleasing as ever and has a smile for everybody. He is the funny man of the tanbark, the comedian of the sawdust.” His best race was 482 miles. He continued to race until 1891. He then went into long-distance cycling. In 1896, he crashed on his bike, which ultimately led to his death at the age of 50.
William Dutcher (1848-1894) was from Poughkeepsie, New York. He served in the Civil War as a boy and became a railroad fireman. He became a professional walker very early, in 1870, and accomplished the feat of walking for more than 100 hours. He was then convicted of bigamy and confined to prison for three years. In 1875, he gained a reputation of being a fraud, swindler, and thief, as he cheated a solo six-day 500-mile attempt at North Adams, Massachusetts. He continued his walking career for several more years and frequently fainted on the track during races. In 1892, he disappeared from his boarding house in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. “It was said that he was owing some bills in town which reason is given for his flight.” A few months later, he was killed working in a lumber mill, running a machine in a dark room.
Fannie Edwards (1856-) (real name Frances Alwine Wurm) was born in Brunswick, Germany and immigrated to Portland, Maine. She burst onto the stage of pedestrianism when she walked 3,000 quarter miles in 3,000 quarter hours in New York City in early 1879. But along with her fame came scandal. She became romantically involved with her trainer, Frank Leonardson, who had deserted his wife and children for her. That resulted in his arrest and a court case, resulting in required alimony, which she paid for him. The two then went to California to compete, and Frank posed as her brother. In San Francisco, she placed second in the Women’s Diamond Belt with 262 miles. Later, in 1879, at Madison Square Garden, she finished a Women’s Rose Belt with 288 miles and won the award for being the best-dressed and most well-behaved runner. After only a year, she broke up with Frank and married another pedestrian, William A. Cousins, who also deserted his wife, and later was charged with bigamy. A couple months later, he fell off of a scaffold while painting in New Jersey and was instantly killed. She then disappeared from the sport.
William Edwards (1851-1896) was born in London, England. He immigrated to New Zealand in 1859. In 1874, he walked 100 miles in 23:55 at Dunedin, New Zealand and continually improved his distance and speed. In 1878, he became a professional pedestrian and competed in Australia. He became known as “the long-distance champion of Australia.” In 1880, he continued to dominate in races, although his distances were well off world-class distances and times. The six-day race started to be competed in Australia in 1881. He won the first one with 451 miles. He tried to get some of the American champions to travel down under, and finally Daniel O’Leary went to compete in 1883. Edwards beat O’Leary three times. He went to America in 1884 to compete and beat Frank Hart in one low-mileage race that was believed to be fixed. His trip was pretty much a bust as he realized he could not legitimately beat America’s best. He returned to Australia. He continued racing in Australia, but never again on a true international stage. In 1887, Charles A. Harriman went to Australia and beat everyone he raced, including Edwards. In 1890, Edwards moved back to England and died in 1896, at the age of 45, from heart disease.
Alfred Elson (1836-1900) was born in Northampton, England. He immigrated to America when he was young, served in the Civil War, settled in Meriden, Connecticut, and in 1869 became one of the earliest American ultra-distance pedestrians. In 1879, Elson was walking long distances while living in Maine. He entered the six-day sport in 1879 when he won a head-to-head match with 413 miles. He competed often against other pedestrians from the area, Samuel Merritt, and Peter Napoleon Campana. In the mid-1880s, he became a successful six-day runner and exceeded 500 miles twice, with a best of 525.3 miles in 1884. He died in 1900, in New London, Connecticut, of apoplexy at the age of 64.
John Ennis (1842-1929) was born in Ireland, immigrated to America while young in 1853, and served in the Civil Ward. He settled in Chicago, Illinois, and became a carpenter. In 1868, he started competing in walking and made a name for himself when he beat Daniel O’Leary in a handicapped race in 1875. He tried to compete in many six-day races but had trouble with stomach issues and was often branded as a failure. In 1878, he finished second in the Third Astley Belt race with 474 miles, winning a fortune of $11,000 with a value of $340,000 today. He was truly one of the good guys in the sport and was referred to as “Honest John.” He put most of his fortune back into the sport as a race manager. However, he perhaps did not have the best business sense and lost it all, putting on races that fizzled, forcing him out of the sport in 1881 to work and pay off his debts. In 1910, at the age of 67, he walked across America, ocean-to-ocean, in 80 days, beating Weston’s transcontinental record. He died at age 87 in 1929 of pneumonia.
Christian Faber (1848-1908) was a German-American, from Newark, New Jersey, who was a storekeeper and candy maker. He entered the sport in 1879, walking 107 miles in 24 hours. He had a boyish look described as, “a slightly built little fellow, not much more than a boy in years, and a very pretty walker.” He reached 531 miles at the Rose Belt in 1879 and won a race in 1880. He continued in the sport until about 1888 and then became a baker in New York City. He died in 1908 at the age of 60.
Martin Fahey (1865-1920), from Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, became a saloon proprietor. In 1881, he showed his running skills when he dashed after a team of runaway horses in town and stopped them. After years of succeeding in short sprint races, he set his sights on becoming a long-distance pedestrian. He ran in his first six-day race in 1901 After he placed second in a six-day, twelve-hours-per-day race with 343 miles, he quickly gained a national reputation as a six-day runner to contend with. In 1902, he reached 514 miles in a race in Philadelphia. He retired from ultra-distance racing in 1903 and coached high school boys. He died in 1920, at the age of 55, after a twelve-day illness of pneumonia.
