The Irish standard., 1901-06-01

Iu0 1ClSu nave Ueeu justly tciuSu
'tthe fighting race" for they have made
their mark on the great battlefields Of
the world, says the Boston Republic.
So, too, they might well be termed
"the athletic race" for in all branches
of athletics they have been and are
the leaders. For example, in that
form Of sport which is just now most
prominent, the national game Of base
ball, the great generals Of the field and
the most marvellous players have been
Of the Celtic stock. Without attempt
ing an exhaustive list Of the noted
players, we may state that the fore
most player in almost every club in
the two big leagues, is Celt. In
Boston there is Captain James Collins,
the greatest third baseman that the
game ever saw and the most finished
and graceful player on the diamond;
Milwaukee has Captain Hugh Duffy,
a veteran ball player, though young
man, great leader and gentleman,
who is credit to the sport. Baltimore
has that marvellous little man, Cap
tain McGraw; Philadelphia has Cap
tain Delehanty, the great batsman;
Brooklyn has number Of Celtic won
ders, chief Of whom is Captain Kelley;
st. Louis has Captain Donovan; Gin
cinnati has Captain Corcoran; Chicago,
Captain Doyle; Detroit, Captain Glea-
son, and Washington, Captain Clarke.
The list Of famous players of past
seasons would read like the directory
of an Irish town.
In our interesting contemporary, the
Gael, James s. Mitchell, the champion
weight thrower, writes of "The Celt
as an Athlete. Athletes of Celtic
birth and blood, he says, have held q
dominant position. in the world Of
physical strength and skill from time
immemorial, and it is only appropriate
with this, the beginning Of the new
century, to enumerate those who now
lead the van. It matters little whether
a man first saw the light on the "green
sod" or under the Stars and Stripes
his achievements, provided he is of
Celtic stock-are reckoned on the same
category by the sporting world in gen.
eral. For instance, when the Yale
Harvard team Of athletes visited Eng
land in 1898, Burke, Quinlan and Fox,
of Harvard, were simply regarded as
Celtic transplants by the Englishmen.
Then it is not unreasonable that Irish
American and Irish-bred champions
and record holders should be treated
under the same head.
: But an article on Irish athletes
would be incomplete without reference
to the heroes of ancient Erin, who, un-
questionably, inaugurated competition
ina0utdoor exercises Of all kinds.
From the Canals of Ireland" it ap-
pears that in the year 1870 A. NJ, or
exactly 1929 years before the Chris
tian era, the Tailtan games were held
at place known in modern topography
as Telltown, county Meath. These
games were inaugurated by Lugh
Lamhfhada, monarch of Ireland, in
honor of his foster mother Tailte, wife
of Eochaidh, son of Ere, the last king
Of the Firbolgs. Authorities on early
Grecian Tistory-and those who have
sometimes overstepped the bounds Of
truth in their efforts to unearth the
phenomenal prowess Of the Creeks
are responsible for the information
that the first Olympic games occurred
100 B. @. This places the origin of
the Tailtan games some 600 years ear
lier; therefore, one fact is plainly ap-
parent that the Greeks pilfered their
idea of the Olympic games from the
early Irish.
The Tailtan program consisted Of
chariot racing, sham battles, running,
Jumping, wrestling, fencing, pitching
the javelin and other feats too nu-
merous to mention. As in modern
times, several devotees Of the arena
attained marvellous supremacy, not
anly a muscular prodigy named Gu
chullian, whom all the chroniclers rec.
ognize as the champion of his time: