The First Astley Belt Six-day Race of 1878 held in London

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By Davy Crockett

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By 1878, interest in ultrarunning/pedestrianism had taken a strong hold in Great Britain. The six-day race was viewed as a unique new branch of the running sport that fascinated many sporting enthusiasts. Like P.T. Barnum who was the first major promoter of ultrarunning in America, John Astley became the first prominent ultrarunning promoter in England. Astley’s significant involvement in 1878 helped to legitimize pedestrianism and he was the person who put “running” into “ultrarunning.” He thankfully removed the walking restriction in the six-day race and established the first international championship race, later called “The First Astley Belt.”

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Sir John Dugdale Astley (1828-1894) was a member of Parliament representing North Lincolnshire. He grew up in a wealthy family and was a lieutenant colonel in the Scots Fusilier Guards, serving in the 1854 Crimea War where he was wounded in the neck at the Battle of Alma. He was a great sportsman and while young, was an elite runner at the sprint distances.

Astley was truly a “larger than life” character. “He was a big, burly, old man, fond of strong language and strong drink. Wherever he went he was made conspicuous by his large figure, white hair and beard, the enormous cigar, never out of his mouth, save when he was eating, drinking or sleeping, his strident voice and his frequent, boisterous laugh.” A friend said, “He must have smoked more miles of cigars than any man living.”

Astley also had a passion for horses and boxing and wagered large sums of money. He lost a small fortune betting against O’Leary in the Edward Payson Weston vs. Daniel O’Leary II race of 1877 (see episode 105). Astley introduced the first belt (not belt buckle), into ultrarunning when he awarded William Gale a massive belt for accomplishing 4,000 quarter miles in 4,000 consecutive periods of ten minutes during October-November 1877 for 28 days. Championship belts had been introduced in boxing as early as 1810, and Asley brought the belt into the sport of pedestrianism. “Sir John Astley girded Gale’s waist with a belt of crimson velvet and massive silver. But the belt was too large, so amid much applause and some little merriment, it was slung across one of his shoulders.”

Plans for the Long-Distance Championship for the Astley Belt

On December 8, 1877, Astley announced that a six-day championship race would be held in the Agricultural Hall in London, open to all pedestrians in the world. A perpetual belt valued at £100 pounds would be awarded to the winner. The entrance fee was initially set at £10 (about $1,400 in today’s value). A telegram was sent to the recognized world champion, Daniel O’Leary in Chicago with an invitation. O’Leary quickly responded that he was interested.

Go-As-You-Please Rules Introduced

In January 1878, more detailed plans were announced for the historic event. The date was set for March 18^th, with a prize package of £750. The field would be limited to twenty starters. But the most significant announcement was that the race would not be limited to heel-toe walking. The athletes could run if they wanted. It was called “Go-as-you-please.” This was a historic decision made by Astley to embrace running along with walking.

The decision to open up the competition to running was made for two reasons. 1. Weston was constantly criticized that his walking style of wobbling was not always true “heel-toe” walking. Even O’Leary had also been accused of running at times in his matches. This put pressure on judges during events and caused anger among wagerers. 2. In recent decades, the British had been developing running, not walking, and were at a clear disadvantage to Weston’s and O’Leary’s skill at walking. Go-as-you please would level the playing field for the British. O’Leary believed this was the true reason, “It was deemed necessary to invent a style of progression which would place the legitimate champions at a decided disadvantage.” Even the British press admitted this was true, “As the long walk has developed of late under transatlantic influence, the good old English long run is still the better animal.” Competitors would be allowed to “walk, trot, run, mix, lift or introduce a new style of pedestrianism if clever enough.”

Skeptics

Objections to the planned event were voiced by some “thoughtful sportsmen,” especially by those who politically despised Astley, who called the event “preposterous.” Recent ultra-distance accomplishments were referred to as “insane feats of endurance that ought not be encouraged.” Others were cautious, but less critical. “Of all athletes, the ‘peds’ seem the most active now, walkists and runnists being in great requestion all over the kingdom.” It was hoped that interest in the running sport would increase, but still, “we will never cease to protest if the ‘brute element’ takes a too prominent position.”

One sporting newspaper called the planned event, “Sir John Astley’s Punch and Judy performance that would cause P.T. Barnum himself to hold his breath in awe.” It was mocked that the English runners would have their faces be painted like clowns and that the judges would be in wigs with false noses and spectacles.