Patrick Fitzgerald (1846-1900) was born in Ireland. While an infant, he immigrated to Montréal, Canada. The family later moved to New York City in 1864, where he became a cattle drover and started competing in running. He became one of the fastest runners in the world from five to fifty miles and was known as “Johnny Wild.” He entered the six-day sport in 1879 and finished with 520 miles in the Rose Belt. He progressed to be one of the greatest American six-day runners ever. With his fame and riches, Fitzgerald became involved in city government and was eventually appointed the Alderman of Long Island City (now part of Queens). He was unmarried and for years operated a saloon and athletic hall. In 1884, he became the first American to break the 600-mile barrier and broke the world record with 610 miles. He then rejected challenges and did not race again, finishing his career with six finishes of at least 500 miles. He became a farmer and “loved the soil.” He died in his home at Long Island City of dropsy in 1900, at the age of 54, after being ill for some time. At his death, he still held the 500-mile world record and the world record for 100 hours. Those records would not be broken for more than 100 years.
William “Corkey” Gentleman (1833-1914) was a vendor of cat food from Bethnal Green, England. During his cat food deliveries, he ran about 12-15 miles per day and started competing in 1862. In the races, he ran stooping over with an awkward gait. He was the first to reach 100 miles in the historic First Astley Belt Race in 1878. Later that year, he broke the six-day world record with 521.2 miles. He left the sport in 1882 and never competed in America. He immigrated to Canada in 1883 and became a trainer for the Shamrock and Montreal Amateur Athletic Association and McGill University. In his late 70s, “street cars had no attraction for the diminutive Englishman, he wanted to use his limbs.” He died in 1914, at the age of 81.
John Glick (1869-1920) was from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and worked in a woolen mill as a weaver. He was a second-generation pedestrian, starting his running career in 1889. He won four six-day races in the waning years of the sport and reached at least 500 miles twice. His best was 532 miles. He retired from competitive running in 1905 and went to work in the cotton mills in Philadelphia. He became successful in six-day bicycle races. He died in 1920, at the age of 51, after a long illness, and was buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Peter Golden (1943-1933) was from Worcester, Massachusetts. He entered the sport in 1885 and began to excel in six-day races in 1888. During his career, he surpassed 500 miles five times, with his best coming in 1888 with 538.5 miles. He had five six-day wins. He also put on some races for women pedestrians. He continued to compete into the 1900s, working as a clerk in New York City. In 1933, he died at the age of 79, in a New York City hospital after a lingering illness.
Gus Guerrero (1854-1914) was a Hispanic American from Alviso, California (future Silicon Valley). He was born a U.S. citizen, but the news press usually called him a Mexican. He faced racial discrimination and accusations of laziness due to his Hispanic heritage, which he tried to help people understand was actually from Spain. When the six-day sport came to California in 1879, he competed and eventually became California’s all-time greatest six-day runner. He left California to compete in numerous races over many years, winning at least eleven of them. About 1892, he married and made Bath, Maine, his new home. He continued to compete into the 1900s and became a gate-tender and conductor on the Broadway subway in New York City. He exceeded 500 miles in six six-day races. His best came in 1888 with 590 miles. In 1914, his health failed, and he moved back to California, where he died at the age of 60.
Patricio “Patrick” Guerrero (1861-1949) was a Hispanic American from Alviso, California (future Silicon Valley). the younger brother of the more famous runner, Gus Guerrero. Patrick followed his brother’s example and entered the sport in 1880 at the age of 19, when he ran in a six-day race held in San Francisco, reaching 215 miles. The following year, he had his greatest six-day success and finished with 503 miles. He became employed as a cook on a steamer that ran between Napa and San Francisco. In 1891, he ran in a six-day race held in Denver, Colorado. He reached 100 miles in 17:35:00, had a big lead on the third day with 240 miles, but the race was canceled early because of lack of interest. Also, the veterans “were so mortified to see their reputation blasted by a comparatively unknown like Pat Guerrero that they decided to quit.” In 1892, he was brutally assaulted in downtown San Francisco. He had obtained employment at a lumber company during a strike. Two men beat him terribly in front of about 1,000 people for being a “scab.” In 1910, he was granted a divorce from his wife of 12 years. She deserted him and told him that his skin was too dark to suit her. He died in 1949 at the age of 88, leaving behind eleven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
George W. Guyon (1853-1933) was originally from Canada and later moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he worked a brakeman for the railroad. He was a very early pedestrian, who entered the sport in 1876. He won a six-day walking tournament in Chicago with 412 miles and moved to Chicago. In 1879, he raced against a horse for 52 hours and lost by more than 50 miles, even though the horse rested for 24.5 hours. That year, he also won O’Leary’s Heel and Toe Championship Belt with 480 miles. He was a pure walker, won four races, left the sport after 1880, and never exceeded 500 miles. He “tended wheel” in Chicago and later became a “tinker” in Oklahoma City. He died at the age of 79, in Oklahoma.
Charles A. Harriman (1853-1919) was originally from Maine, but later lived in Haverhill, Massachusetts and became a shoemaker. He became the greatest American six-day heel-and-toe walker in history. He entered the six-day sport in 1879 and placed third with 450 miles in the Third Astley Belt. Harriman became a very accomplished walker and towered over his competition, standing 6’1”. He won at least six six-day races during his career. In 1881, he set a six-day world walking record of 530 miles, later surpassed by George Littlewood of England, but still is an American record today. In 1882, he went to California to compete and ended up staying there for several years, running a saloon and competing in races around the Auburn, California area. He next conquered the six-day sport in Australia, becoming the undefeated champion of that country. He competed there for nearly three years and then retired from the sport in 1889. He became a farmer and pastor in Rockport, Maine. He died at the age of 66, in 1919.
