The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-11-21
Preparing for Indoor Athlet-
les and GymnaStic Games.
SPARRING AS AN EXERCISE.
Country Lads Should Form Clubs for
Gymnasium Work-New Book
on Winter Pastimes.
CHICAGO. November 0. 1886

= As L hIlgS tue Culll DldStS OF NlDlel
are beginning to be felt upon the streets
and lovers of outdoor sports and pas
times are turning from the ball anC
cricket field 10 the hand ball court anC
gymnasium. 1t is q somewhat singular
! fact that Chicago, which is without
doubt the greatest sporting centre in the
United States, should be so poorly
supplied with athletic clubs or athletic
institutions. New York and Brooklyn
have a dczsn prosperous organizations
: of this kind, and San Francisco. st.
Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Philadel-
phia and Boston are none Of them with
out one or more representative
athletic clubs. Why Chicago
should be thus backward, it is
difficult to say, unless it is within
the past few years our young business
men have been too much pushed and
rushed in the characteristic whirl OF
Chicago business life. They had not the
time to devote TO athletic exercise during
the morning or through the day, and
have felt too utterly exhausted physic-
ally and mentally. to turn to dumb-bells
and boxing gloves when they had
finished their days labOrs. Recently,
however, q movement has been set upon
foot which it is hoped Will give Chicago
1 lovers of the pastime the gymnasium
they want. The talked-of location is the
great and admirably adapted Casino
Rink building, at the corner OF twenty
| fourth and State Streets.
During the past two weeks, half q
dozen enthusiastic friends of athletics
have bestirred themselves with the
| intention of securing the Casino Rink,
or II not that, some other available hall,
and have the same fitted up and opened
as gymnasium within the next thirty |
days. Guarantee lists are being yigor- |
ously circulated among the business |
being to secure a sufficient number OF |
guarantors to induce the Casino Rink i
Company TO at once 1T the rink up as a /
gymnasium and offer il as such TO thel
subscribers. Over 200 oil the 500 names |
required have already been secured and |
IL Is believed that the balance will be |
forth coming within a weeks time. Fol- |
lowing is copy of the guarantee paper 1
being published:
To The President and Directors Of tic Casino /
Rink Company: GESTLENEN - Understand
lIliiI inc tiSlnn tAink Company i Ae>lr-
Gus OF hitting up the skating rink OF that /
name, corner Twenty-fourth and state |
streets, for the purpose Of practice ard in Il
structiOn In the higher grades of athletic |
paStimes. provided sufficient announcement |
be received from the lovers of healthful /
sports, we. the undersigned, do hereby agree /
to subscribe the sum Of $40 per season OF not |
less than six months 10 support such an Il
institutions shall contain q TirSt class gym
naSium. with baths, bicycle aud running Il
tracks, and opportunities for the practice /
and play OF such pastimes "a lawn-tennis,
racquet hand-ball, bowling, polo and gen
eral gymnastics.
Should the movement be 4 successful
one, the company will at once begin
work upon the interior of the 2. eat hall,
and rapidly transform it into gymna-
SUM second TO none in the country. \ |
cinder path for running viii be laid
upon the ground surface, and a bicycle
track In the gallery. Turkish bath
rooms, together with shower ard plunge
baths, as well as dressing rooms.
private lockers, smoking, reading and
billiard rooms, will be put in, and COM
plete instructors engaged in the differ
ent branches of athletics.
In speaking with Tom Chandler, the
SparIing instructor, yesterday. he eX-
pressed himself as highly pleased at the
prospects fol a gymnasium. and said
that il was inst what Chicago wanted.
My only wonder" said he, lis that
il has not been done long ago. Chicago
should be the greatest city IN the cOun-
try for gentlemen amateur athletes. Our
young fellows are, IS a whole. sturdy.
energetic lads, with plenty Of push and
vim. and 1t Is the exception when yOu
find one of them VINO does not love
muscular exercise with q view to muscu-
lar development. The trouble is that
rhavT har~a ~ facilities fn~ fnHtrfrrsrr- I'll
it.
One afternoon six months or so ago,
q young fellow came 10 my rooms and
said ne would like TO take a urss in
sparTIng. / offered to give him his irsi
lesson then aud there. and asked him 70
strip 10 the waist. He did 30 and showed
a remarkable muscular development for
so young man. and business man at
that. On questioning him found that
for two years il had been his habit.
summer and winter, to Jump out OF bed
at O'Clock and use the dumb bells for
fifteen minutes. Then he would pound
away at a suspended air ball which he
had swung in his room until be was in
a profuse perspiration. Fifteen min
utes with the Indian clubs followed and
the whole was topped of by a colo
water bath and vigorous rubbing down
with a crash towel, after which be
was ready Tor light breakfast and buSi-
ness. Il did il TO reduce my flesh. said
he, and felt so greatly benefited that
have kept il up ever since TODAY he
is one OF the best middle-Weight boxers
who come up here, and is more muscu-
lar than ever"
What seems to be your most popu-
lar form OF exercise among youog
men2"
"Sparring. OF course. and OF a big
majority: It's largely cultivated here.
and it is becoming a very risky thing 10
run sgains nine out of ten young fellows
you may meet upon the street. and
whom at first glance you would set
down as dudes. They would De very
apt to surprise you. They take great
pride in their skill with the gloves. ana
it is this very pride which, in my opin-
ion, will, within the next year or Two.
give Us an athletic club second to none
in the country"
How do city youths compare with
country boys in the way OF muscular