Runners Enter the Race

By mid-February, some British entries were coming in for the tournament. They had to initially pay £1 to be screened by The Sporting Life, and if accepted pay an additional £9 to be formally entered. O’Leary’s formal entrants’ fee was late, but Astley wisely extended the deadline.

Would Weston enter? It was rumored that Weston and Astley had a falling out and were no longer on speaking terms. Sources were reporting that Weston wouldn’t enter and that “Sir John Astley begins to suspect that the tall American is a Russian spy in disguise.” Astley later denied there were any hard feelings between the two. But it was pretty clear that Weston had no real intention of entering as he continued to put on his own walking exhibitions, including trying to walk 1,500 miles in 26 days, taking Sunday’s off. He did apply, but never fully entered, perhaps after learning that O’Leary had finally formally entered.

Weston underestimated the historic significance of the upcoming event. He later gave a lame excuse of illness and presented a doctor’s note as proof. The New York Times properly speculated the Weston was afraid of O’Leary.

British Runners Prepare

The most competitive British ultrarunners were training hard. Many of them participated in a 26-hour race, held on February 23, 1878, on the track in Agricultural Hall in London. William Howes of London won with 129 miles in 24:20, setting a new world record of 127 miles 1210 yards in 24 hours. Howes also broke the world 100-mile walking record, reaching 100 miles in 18:08:20. Clearly the British were emerging as highly competitive long-distance pedestrians.

A day later, Feb 25, 1878, A six-day race was held at the Agricultural Hall, Pomona Gardens in Manchester, England between George Hazael, and Peter Crossland for £200. Both were entrants in the for the upcoming championship race in three weeks and unwisely decided to chase after money rather than properly preparing for the historic race.

The Manchester race was the first known “go-as-you-please” six-day race in history, where the contestants could make “the best of his way, walking or running.” Hazael won the race on a terrible track with only 240 miles and Crossland went away severely injured, causing him to withdraw from the upcoming tournament.

O’Leary Arrives in England

On Feb 25, 1878, O’Leary arrived in New York City on the way to London. He boarded the steamer Idaho along with his wife and child. He tried to do walking training on the ship, but the weather was too rough to allow much walking.

By March 2nd, there had been 24 entries, but only four had paid the required balance of their £10 entrance fee. Four other runners had been rejected had had their entrance fee returned. O’Leary had still not yet officially entered. People thought Astley was favoring O’Leary. “After entries have been left open an extra week, it seems strange that anyone should be allowed to enter ten days afterwards, especially when it was quite easy for him to have telegraphed his entry in. There can be no doubt that if O’Leary starts, the interest and the receipts will be considerably increased.”

A committee was formed to manage the event, comprising of “numerous members of the aristocracy, and all the titled supporters of the national pastime of the turf.” To stir up attention, the promoters started to announce that some prominent runners were entered who were not.

Two tracks would be laid down, one twelve feet wide, seven laps to a mile to be used by Englishmen, and another track six feet wide, 7.5 laps to a mile, for “foreigners” such as Weston and O’Leary. It was claimed that the special track was put into place to make sure any international visitors were treated fairly. However, the true reason was likely to appease Weston’s known demands that he always wanted to race on his own track. “One corner of the hall has been fitted up with twenty small huts for the use of competitors and the attendants.” The huts were said to be in terrible condition because they had recently been used to stable camels for a circus, and they smelled awful.

Rules were put into place. “Each competitor is to be allowed one attendant, who may hand to his man refreshments at a specified part of the track, but attendants must keep on the side. The penalty for a competitor willfully jostling or hindering any of his opponents, or making use of bad language, will be disqualification.” All would start in the counterclockwise direction, but any competitor could reverse direction if he gave notice to the lap scorers one lap ahead of time. Spiked shoes or boots were prohibited.

The winner would be awarded a four-foot-long silver and gold “challenge belt” weighing five pounds and he must defend the belt during an 18-month period with no more than two matches within a year. O’Leary felt confident and said, “I think there are about 550 miles in these boots between now and the end of the week”.