Frank Hart (1856-1908) was born in Haiti, immigrated as a child to America and raised in Boston, Massachusetts’ West End. He entered the six-day sport in 1879 and was allowed to race despite his black race, with the help of influential men who defended his right to share the track with whites. In 1880, he broke the six-day world record and became the most popular athlete in America. The author wrote an entire book on his amazing career in Frank Hart: The First Ultrarunning Star. He was the most prolific six-day runner in the history of the world. He competed in at least 66 six-day races and reached at least 100 miles in 85 of all his ultra races. He later became a talented trainer and athletic director in Chicago, Illinois. He trained endurance cyclists but became very frustrated with that sport that included cruel racist practices compared to the open sport of pedestrianism. Hart won the equivalent of millions of today’s dollars, but squandered it away, mostly in gambling. In 1906, he was penniless and suffering from tuberculosis, living in Colorado for his health. He died in 1908, in Chicago, at the age of 54, estranged from his family, and buried in an unmarked grave.
Aggie Harvey, real name, Agnes “Maggie” (McShane) Weigand (1870-) was from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was called “The Irish Queen.” She became a dominant pedestrian starting in 1892 as she won two six-day races (12 hours per day), held in Pittsburgh, with 220 and 248.8 miles. In one race she won, she dodged getting drugged. She won at least five six-day races during her career before retiring from the sport in 1898. But in 1917, she would win one of the last lingering six-day races of the pedestrian era, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
George Hazael (1845-1911) was from London, England and, for a time, the greatest ultrarunner in the world. As early as 1870, he was recognized as a champion ten-mile runner and later broke the 20-mile world record. In 1878, he began competing at the ultra-distances and broke world records for 50 miles, 12 hours, 24 hours and 100 miles. He received poor treatment from the Brits and their preferred champion, Charles Rowell, who refused to race against him. He showed them when he broke the six-day world record and became the first person in the world to reach 600 miles. In 1883, he immigrated to America with his family and opened up a saloon and hotel in Brooklyn, near the Brooklyn Bridge, that included a track for him to train on. He displayed under a glass case his running shoes, worn while setting the world record. He gave up the six-day sport by 1884 and, in about 1886, moved back to England to try to heal his rheumatism, leaving behind many debts. In 1908, he suffered in a hospital from a double hernia. He had crossed the Atlantic fifteen times during his lifetime. He had lost all his money and applied for an old-age pension. His death at the age of 66, in 1911, was not mentioned in the British newspapers. He was forgotten.
Peter Hegelman (1864-1944) was a jeweler and watchmaker from New York City. His parents were originally from Germany. He was one of the greatest second-generation six-day runners. In 1885, he entered the ultra-distance sport and in 1887 he broke the American 25-mile record. From 1886 to 1903, he competed in more than 25 six-day races, won eight of them, finished in the top two in twenty-two of them, and surpassed 500 miles five times, with his best 526.3 miles. After retiring from competition, he became a clerk in New York City and remained involved in the running sport. He was a track inspector for the Millrose and AAU track meets in New York City. In 1944, at the age of 80, he died at Secaucus, New Jersey. In recent years, he had been a ticket collector at Madison Square Garden.
Daniel Herty (1857-1931) was born in Ireland, immigrated to America when he was five years old, and settled in Revere, Massachusetts, near Boston. He became a master plumber and entered the six-day sport in 1880. In 1881, handled by Frank Hart, he achieved 561.1 miles and was on his way as a feared contender. In the mid-to-late-1880s, he became one the greatest American six-day runners. He continued to compete into the 1900s, then worked as a plumber in Revere, and was actively involved in city politics. He owned several houses and was “well-to-do.” During his running career, he won ten six-day races and surpassed 500 miles eight times with a best of 609 miles. In 1931, he was found dead at the age of 73 by his wife in a gas-filled kitchen. The gas jets of the stove were open.
Bertha Von Hillern (1853-1939) (her stage name, not her birth name) was born in Germany. She immigrated to America in 1875 at the age of 22 and settled in the German community in Chicago, Illinois, where she encouraged women to engage in athletic exercise. Discovered in 1876 by Daniel O’Leary, she competed in the world’s first women’s six-day race against Mary Marshall, establishing a rivalry between the two with a rematch. She retired from the sport in 1878 and became a talented artist. For years she painted in her studio in the Virginia mountains, near Roanoke. Her landscape paintings were viewed at many of the leading American art exhibition. In 1890, she still frequently walked eleven miles to church and back. She made a “pot of money” speculating in real estate. She died in 1939, at the age of 86. In October 2021, Shenandoah County, Virginia, dedicated a historical marker to her.
Willard A. Hoagland (1862-1936) was from Union Springs, New York. He became involved in competitive walking races in 1879. He was a true heel-and-toe walker and one of America’s all-time greatest. In 1886, he beat the best walker in America, Charles A. Harriman, in a 24-hour race with 128 miles. In the early 1890s, he helped keep the sport going, by putting on many races for women pedestrians until they created too much tension for him, arguing over the winnings he provided, which accelerated the decline in the women’s sport. He continued to compete in walking into the 1900s and organized more races. He was a constable at Auburn, New York, and became a National League baseball umpire. In 1911, he competed in a six-day two-man relay race in Indianapolis, Indiana, 2.5 hours per day. Teamed with Patrick Dineen, they won. During his career, he won six races, although he never reached 500 miles. He died in 1936 at age 74 in Auburn.
Martin Horan (1869-) was called a “smooth-faced Philadelphia boy.” He entered the six-day sport in 1887 as a second-generation pedestrian and reached 317 miles in a massive race with 40 runners in Philadelphia. In 1889, playing a harmonica around the track, he placed second in a six-day race in Detroit, Michigan, with 479 miles, winning $600. The next year again in Detroit, he reached 500 miles. In 1891, at a major six-day race in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he reached 500 miles for the second time. He competed in about eight six-day races, with his last in 1903, in Philadelphia.
