Rowing and Track Athletics (extract)

The Organization of the Clubs 259 shoes, which were worn by "Father Bill " Curtis himself: - " Curtis learned from Davis, a professional champion sprinter of that time, that there was an Irish shoemaker in New York who had imported some spikes from England, and who had made shoes for a few of the professionals. Curtis got Davis to make him a pair, and he wore them at the games. The only difference between these shoes and the kind they wear nowadays was in the weight; the old style were heavier and much stronger." These games were crude enough, ac– cording to our present-day standards - the sprint was started with the tap of a drum - but they stirred up a lot of interest, and the membership of the club rapidly increased. In the following spring an outdoor track was found, and outdoor games were held, but it was not until 187 I that the club acquired land at Mott Haven, and there built the first cinder path in America. At the spring games that year there were five events– the one-hundred-yard dash, the half, one-mile, and three-mile runs, and the three-mile walk - and the fact that the half was done in 2.2 3 and the mile in 5.25 gives an indication of the crude develop– ment of running at that time. The performances may have been poor, but there was plenty of spirit behind them, and the energy that had put the club on its feet made it for many years a leader