The Start

The start of “The Great Six Days’ Tournament” took place at 1:03 a.m., on March 18, 1878, in the massive gas-lit arena. Astley first made a short speech to the eighteen competitors lined up in front of the grandstand. He defended his decision to allow O’Leary’s late entry. “Every possible arrangement has been made to have a fair, straight fight, and I hope the best man will win.” He then shouted, “away you, go.”

The 18 starters were: James Bailey of Stittingbourne, Henry “Blower” Brown of Fulham, William “Corkey” Gentleman of London, W. Gregory of Hoxton, Joseph Groves of Oswestry, George Hazael of London, George Ide of North Woolwich, George Johnson of Barrow-in-Furness, S. R. Johnson of Wrexham, Walter Lewis of Islington, Charles C. Martyrn of Yatton, Pat McCarty of York, James McLeavy of Alexandria, Daniel O’Leary of Chicago, J. Smith of York, William Smith of Paisley, W. R. Smythe of Dublin, and Henry “Harry” Vaughan, of Chester.

During the early morning hours, spectators were not allowed in, only runners, attendants, race staff, and some of the press. Some competitors started running fast, others jogged carefully, and O’Leary started out using his proven style of walking. “It was a strange sight as they settled down to their work, the eighteen men, in their varied costumes, some walking steadily, some trotting, some running, some in groups, others individuals.”

George Hazael Quits Early

George Hazael (1845-1911), age 33, from London, was an experienced champion ten-mile walker and had been competing since at least 1870. He was also a true runner and ran the mile in 4:20:15. In recent years he had been competing at longer distances. He was described as having “a bulldog face, short, cropped hair and almost deformed stooped shoulders which gave him the most displeasing appearance.”

Early on during the race, Hazael tried to use some brash tactics against O’Leary. He was walking in the opposite direction of O’Leary. “When he passed the Irishman on each curve, he would verbally challenge O’Leary, attempting to get him upset. On one turn Hazael said, ‘I’ll kill this wonderful man before I am done with him.’” As Hazael gained a lead, it caused O’Leary to worry and start running which alarmed his handler, Albert Smith, who begged him to stop running. O’Leary replied, “Leave me alone. I know what I am about.”

After 90 minutes, Hazael was still ahead of O’Leary by a mile or two. This really bugged O’Leary. “He couldn’t stand this bitter, slouching, personal competitor. Therefore, he vowed to beat him.” Hazael was warned by the judges that he would be disqualified if he continued his unsportsmanlike behavior. He soon slowed significantly, without the breath to continue to trash-talk O’Leary, and he was the first to quit the race, reaching only 50 miles in 11:54:36, far back in 15^th place. “Hazael retired in disgust and contempt for the new order of pedestrianism.” One British sports critic called Hazael’s effort “utterly contemptible.” In the coming years Hazael would change his mind and become one of the greatest six-day runners ever, the first to break the 600-mile barrier three years later.

Smythe Fizzles

W. H. Smythe (1849-), age 29, of Dublin Ireland was among the favorites. About a year earlier, he had been the first British walker to reach 500 miles in six days in a solo event. He had also raced against O’Leary in Liverpool in a two-man relay for six days. But in this contest, his first six-day race against others, he was a disappointment. “He had gotten himself a suit of sables (robes worn by royalty) and was dubbed “Hamlet” as soon as he appeared on the track. Speed he had none. His poor performance should be a lesson to those who are ready to accept records of things they don’t understand.” (Smythe would only reach 175 miles).

Corkey Runs Well

After 12 hours, O’Leary pulled into the lead with 66 miles but was closely followed by a runner called, “Corkey.”

William “Corkey” Gentleman (1833-), age 45, was a vendor of cat food, from Bethnal Green, England, and had been a pedestrian for more than 25 years. He was given the “Corkey” nickname because of his “lightness on the path.” He was shorter than the others, five feet four inches, and 114 pounds. During his cat food deliveries, he ran about 12-15 miles per day on his rounds. In the races, he ran stooping over with an awkward gait and a sad look on his pale face. One person described him as “a frail little light-weight, the last you would select to go over five hundred miles on foot in a week.” Another wrote, “He struck me as the weakest man physically in the arena for a long tedious straining journey.”

The race report included, “The chief feature of the walk up to this point was the extraordinarily good running of Corkey, an old pedestrian, some 45 years of age, but who still seemed to skim over the ground with lightness of an Italian greyhound.” At 18 hours, Corkey was in the lead with 87 miles, alternately walking a running, with a five-mile lead over O’Leary. Corkey was the first to reach 100 miles.