Emma “Amy” (Dolan) Howard (1862-1885) was the greatest female pedestrian of the 19th century, the undefeated champion of the world. She was born in New York and married very young to Frank Howard (also known as Frank Kent). She became a variety actress and started running competitively in 1879, at the age of sixteen. She was not a strict heel-and-toe walker. She was one of the few women who learned to combine running with walking, which enabled her to set her world records. Her six-day world record of 409 miles, set in 1880, lasted for more than 100 years. She won all of the eight six-day races that she competed in and won a fortune. In 1885, she died in childbirth at the age of 23.
Harry Howard (1850-1891) was born in Lancashire, England, and immigrated to America in about 1869. He became a butcher in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York. He was a wrestler and boxer and was a dog trainer, having many hounds. Like others, in early 1879, he became involved in pedestrianism and immediately became one of the most successful early six-day runners. In an attempt to win the 1879 O’Leary Belt, Howard tried to use a dirty trick against the young teen-aged leader, Nicholas Murphy. He purposely clipped his heels, trying to goad him into a brawl, to get him ejected from the competition. It didn’t work; Howard finished in second place, five miles back. He went to England to compete in the Sixth Astley Belt race, reached only 240 miles, and after several more DNFs, retired from the sport in 1882, and went back to raising and hunting with hounds. During his short career, he surpassed 500 miles twice, with his best of 534 miles in 1880. In 1888, he was involved in wrestling matches. He died in 1891, at the age of 41, and was buried in St. Johns Cemetery, in Orange, New Jersey.
Thomas Howarth (1860-1932) was born in Lancashire, England. He immigrated to America as a child and settled in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He was a runner, not a walker. As a teenager, he set an American record for 25 miles, with 2:41 and clocked 50 miles in 6:21, just three minutes off the American record. He was referred to as a champion short distance runner. He entered the six-day sport in 1886. He rapidly became a top American pedestrian, the youngest to exceed 500 miles—a feat he achieved at 18 years old in 1888. He continued to compete until 1903 and surpassed 500 miles in three races. He became an athletic trainer and grounds keeper in Philadelphia. In 1903, his wife, Gertrude, fell asleep while smoking and was burned to death. He remarried and later died in 1932, at the age of 71, at his home in Philadelphia.
John “Lepper” Hughes (1850-1921) of New York City, was a “poor day laborer” with no formal education and could not read or write. He was born in Ireland and immigrated to America in 1868. He became the most despised runner in the sport and his very vocal racist attitudes were extreme in that era for New York City. He began his running career in 1870, racing others in the streets of New York City. He embraced the nickname of “Lepper” because of his odd jumping gait. In 1878, after Daniel O’Leary won the First Astley Belt race, Hughes issued a challenge for the belt and was soundly and embarrassingly defeated. He had a tendency to drop out early in races but stuck with it and eventually became one of the most prolific and best six-day runners in the sport. But he could never win over the crowd, especially because of his racist fistfights with black champion Frank Hart. His greatest accomplishment came in 1881, when he broke the six-day world record with 568.4 miles. In addition to that, he set many American records including: 50 miles, 12 hours, 100 miles, 200 miles, 48 hours, 300 miles, 72 hours (twice), 400 miles, and more. His 100-mile mark of 13:57:00 was the fastest 100 miles for an American during the entire pedestrian era and wasn’t broken until 1969 by Ted Corbitt. He surpassed 500 miles in twelve six-day races, the second most in history. He continued to compete into the 1900s and operated a saloon in New York City. He died at age 70 in 1921. “Word came to Chief Beck that several little girls had been looking into the windows of the old house (in Leonia, New Jersey) and had seen an old man lying on the floor.” It was Hughes. He died of old age and exposure.
“Professor” John R. Judd (1836-1911) was born in England and immigrated to Buffalo, New York. He became a gym owner and trainer of boxers. He was one of the earliest six-day pedestrians. In 1874, P.T. Barnum invited Judd to make a six-day 500-mile attempt in the New York City Hippodrome. Judd made 368 miles in five days. He then made history by participating in the first six-day race ever held in the world against Edward Payson Weston, in March 1875. Weston won 431 miles to Judd’s 222. Judd then mostly disappeared from the sport. In 1891, he owned a sporting goods store in Brooklyn where he accidentally shot and killed his wife while packing up some revolvers. He died in 1911 at the age of 75.
Bella Kilbury (actual name Bella Gieb) (1862-1897) was born in Germany, immigrated to America, and settled in from Hoboken, New Jersey. She was known as ‘Dead-eye Dick’ by friends because she had a glass eye. She entered the sport in 1879 at the age of only sixteen and was penniless. She finished her first race with 351 miles and won $200, but was swindled out of the money by the race management, who thought they could take advantage of a young girl. In 1886, she married William H. Meek, a saloonkeeper who also competed as a pedestrian. During her career, she won at least four six-day races and competed until 1889. She died in 1897, at the age of 35, shortly after giving birth to a son.
Frederick W. Krohne (1841-1910) was a German-American known as “The Brigadier,” from New York City. He entered the sport in 1879 and quickly found success. He finished second at the 1979 Rose Belt, reaching 536 miles. He was an unusually tall runner for the time, standing 6’1”. “Krohne towered above all the others by nearly half a head, and moved with an awkward gait with long strides.” He never quit six-day races early and always placed high. He only competed in six-day races for a few years, but surpassed 500 miles in six races. In 1883, he went into the saddlery business in Chicago, Illinois. He then moved from to Menasha, Wisconsin, and worked as a cooper (barrel maker) in a water power company. He totally retired from the running sport about 1889 and died in 1910 at the age of 69.
