The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-01-05
ATHLETIC SPORTS OF NEW YORK
WORKMEN.

La looking over the Herald. or,
more likely, the Nea0s or the Jour-
nal, or some other distinctly "pOp>
ular" paper, you will see a brief par
agraph stating that the employees
OF the Smith Manufacturing COM
pany defeated the Jones, Brown and
Robinson Brothers club in a boat
race Or game of base ball. Now you
will never hear of those sturdy
young toilers az the spring games or
the annual meetings of New York
| or the Manhattan Athletic clubs;
there is never a runner among them
who will make Mr.. Meyers tremble
for his laurels; the ghosts of the old
original Atlantics could pitch and
catch and bat them into oblivion at
the national game; but they are in
fact the truest athletes of all. They
do not seek semi professional cele-
brity; the applause of their friends
especially their female friends
and such line IS you have read in
the journal they most affect, repre-
sent to them all that fame and
glory can give. They work in
health, and they get it.
There are such clubs as these in
most of the large mercantile and
manufacturing establishments, and
they COMP pete with each other in a
more or less friendly spirit. There
is certain social rivalry between
different houses in the same trade,
often between different divisions of
one house. COmpositors do battle
with pressmen, weavers with dyers.
the hands in the wholesale depart
ment with the hands in the retail
store. Any morning you may read
in the Sun or Star that a certain
valiant photographer, for instance,
offers to row or to wrestle with any
other photographer for the cham
pionship of the photographers.
Sometimes you will learn in this
way Of strange and mysterious call
ings, undreamed of by the general
public. You will read, mayhap, of
a "double-wadder" who desires to
be known as the strong man of all
the double-wadders in New York,
and who will put his prOwess to the
test with any other double wRdder,
be he never so mighty of muscle,
who will meet him on the peaceful
field where double wadders are
wont to put the shot" or throw
the hammer" The peaceful field is
generally small Shutzen Park or
picnic s'woods" upon the Harlem or
over the river in Jersey.
It is natural that men who make
their living by manual labor, and
earn their bread literally in the
sweat of their brOws, should be
athletes. Likewise the athletic |
clubs OF the militia regiments may
be taken as matter of course. Ard |
with the apparent inseparableness |
Of collegiate from An athletic edu>
cation we are all familiar-too, too |
sadly familiar perhaps. But it is
to see how the mania for |
forming associations for physical |
exercise has spread through ell the
classes of a great city. The young
men of g certain neighborhood
gather together and get up a
loosely organized little club
to play baseball or cricket; the
of a good bowling
alley is the signal for the appearance
Of half dozen man bowling clubs,
each one of which has its evening,
when it holds exclusive possession
Of the floor; and on Murray Hill,
where base ball and ten-pins are in
no great favor, the young men and
women OF each little "set" get ease
and grace and strength to dance the
nightly German ty practicing at
"a wn>tennis in the armories or in
public halls, which are to be had
cheaplY for use ID the daytime; and
there they acquire the semi-prOfes
sioEal skill shown in their cham
matches at Newport.-H.
G. Bunner, in Harper's Magazine.