As the day went on, most of the competitors had given up attempts to truly run. O’Leary had slowed to a trot since midday. After the first day, the score was O’Leary 117, Corkey 113, and Vaughan 102 miles. About 5,000 spectators were asked to leave the building for the night.

Day Two

As the second day began, only O’Leary and two others were on the track during the wee hours of the morning. He felt anxiety to have some strong runners so closely behind him. He boosted his mileage to 124 miles before taking his first sleep rest for two hours. By dawn he held a nine-mile lead over Corkey who was crewed by his wife who never left him day or night during the race. Astley reported, “She was always ready to hand her sweetheart a basin of delicious and greasy eel-broth, that he loved so well, and which evidently agreed so famously with him.”

Blower Brown soon moved up to compete for third place against Vaughn. Of all the competitors, Brown was seen running the most often.

Blower Brown

Henry “Blower” Brown (1843-1900), age 34, of Fulham, England, was a brickmaker who during his working days would run wheelbarrows up and down planks. He had been running competitively at distances up to ten miles since at least 1862. It is unknown how he received his nickname “Blower”, but it may have been because of the way he puffed out his cheeks as he walked. He was described as, “Plucky and persevering, this wonderful little man has a pace exactly modelled somewhat the reputed speed of a pig, an animal which is popularly supposed to go just a little faster than anything that tries to catch it.” In years to come, he would break the six-day world record.

At the end of 48 hours, the score was O’Leary 200, Corkey 190, Brown 188, and Vaughn 184. This group of four had a big lead over the rest of the runners. “As was only to be expected, a good many of the competitors have now no chance of winning. The victory should rest with O’Leary. The public will probably see a fine struggle for second and third prizes.”

Day Three

When day two completed, O’Leary took a three-hour nap and then returned. He walked very slowly, but soon increased his speed to a steady walk of a little better than four miles an hour. While he had been sleeping, Brown had pulled within three miles of him but then needed to take his break. In this way the lead see-sawed early hours of day three. Corkey, suffering from pains in his legs, gave up second place and rested longer than anyone else. By morning, for those placing new bets, O’Leary was now the favorite to win with 5-3 odds but Henry Vaughan was moving up.

Henry Vaughan

Henry “Harry” Vaughan (1848-1888), age 29, was a carpenter/architect from Chester, England. He was nearly six feet tall, thin, and walked very upright with a long stride. Vaughan began his walking career in 1870 when he won a two-mile race and became a professional in 1876. That year, also in the Agricultural Hall, he broke O’Leary’s 100-mile world walking record with 18:51:35 by about two minutes, and also broke Weston’s 24-hour world walking mark (117) with 120 miles.

Vaughan had been the pre-race favorite among the betters, 5-3 odds. Betters on Vaughan stood to win a staggering £100,000 if he won (about $13 million in today’s value). He had kept a steady walking pace, “a long, striding giant-like pace that was the admiration of everybody. His body is well-balanced, his head is poised upon his shoulders clean and free, and his manner is characterized by a perfect calmness.”

Halfway through day three, O’Leary was at 240 miles with a ten-mile lead over Vaughn. “Unfortunately, however, Vaughan is suffering from sore feet. O’Leary seems in first-rate order, and beyond a slight blister on the little toe of his left foot, his feet show no signs of having suffered from the amount of exercise he has lately undergone.” A huge crowd of about 8,000 people attended in the evening. A special “ten-shilling” area was set up for first-class viewing.

The press was amazed how many of the British runners were having trouble with their feet. “Surely, in training for a 500-mile walk, either the pedestrian or his trainer ought to be able to discover what sort of boots or shoes are the most suitable. Had proper care been taken about this small matter, half of the men would not have been crippled.”

At the end of day three, the score was O’Leary 288, Vaughan 270, and Brown also at 270 miles. Corkey, who had been with the frontrunners in the early days, had fallen off dramatically.

Day Four

On day four, the press was getting bored. “During this afternoon, the attendance at the walk has increased, but the proceedings have been most monotonous.” However, they were fascinated with the reaction of the spectators. “In an age of sensations, and now that the rage for pedestrian feats is at its height, it is too much to expect that spectators will immediately grow tired of such displays.”