Exilda La Chapelle (1859–1935) was born in Quebec, Canada. She began walking exhibitions at the young age of thirteen, in 1872, in Canada, and later in the upper Midwest of the United States. In 1879, she walked 207 miles in the highly controversial Women’s International Six-Day Race in New York City, during which her husband, William DeRose, embarrassed her, causing her to withdraw. During June 1879, in San Francisco, she walked 3,200 quarter miles (800 miles) in 3,200 quarter hours (33 1/3 days) in a “last women’s standing” race, tied with Fannie Edwards. She was one of the greatest female pedestrians of the era, won six six-day races, her best 350 miles, and retired from the sport in 1889. Her husband opened a saloon in San Francisco, California. He was frequently drunk and abusive to her. She divorced him and married Robert Anderson Brice in 1886, who was in the construction business. They moved to Texas in 1895 and operated hotels. In 1923, she died at the age of 86 from colon cancer.
Richard Lacouse/Lacourse (1848-1923) was born in Quebec, Canada and eventually moved to Boston, Massachusetts. He entered the sport in 1879 and was referred to as “the Stocky Frenchman.” He ran in many races from 1879 to 1881, had some success, and reached 501.1 miles in a 1881 six-day race. With his fortune, he turned to illegal activities and opened up a brothel in the red-light district of Gloucester, Massachusetts. He violently abused women and was arrested many times. He fled bail in 1885, was hunted down by a famed Pinkerton detective, and escaped from a ship as he was being taken back to authorities. He was eventually found again and introduced to his new home in a prison in Boston. Several years later, he changed the spelling of his name slightly and made a new honorable life in Montana, working as a bricklayer in a smelter. In 1892, he put on several six-day races, attracting Daniel O’Leary who was in the West. In 1916, at the age of 68, he fell off a scaffold at a smelter and suffered some serious injuries. He died at age 75, in 1923, of old age.
George Littlewood (1859-1912) was perhaps the greatest six-day runner of the pedestrian era, although he competed in only about fifteen such races. He was from Sheffield, England. By 1871, he was competing in running matches. He became a knife cutler, the same vocation as his father and grandfather Littlewood. He began his pedestrian career in 1879, at age 20. In 1880, he finished second in the Sixth Astley Belt Race held in England with 470 miles. In 1881, he went to America for the first time and competed in the Second O’Leary International Belt, but quit early on the final day with 480 miles. One of his crowning achievements came in 1882, when he broke the heel-and-toe six-day world record, reaching 531 miles. This record is still held today and likely will never be broken. His greatest achievement was breaking the six-day world record in 1888, raising it to 623.7 miles, a mark that would not be broken for almost a century. But then, at the young age of 29, he rested on his laurels, refused to be challenged, and retired from the six-day sport. In 1896, he announced his formal retirement from any more long-distance races. During his career, he surpassed 500 miles five times and won ten six-day races. He continued to put on exhibitions, organized some races, and trained professional boxers. He died in 1912, at the age of 53, of tuberculosis. Only a brief mention of his death was made in newspapers.
Daniel O’Leary (1846-1933) was born in Ireland. He became “The Father of Walking.” He did more for the six-day race sport than anyone else during the era. It truly became his life. In 1865, at the age of nineteen, like so many other Irish, he immigrated to America. He could not find work in New York City, so he settled in Chicago, Illinois, where he first worked in a lumber yard. In 1874, he took up professional walking and was determined to be the best in the world. Within a few years, he beat the most famous walker, Edward Pason Weston, and replaced him as the greatest. He set world records for 12 hours, 100 miles, 24 hours, 200 miles, 72 hours, and six-days. Weston only took from the sport for himself. O’Leary returned just about everything he had to the sport. He trained other runners, including women. He organized more six-day races than anyone during that era and kept it alive in declining years. He was the recognized greatest heel-and-toe walker of the early era and kept that division of the sport alive as it was overshadowed by running. He won at least twelve six-day races and surpassed 500 miles in six of those races, with his best 520.2 miles walking. He lost nearly all of his money and then traveled for a publishing house in 1906. He continued to walk. In 1910, at the age of 61, he conquered the Barclay Match by walking 1,000 miles, one mile each hour, for 1,000 consecutive hours in Cincinnati, Ohio. He died in Los Angeles in 1933, at the age of 86. He had been suffering from a long illness and had been confined to the Glendale Sanitarium. The cause of death was said to be hardening of the arteries. “He scorned steady attention from a doctor in spite of developing a tumor on his hip ten days earlier and admitted that his finely coordinated muscles perhaps need the care of a physician.”
Tony Loeslein (1873-1939), was a postman from Erie, Pennsylvania, one of the second-generation six-day runners. He was in the National Guard where he delivered mail and competed in races into the 1900s with other servicemen and gave running exhibitions. In 1912, his home in Erie went up in flames. “Breaking into the house, they discovered Loeslein bound and gagged on the floor, his clothing in flames.” He was rushed to the hospital in serious condition. He recovered and returned to his mail delivery duty throughout World War I and beyond in the National Guard. He died in 1939, at the age of 66.
Mary “May” Marshall (1841-1911), (true name was Tryphena (Curtis) Lipsey) was from Canada. She married Thomas Lipsey, originally from Ireland, in 1860. About 1870, they moved to Chicago, where Marshall took up pedestrianism to help with family finances. She pioneered women’s six-day races, walking and winning the first one against Bertha Von Hillern in 1876, and also won a rematch later that year. She has been referred to as “The Mother of Long-Distance Female Pedestrianism.” In 1877, she got involved in a very public love triangle with pedestrian George Avery who fathered a child with her, which broke up her marriage. After giving birth, Marshall returned to the sport for a time and took on the name, “May.” In 1879, she was thrown out of a big race in Madison Square Garden for purposely throwing elbows against competition and soon retired from the sport. In the early 1900s, she married again, to pedestrian Henry Hager. They lived on the Michigan peninsula, where she spent time with her four grandchildren before she died of apoplexy in 1911, at the age of 70.
