Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1914-06-21
Upton IS THE
GAMEST SPORT
IN THE WORLD
Sir Thomas, the Famous English
Tea Merchant, Has Spent a
Generation and Several Million
Dollars Trying to Win a Race.
The Trophy Has Been in a Bank
Vault in New York For Several
Years; Race This Year viii Be
Greatest of Any Heretofore.


iewelry house on Fifth Avenue New
York city, there is a dingy. battered
piece of silver, neither a modern
work of beauty nor a valuable an
tiuue. a thing likely to tempt at first
glance only the thief looking for
something to feed his melting pot.
Yet a great merchant has spent 10
years. several million dollars, and a
stupendous amount of keen thinking
in his endeavor to gain title to this
carefully guarded object The Holy
Grail was not more persistenly
sought
The piece of silver is the Americas
cup. the worlds greatest yachting
trophy. And the merchant is the
worlds gamest sportsman, Sir Thorn
as Upton.
It is impossible to discourage Sir
Thomas. In all those 16 years in the
three previous times that his craft
have contended against the product
of American brains. he has never
gained q single point In all the
nine races that counted, his success
i've Shamrocks either came in second
or failed to finish
But that has not Iessened the jovial
Irishman's ardor He has had other
impediments. too Chickering's over
the terms. disputes concerning the
conditions Of the races, such that his
I friends sometimes were moved TO in
/ dignation over what they considered
/ the unreasonableness of the Ameri-
cans But the big tea merchant with
the twinkling eyes never lost his
/ eQuanimity.
81 want a race, not q quarrel! he
/ commented simply
1t was mi the year Of the Sponish
war, 49, that the New York Yacht
Club received the first challenge
from the Royal Ulster Yacht Club.
The letter received Aug. 6, 1898, gave
Sir Thomas j. Upton as the owner
of the yacht to be called Shamrock
with a length on the load water line
of 98.5 feet
The challenge was brought over by
a committee consisting Of.
Vice Commodore r. G. Sherman
/ Crawford Of the challenging club; H.
NJ. McGildowney and Hugh c. Kelly
accompanied by the new yachts de.
signer William Fife jr, and Charles
. Russell
Immediately all was hustle in New
York Yacht Club circles. It is under
stood j. Pierpont Morgan. the eldest
furnished the money to build the de
Tending yacht, the Columbia The
cup committee consisted of Mr. Nor
gan Edwin d. Morgan. E. NJ Blown
Herman b. Duryea, whose horse won
/ the English Derby recently. and Hen
/ ry r. Lippincott. The keel Of the
Columbia was laid at the HERE
shoffs place at Bristol. r. T.. and was
launched June 10, 1899
Charley Barr was her sailing mas
ter and her crew consisted Of Deei
lslandehs The Defender. which had
defeated the Valkyrie ii in 1895, was
put in commission to race against hel
On Aug 2 the Columbia was caught
i'm a BIZ of a blow off Point judith
and her great steel mast went by tn,
board
Meanwhile the Thoney crOfts had
completed the Shamrock / at Millwal
on the Thames and In charge Of Can
Archie Hogarth and Robert Wrlngle
she crossed the Atlantic that Angus
towed by the steam yacht Erin tax
ing IA days, 20 hours for the trip.
ln the first race sailed in October
the Shamrock was beaten by 10 min
utes seconds IN the second rae
she did not finish. IN the third SIN
was defeated by 6 minutes "a seconds
Sire Thomas apphte for that bal
tered silver cup was only whetted IN
[ more He sent his second challeng
I'm October Of the next year
, Poor Thomas w. Lawson, Of Bot
= ton built the Independence and wan
4 ed a chance TO pit her against IN
? Constitution and Columbia In the o.
p ficlal trials, but the lordly New Yor
= Yacht Club decided be was barre