Vaughan, Ide, Brown, O’Leary, J. Smith, Corkey, Johnson

It was surprising to many that running did not seem advantageous over walking. “It is very remarkable that O’Leary has kept very constantly to the walking pace, whereas those who have done the most running do not seem to have gained anything by extra speed so attained. The present race affords a notable proof that walking is the natural pace of man, and that it is the most serviceable pace for all long distances.”

Vaughan continued to press against O’Leary’s lead. “Vaughan is walking in such find style that the American will have all his work to do.” Brown’s style was said to be “a comical kind of trot, which was intensely amusing.”

At the end of day four, the score was O’Leary 373, Vaughan 360, Brown 337.

Day Five

By 11 a.m. on day five, O’Leary passed 400 miles, but his lead over Vaughan was only 13 miles. Vaughan was walking well, but with continued sore feet. Brown was also still in the running and seemed stronger. He had received a hot bath at Astley’s nearby apartment and received a good meal.

O’Leary was said to wear an anxious look on his face. Vaughan, the Brit’s remaining hope for victory, reached 400 miles about four hours after O’Leary. “The announcement on the scoring board being received with loud cheers, which were repeated when he was shortly afterwards presented with a handsome bouquet trimmed with the national colors, he being then just 14 miles in the rear.”

During the day in London, a false rumor spread that something was wrong with O’Leary which caused a rush of spectators to come to the building. They were clearly favoring Vaughan. But they were alarmed to see their hero with his bruised feet wrapped in cotton wool. “He strained every nerve to reduce the gap between himself and his adversary, but although he has frequently trotted short distances, O’Leary holds his own.”

What about all the others? Most of them had quit, but some in poor shape continued to try logging miles. “Several were in a very pitiable plight as regards to their feet and it seemed positively cruel to encourage them to keep on their legs, struggling against nature, perhaps doing themselves a permanent injury.” There seemed no point for some far in the rear to even be out there. “Indeed, some appear at intervals on the track whose only motive, apparently from the commencement, has been to gratify a childish vanity.”

Observers noticed that “the ruck of the competitors presented a forlorn, destitute, ragged, and even dirty appearance. Their guernseys and running drawers looked as if they had not seen soap and water for many weeks. Their boots were hanging to their feet by shreds. Abject poverty seemed settled on every countenance, and most of them looked as if they were walking for dear life.”

Vaughan, on the outer, longer track, used a strategy to match O’Leary on the shorter inner track, lap for lap and follow him closely to close the gap. But evidently O’Leary disliked racing side by side and every chance he got he would suddenly reverse his direction after a mile to try to get away from Vaughan, but usually his shadow would follow him. Late in the evening many thought Vaughan would catch up to O’Leary.

O’Leary later said, “Vaughan is a gallant walker and a good square fellow. We watched each other like enemies but there was no feeling of envy or anger. Vaughan’s friends were by far the most numerous. When they handed him bouquets, he would pass them over to me to smell, and on the next turn I would hand them back. The wild applause for Vaughan had no effect upon me.”

By 10:00 p.m. the hall was densely crowded. The mob shouted whenever two men got near each other, apparently oblivious of the fact that one was in reality 100 miles ahead of the other. At the end of day five, the score was O’Leary 457, Vaughan, 441, and Brown 416. The fourth runner, Ide was 65 miles behind Brown.

Day Six

As usual, the building was cleared of spectators for the night. But for this last morning, many remained lined up outside the building to make sure they did not lose their chance on getting back in. O’Leary slowly plodded along the track for several hours during the wee hours of the morning while Vaughan and Brown rested. “This has enabled O’Leary to obtain such a lead that nothing less than a total collapse can deprive him of victory.” He finally retired but told his trainer to wake him up the moment that Vaughan reappeared on the track. By dawn his lead was 24 miles. “It was now plain to the most obtuse, that nothing but a sheer breakdown could prevent the prize going to the American.”

“As the morning advanced, the crowds began to pour into the building, and notwithstanding that there were other competitors on the track, eyes were strained, and lungs were used only for O’Leary and Vaughan. From the crowded gallery as well as from the floor did shout after shout go forth as first one and then the other put on a spurt.”