Peter McIntyre (1854-1915) was originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, and then immigrated to California. He worked as a mechanic at a sawmill. He entered the six-day sport in 1879 and became the six-day champion of California after winning the Pacific Coast Championship with 500 miles. He became an American citizen in 1880 and competed in ultra-distance races on the west coast until 1899. He remained active in sports into the 1900s and was a member of the Caledonian Club, and competed in several of the annual Caledonian Club athletic games. In 1911, he was the guardian of the outdoor Golden Gate Park stadium in downtown San Francisco. In 1915, he mysteriously disappeared and was found dead at the end of Key Route Pier in Oakland. He died at the age of 61 of drowning, with jewelry and money still in his pockets.
Samuel “Sam” Merritt (1858-1922) was from Bridgeport, Connecticut. He came from a poor family and as a youth, he worked in a sewing machine shop and as a street vendor. He got into the sport in 1878 as he helped Peter Napoleon Campana during his fraudulent six-day world record attempt. A few months later, Merritt won his first six-day race with 400 miles and became the Connecticut State Champion. Later that year, he placed second in the Fifth Astley Belt Race with 509 miles, establishing himself as one of the world’s elite runners. But after becoming very wealthy from his winnings in 1879 ($10,000 valued at $315,000 today), he stopped competing in six-day races. He walked in some exhibitions, put on some races, and trained runners and boxers. He became a saloon owner, bookmaker and racehorse owner in Bridgeport. He had trouble with the courts for not supporting his wife and dodged a plot to murder him in 1883. He operated illegal gambling in his saloon, and in 1888, with his gang, smashed up a rival’s place with an axe, resulting in his arrest. His wealth increased, and he expanded his operations. His places were frequently raided by police, finding roulette wheels, poker games, gambling machines, obscene picture machines, and poolrooms in operation. He was arrested nearly every year, but with his wealth, he remained free. Into the 1900s, he still wanted to run in contests for wagers. In 1914, he announced he would walk from Boston to Chicago, 50 miles per day, fueled only on whiskey. He died in 1922, at the age of 64.
Henry O. “H. O.” Messier (1862-1945) was originally from Denver, Colorado. His parents were French Canadian. He operated a grist mill and became one of the second-generation pedestrians. He entered the six-day sport in 1887 and moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He specialized as a heel-and-toe walker and became one of the best in the world. He surpassed 500 miles in two races during 1890 and competed until at least 1894. He supported women’s pedestrianism and put on races for them. He became the sport’s historian, was a book salesman, and informed the press what happened to the old-time famed pedestrians. He had lived in Milwaukee for 29 years, where he worked as a commercial traveler. He was one of the last living pedestrians. He died in 1945, at the age of 83, in Clintonville, Wisconsin.
Edward C. “E. C.” Moore (1860-1927) (real name Orrin Cuthbertson) was from Oil City Pennsylvania and worked in the oil industry for most of his life. He was perhaps the most successful second-generation pedestrian. He entered his first six-day race in 1887. The world record runner, James Albert, made him his protégé in 1888. He reached 531.7 miles in his second six-day attempt. In 1890, his reputation took a hit. During a race in Detroit, he devised a successful scheme to bribe some runners to quit a race early, and they were left with nothing. In 1892, he won four six-day races and was the best in the world for two years. In 1893, he finished his ninth career six-day finish of at least 500 miles during his brief career. In 1896, he took up six-day bicycle racing. At a big International Six-Day Race at Madison Square Garden, he finished in tenth place, with 1,661 miles. He raced again in 1897 and reached 1,495 miles. He could have gone further but experienced a terrible accident and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. By 1906, he was in Europe, working for the Standard Oil company. He died in 1927 at the age of 67.
Nicholas Murphy (1861-1903) was from Haverstraw, New York and worked in a brickyard. He started long-distance walking in 1879, at the age of 17. His athletic club sponsored him to compete in races. He shocked the world when he won the First O’Leary Belt in October 1879, with 525 miles, winning $5,000 valued at $155,000 today. He turned out to be a “one-hit-wonder.” He stopped training, squandered through much of his fortune, and was a dismal failure in a few more races. He “tried” to defend the O’Leary Belt in 1880 but quit the race after only 15 miles. “His failure gave rise to no end of rumors that he had only entered for an advertisement for a sold-out walk.” He admitted he knew he wouldn’t go very far. He left the sport. In 1893, he was one of the largest boat owners in Haverstraw, and was serving as a doorkeeper in the Assembly at the New York capital in Albany. In the 1890s, he became the chairman of the Democratic County Committee for Rockland County. He died prematurely from tuberculosis in 1903, at the age of 42.
Peter Panchot (1842-1917) was a postman from Buffalo, New York. He was born to French parents and served in the Civil War. He was called “little Moccasin,” because he often wore moccasins when competing on the track. He started running in 1878 and quickly started to win. He ran his first six-day race in 1879 and won with 480 miles and $1,000. He became an instant hero in Buffalo and developed into a very prolific six-day runner. Many times, in races, local postmen would come out on the track to walk with him and present him with awards. He moved to Hastings, Minnesota. In 1886, a tornado demolished his family farm in Hastings, along with all their machinery. He retired from the sport about that time, with seven six-day wins, and became a barber in Auburn, Washington. He died in 1917 at the age of 75.
William Pegram (1846-1913), of Boston, Massachusetts, was one of the very early black six-day runners. He was a former slave from Petersburg, Virginia, who spoke in a very thick black southern dialect that was mocked by New York City newspaper reporters. He had a short, but successful six-day running career. He reached 527 miles at the 1879 Rose Belt and his career best of 543 miles at the Second O’Leary Belt in 1880 in Madison Square Garden. Such was his talent that, in late 1880, he was brought to England to compete in the Sixth Astley Belt Race under the care of Happy Jack Smith. He caught a cold and only reached 88 miles. His last known race was in 1881, where he quit after the first day. He died in 1913 at the age of 71 from heart disease.
Austin Reid (1842-1919) was born in Ireland and immigrated to America in 1868. He was called “the schoolmaster” because he gave up a lucrative professorship at a Catholic school in Sacramento, California, to become a pedestrian. He had also gone through a nasty divorce and so was taking up a new life and profession. His one great six-day finish was accomplished at The Second California Diamond Belt race in 1880, where he placed second, with 500 miles. He left the sport in 1884, and continued to live in Oakland, where he composed poetry. He died in 1919 at the age of 77.
Agnes Jane (Jones) Robison (1860-1897) was from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1882, she married Zachariah Robison. She became a professional boxer in 1887 and got into pedestrianism in 1889. She immediately did surprisingly well. Her greatest race came in 1890 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where she won a six-day race with 252 miles, beating several of the best women pedestrians in the country. She was pretty feisty in her races and was barred from a race by manager H. O. Messier. In 1895, a troubled young man came to live with the Robisons, winning over her affections. In 1897, she went to compete in a three-day race in Liverpool, Ohio. Her jealous husband arrived and murdered her by gunshot during a rest period for the race. The entire story is told in the author’s book, Strange Running Tales: When Ultrarunning was a Reality Show.
Charles Rowell (1852-1909) was from Cambridge, England and was one of the greatest ultrarunners of the era. His running career began in 1872, with some wins in sprint racing. After Daniel O’Leary won the first two Astley Belt Races, Sir John Astley hand-picked Rowell to be England’s champion to regain the belt. Rowell was a runner, not a walker. Astley unfairly forced O’Leary to defend the belt before he had recovered from a previous race, and Rowell became the new Astley Belt Champion in 1879. He was often criticized because he forced challengers to race before they were ready, and he refused to race until he was fully ready. Even fellow Brits eventually despised his tactics. But he was one of the world’s best ultrarunners, with world records for 12 hours, 100 miles, 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, and six days. Some of his records were not broken for a century. He won the belt three consecutive times, allowing him to take personal ownership of it, and he retired from the sport in 1885 with only five six-day wins. He surpassed 500 miles four times, with his best of 602 miles. In 1902, he was arrested for embezzlement and had lost his enormous fortune, including the Astley Belt. He died penniless in 1909, in Cambridge, England, at the age of 56. During his career, he won about $100,000 of prize money, and at one time was worth $350,000, valued at about $12 million today, but he lost it all.
Henry Schmehl (1850-1932) was a German-American from Chicago, Illinois. He was one of the earliest six-day walkers in the world who competed against Daniel O’Leary. He was in the restaurant business. In 1906, at the age of 55, he tried to get wagered ultra-distance point-to-point races together between cities. He held the fastest-known-time between Milwaukee and Chicago (about 100 miles) with a time of 19:54:00. In 1907, he competed against his old friend, O’Leary, in a six-day twelve-hours-per-day race in Cincinnati, Ohio. He only reached 197 miles. In 1914, he walked 40 miles with O’Leary from Chicago to Joliet, Illinois. They repeated the journey in 1920 when O’Leary was 80 years old. He died at the age of 82, in 1932, after a ten-day illness.
Joseph Scott (1860-1908) was born in Ireland and immigrated to Australia when he was an infant. His family settled in Dunedin, New Zealand, where he grew up and became a bootmaker. As a teen, he was trained to be a competitive walker. In 1875, he entered the long-distance pedestrian sport when he walked 100 miles in 23:53:00. In 1879, he became the champion of New Zealand after walking 106 miles in 24 hours and defeated the Australian champion William Edwards. In 1885, he broke the 100-mile walking world record with a time of 17:59:00. He entered the six-day sport in 1886 by walking 424 miles. He sought out more competition in 1887 and traveled to England. He dominated and won three six-day twelve-hours-per day heel-and-toe races. The British champion, George Littlewood, declined to race against him. Scott set the world record for a six-day, heel-and-toe walk, limited to 12 hours per day, with 363.8 miles. The Brits had previously discounted Scott’s ability, charging that he used unfair boarded tracks. But in this case, he walked on the Brit’s track and defeated everyone. He returned to New Zealand greeted with a hero’s welcome. He never won much money and in 1889 declared bankruptcy. He died in 1908, at the age of 48, from cancer, leaving behind a destitute family.
William Scott (1841-) was born in Louisville, New York. In 1870, he moved to San Francisco, California and became a fireman. He began competing in 1879 and became one of the most prolific six-day runner in California. He was tall, 6’0” and became known as “The Old War Horse.” Early in his career, he once walked 120 miles without leaving the track. He competed in his first six-day race in 1879 and then competed in every six-day race held in the state. He won in 1880 in Sacramento, with 405 miles. He had his best race at The Second California Diamond Belt in June 1880, where he won and reached 505 miles for a new California six-day record. He ran in six six-day races in less than a year. In 1882, he competed in a major race in Madison Square Garden but quit early, with only 82 miles, which disgusted his California backers who lost a lot of money. One was so mad that he put up money to wager that women pedestrians could beat Scott. He then left the sport for good.
Anton Strokel (1851-1940) was an Austrian-American, from East Saginaw, Michigan, who immigrated to America in 1876. He had worked as a dock walloper on the Saginaw River. In 1884, he walked in a race at Saginaw and was discovered by a wealthy man who became his backer and entered him in races. In 1886, it was believed he broke the six-day 12-hours-per-day world record of 430 miles with 432 miles. However, they wisely remeasured the track and found it to be short, that he actually covered 429.1 miles. Also that year, at Pontiac, Michigan, he raced a horse for 15 days, 12 hours per day. The horse won 781 miles to 780 miles for Strokel. He continued to compete until 1887 and then became a grocer. He won six six-day races during his career, surpassed 500 miles twice, and became very wealthy. He died at his home in 1940 at the age of 89.