Brown had been washed and wore a clean set of flannels, with a rose-colored neckerchief and short pants to match. A lady said he looked “quite lovely.” But O’Leary and Vaughan had a much different look. “They were travel-stained and stale, the grime of a week was on both, and no tramp from Manchester in search of employment he did not want, ever presented a more doleful appearance.”

O’Leary’s leg began to swell and cramp. He looked worn out and no longer held his arms forward. But he refused to leave the track for any rest, fearing that if he did, he would not be able to start walking again. For eighteen straight hours he never left the track for one second. His leg swelled to twice the normal size, was stiff, but he felt no significant pain. At 2:47 p.m. he reached 500 miles to “immense applause” setting a new world record for that distance of 133:44:00.

By late afternoon, there were about 14,000 people in the building. “High above the gallery some adventurous youths had perched themselves in the girders, and once or twice it seemed that there would be a ghastly accident. A shaky scaffolding in mid-air was also tested to its uttermost limit, but happily with no fatal or otherwise unpleasant consequence.”

In the late stages, O’Leary had a 19-mile lead over Vaughan. When Vaughan reached 500 miles at 7:38 p.m., he quit. O’Leary continued until 8:10 p.m., reaching two laps over 520 miles, breaking his world record against Weston by a quarter mile. His backer, Smith, insisted that he stop. In his wagers, Smith won a staggering £20,000 worth $3.3 million today.

O’Leary then retired to his tent. There was tremendous cheering and the band played, “See the Conquering Hero Comes.” Brown and a couple of others continued. O’Leary went to his dressing room, quickly escaped from the mob, and took a cab for his hotel.

Vaughan came back out, supported by his trainer and attendant. and walked a lap on O’Leary’s track. He received cheers from hundreds who had not been able to find O’Leary. “At 8:32, the mob broke in and swarmed all over the course, it might be said at the invitation of the band, who played, ‘God save the Queen,’” At that point because of the chaos, the race was declared finished.

The next day, hundreds of visitors tried to see O’Leary, but he declined to see anyone. The swelling in his leg went down and his feet were not blistered, but he suffered from chafing and needed to sleep.

Within a week or two, O’Leary was eventually awarded the “Challenge Belt.” It included seven oblong squares, 3×2 inches of solid silver with embossed edges. The center piece was made of solid gold with raised letters that read, “Long distance champion of the world.” On the left silver square was a figure of a runner and on the right was a figure of a walker. O’Leary later remarked, “They put the runner ahead, because they wanted him to win.” On the buckle plate was inscribed O’Leary’s name, distance of 520 ¼ miles and time of 138 hours, 48 minutes.

Reaction

The reaction among the British was mostly positive. “The tournament has from first to last been a great success, and no pedestrian event has ever received such patronage from the nobility and general public as has this one.” The event took in about £3,271 of gate receipts, valued today at about $539,000. After Astley paid out prizes, rent, gas, salaries to judges, timekeepers, police and other staff, he netted a profit of about £741.

The British were disappointed that Vaughan did not win, but they were reminded that it was the first time Vaughan had attempted to run for six days and O’Leary was a seasoned veteran of the distance. “The great secret of his success has been the length of time he has been able to remain on the track at a stretch. He has been trained to allow himself the least possible amount of sleep, and during every day of the six, he was at least 2-3 hours longer on the path than was Vaughan and that made a great difference.”

Major credit needed to be given to Sir John Astley for organizing this historic event that opened the door to the golden age of pedestrianism. “Astley deserves every praise for the handsome way he has come forward and identified himself with a not too popular branch of the sport. His object was to test the relative merits of Englishmen and Americans in a six days’ journey, and all that he desired was a fair field and no favor, and his sincere wish was that the best man might win.”

But was it totally fair? It was pointed out the O’Leary had a track to himself, while the other seventeen had to jostle and struggle on the same track. Certainly, during the early days, this created a disadvantage for Vaughan. Because Vaughan had to pass so many runners on the outside, it was estimated that he walked 12-15 miles more than the distance he was credited for.

Also, “Compare O’Leary’s comfortable tent with the wretched pigsties of the other competitors. They were more like dens for breeding malaria than places where the weary might rest.” One man wrote, “On Friday night I was taken to the hut occupied by Vaughan, and the stench was simply unbearable. The floor was liquid mud and ammoniacal deposit.” Certainly, equal arrangements would need to be provided in the future.