John “Romeo” W. Sullivan (1866-1899), of Bangor, Maine, was known as the “Bangor Ghost.” He entered the sport in the late 1880s as he competed into the late 1890s. “He was a long-headed, long-eared, tow-headed young man with a swinging carriage and a forward lean which made him appear as if his feet were engaged in the discouraging task of catching up with his head.” In 1899, he died in an almshouse from heart disease at the age of 32. (He should not be confused with a pioneer six-day pedestrian, John P. Sullivan (1853-1926) from Glens Falls, New York).
Norman “Pie Eater” Taylor (1830-1911) was from Bridgewater, Vermont. He served in the Civil War, and was known as the “Vermont Pie Eater,” because of his pie, cheese, and tea diet. When young, he was an amazing 20-mile runner. He entered the six-day running sport in 1879 at the age of 48, becoming the oldest pedestrian in the business. He usually ran in stockings. He moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and raced for years, showing up at races without any money, food, or a handler. His last known race was in 1895 when he was 65 years old, and he reached 427 miles. He won four six-day races during his long career. At the age of 74, he walked from the City Hall in Minneapolis to the City Hall in St. Paul and back again, a distance of about ten miles in 2:10, “just to show the young fellows that he was still alive.” In 1911, he died at age 81 in an old soldiers’ home in Minnesota.
George Tracey (1864-1943) was born in Ireland and was a blacksmith from Kinderhook, New York. He entered the sport in 1888, ran a few races, and did not return until 1901, when he reached 465 miles in a race in Philadelphia. He continued to do well and surpassed 500 miles twice, with his best 504 miles. He ran his last race in 1905, went back to Kinderhook, and took up his hobby of breeding fine poultry. Many years later, at the age of 70, in 1934, he served as the mayor of Kinderhook. He also served as a judge and editor of a poultry magazine. In 1943, he died at the age of 79.
Henry “Harry” Vaughan (1847-1888) was a carpenter/architect from Chester, England. He began his running career in 1869 and became professional in 1876. That year he broke O’Leary’s 100-mile world walking record. In 1877, he broke the 24-hour record with 122.5 miles. He competed in the First Astley Belt race in 1878, where he finished second to O’Leary with 500 miles. In 1881, he beat O’Leary in a six-day walking match. He then settled in America. In November 1888, Vaughan died at his home in Brooklyn, New York at the age of 44. He had been ill for several months from tuberculosis. He apparently had lost all his money. “The deceased died in poor circumstances.” His wife had died four years earlier, and they left behind six children, the youngest nine years old.
Robert Vint (1846-1917) was born in Ireland and immigrated to America in 1866. He was a shoemaker and became a professional pedestrian in 1879. His first six-day race was at the First O’Leary Belt, where he reached 350 miles. He quickly progressed and placed third at the O’Leary International Belt with 550 miles in 1881. A few months later, at the second running of this belt race, he had the greatest race of his career. He broke the six-day world record with 578 miles. Along the way, he also set American ultra-distance records from 72 hours and beyond. He moved to California and competed in a six-day race held there in 1889. During his career, he exceeded 500 miles in four races and had five six-day race wins. He settled in Stockton, California, where he was a prominent citizen and shoemaker. He died in 1917, at the age of 71.
Bertha Von Berg (1857-1923), true name, Martha “Mattie” Catherine Gangross, was born in Rochester, New York, to German parents. She was a boot and shoe seamstress. She burst into the pedestrian sport in 1878 when she walked 100 miles in 27 hours. But later she really impressed the sport by bringing her 100-mile time down to 23:12, becoming one of the first women in history to reach 100 miles in under 24 hours. She competed in the 1879 Women’s International Race held in New York City, where she nearly came to blows with Exilda La Chapelle. Von Berg won with a world record 323 miles and won $1,000. Later that year, she went with other women to compete in California, but she let her success go to her head. She was offered a $3,000 appearance fee but refused to start without also a guaranteed share of the gate money. She got involved with shady characters who assaulted the race director, causing injuries that led to his death. She stayed in the West for a year to further compete, but never did very well again, quitting races early. She left the sport in 1880 and returned to her profession as a boot and shoe seamstress and was a musician. She died in 1923 at the age of 66.
Edward Payson Weston (1839-1929) was from Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York City. He is the recognized “father of American Pedestrianism.” He was the first in the world to reach 500 miles in six days, which sparked the six-day frenzy in America. He exported the sport to England, and the craze went worldwide. Others, like Daniel O’Leary, followed his lead and quickly surpassed his ability. Weston was the most famous pedestrian of the era, but also the most despised because of his arrogant nature. He won fortunes but always quickly lost his money with extravagant spending. He even filed for bankruptcy while living multiple years in England. He had to turn over his financial affairs to his wife. He never gave back much to the sport and at times blasted it, as being fake, to the newspapers. But he always returned, because it was his source of earnings. He made walking his lifetime career. His greatest six-day race came in 1879 when he broke the six-day world record with 550 miles and won the Astley Belt. But he surpassed 500 miles in a race only one other time. He won seven six-day races during his career. In 1929, he died in his home in Brooklyn, at the age of 90. Only a “handful” of mourners attended his funeral along with his wife, two stepdaughters, and his former secretary, who cared for him during the past two years. He had been in financial difficulties in his last years and living off a small trust fund set up by a famous playwright. “Only one car followed the hearse to St. John’s Cemetery (in Queens, New York).” The grave plot was bought by his playwright friend.
Read the detailed history of the six-day race and much more about these amazing runners in the four-volume history by Davy Crockett, available on Amazon.