English sportsmen also pointed out that O’Leary had better attendants and better food. “Vaughan had to fare on lumps of indigestible steak, which made him retch, or a mixture of beer in a teacup, and rice pudding equally unstomachable. Also, not one of the competitors except O’Leary had a second pair of boots, and the boots worn were too narrow-soled.”

As usual, there were also plenty of negative reactions to the event. From London it was written, “One of these days, when one of these poor fellows, dazzled with the distant prospect of gold, drops down dead on the track, science will be satisfied, sport appeased, and public indignation aroused. A grave responsibility is incurred by such as pander to an unhealthy excitement. Pedestrians will go on doing the ‘best time on record’ until they drop down dead. Their requiem will still be the wheezy brass band and the hollow cheers of the crowd.”

O’Leary returns to Chicago

Astley and the British did not want the extremely valuable “Sir John Astley Challenge Belt” to leave England and argued for a week that it needed to stay. But Astley eventually relented because there had been no published rules regarding where the belt had to reside, and let O’Leary take it with him, after O’Leary left a £100 deposit. Challenges to race against him for the belt were immediately made, but O’Leary was firm that the defense of the belt had to take place in America. After another visit to his homeland of Ireland, O’Leary returned to America and arrived in Chicago on May 19, 1878, with the Astley Belt and winnings of $3,750 valued at $104,000 today.

America honored O’Leary as their hero. New York wrote, “The feat accomplished by O’Leary is the greatest on record, and one in which every love of manly exercise may take satisfaction.” Chicago added, “We congratulate our wiry little O’Leary upon the splendid exhibition of Chicago brawn and brain that he has made, and that he has beaten the Briton in every class of exercise for which the Brits have always been famous.”

The parts of this Six-Day Race series:

Sources:

Tom Osler and Ed Dodd, Ultra-marathoning: The Next Challenge
P. S. Marshall, King of Peds
Matthew Algeo, Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America’s Favorite Spectator Sport
P. S. Marshall, “Henry or ‘Harry’ Vaughan: Speed Walker Extraordinaire!”
Fifty Years of My Life in the World of Sport at Home and Abroad
P. S. Marshall, “Corkey: One Time Long-Distance World-Record Holder”
John A. Lucus “Pedestrianism and the Struggle of the Sir John Astley Belt 1878-1879”
Fifeshire Journal (Scotland), Nov 22, 1877
The Boston Globe (Massachusetts), Dec 9-10, 14, 1877, Feb 25-26, 1878
Newcastle Journal (Northumberland, England), Jan 3, 1878
Southern Reporter (Selkirkshire, Scotland), Jan 3, 1878
The Globe (London, England), Jan 19, Mar 20-23, 1878
The Referee (London, England), Jan 20, Feb 24, March 10, 25, 1878
Sheffield Daily Telegraph (England), Jan 21, 1878
Sussex Advertiser (England), Jan 22, 1878
The Graphic (London England), Jan 27, Feb 9, 1878
Richmond & Ripon Chronicle (Yorkshire, England), Feb 23, 1878
Athletic News (Lancashire, England), Feb 23, Mar 2, 1878
Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri), Feb 25, 1878
York Herald (Yorkshire, England), Feb 25, 1878
Edinburgh Evening News (Scotland), Feb 26, 28 1878
Bolton Evening News (Lancashire, England), Feb 27, 1878
Manchester Courier (England), Mar 1, 1878
Bell’s Life in London (England), Mar 2, 1878
Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News (London, England), Mar 9, 1878
The New York Times (New York), Mar 17, 1878
London Evening Standard (England), Mar 18-19, 23, 1878
Daily News (London, England), Mar 20, 1878
The Daily Telegraph (London, England), Mar 21, 1878
Liverpool Mercury (England), Mar 21, 1878
Citizen (Gloucester, England), Mar 21, 1878
Manchester Evening News (England), Mar 21-22, 1878
The Times (London, England), Mar 21, 1878
Aberdeen Journal (Scotland), Mar 22, 1878
The Era (London, England), Mar 24, 1878
The Sportsman (London, England), Mar 25-1878
The Yorkshire Herald (York, England), Mar 28, 1878
The New York Times (New York), Apr 1, 1878

106: Six Day Race Part 12 – First Astley Belt (1878)

By Davy Crockett