San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-03-23
WAIVER AMONG
NEWEST HOPES
FOR 0LYMP les
New York Police Depart.
ment Produces Another
Athletic Star.
HE PUTS THE SHOT
Has Tied Record in Prac-
tice and Neared It in
Competition.
HE PUTS THE SHOT
By ROBERT EDGREN.

New Yorks police department has
produced many Olympic champions
and world record breakers.
Among those famous ones of the
old days was John Flanagan, for
years invincible with the 16 pound
hammer and the 56 pound weight, as
fine an athlete as ever lived. There
was the great Martin Sheridan. all
around champion, holder of all discus
throwing records for many years, win
ner of many Olympic championships
and breaker of many Olympic records.
And Jack Eller, famous Splinter and
hurdler whose records still adorn the
amateur record books.
There was Matt McGrath, who first
broke Flanagan's weight throwing
records. And Pat Mcdonald, Olympic
shot putting champion. Dick Sheri-
dan, the hammer thrower and all
around weight man, was a close sec
ond to his brother Martin in many
cor etitions. Bob McAllister, win
ner of two A. A. L. sprinting cham
pionships last year, o 40 man,
close to Paddock in speed. Egon
Erickson, the high jumper. Some Of
these are still competing and winning
championships. There have been
times when the New York police de-
partment could put a team on track
and field and give any athletic club
in the country a tough competition.
Oryille Wanzer, today, is the de-
partment's outstanding star as a like
iy Olympic winner.
He Puts the Shot.
y Wanzer is a shot putter. Most Of
the police athletes are weight throw
ers. Policemen are usually big men,
picked for their strength and endur-
ance as well as certain grade Of men
tai activity.
Hundreds Of times / have walked
past Orville Wanzer, where he has
for years past held down the traffic
job at Fifth Avenue and 59th street,
near the Plaza Hotel, and have won
dered how he could stand on the
pavement for hours at a stretch, every
day. and still have elasticity enough
in his legs to put the shot with the
champions. But Pat Mcdonald,
olympic winner and champion for
many years, was traffic officer over
on Broadway all through his career
as an athlete and record breaker, and
has only recently been promoted to
higher position in the traffic squad
that let's him rest his legs.
No fresh New York taxi driver
ever gives Wanzer an argument. Or
vile is big enough to toss driver and
taxi into the next block. He is now
thirty-six, stands six feet four inches
in his socks, and weighs 260 pounds
in athletic condition. He has light
sandy hair and talks with slight
nasal twanR, and at glance might
be AIKEN for one Of the mighty Firms
who are touted as sure Olympic win
ners. But he's a regular American.
born at Cripple Creek, Colo, and
brought up on cattle ranch as
cowboy, bronco buster and mighty
hunter of Rocky Mountain big game.
When ranch life grew too tame
Wanzer enlisted in the United States
Army and spent eight years in the
infantry, twice seeing foreign service
Coming home from the World War.
lOrville found that wrestling enjoyed
some popularity and that the Poles
were getting all the money. He didn't
figure that any Pole could throw him
so started to trc'n for wrestling.
Quit the Game Flat.
The wrestling game missed out
when Wanzer left it flat, for he would
have been almost unique as an hon
est wrestler. After training away
down TO 240 pounds stripped he was
so comparatively fragile that he
caught double pneumonia. Recovering
he gave ur wrestling. Tells me that
he's glad he missed being n wrestler,
and that the best real competition is
in amateur sport and he intends to
remain an amateur.
He joined the police department
about eight years ago, and first took
up competition in the Police Field
Games of 1922, a year and a half ago,
at the urging of Pat Mcdonald and
other department athletes. In his
first field day he won both track and
field events. He entered the fat
mans race, being eligible because of
his weight, although he wasn't really
fat and won the 100 yards in II
seconds very good time for a big
man.
But after showing the big shot out
a few times he discovered that shot
putting was destined TO be his pet
event. He watched some of the more
experienced weight throwers, practiced
and almost Immediately began putting
over As feet. Before the year was
up he was averaging around 4S feet
phenomenal shot putting for a man
starting in athletics at the age of
tbirty-four.
In 1923 he improved little, his
best competition put being 40 feet
inches. Wanzer says that during
trials at Travers Island last year he
reached 81 feet-whicF is the worlds
record made by the great Ralph Rose
whose weight-throwing feats are now
almost a tradition in American sport
Besney Wefers, track coach of the
n. Y. :. c., says he saw Wanzer
put 81 feet. and that Wanzer can
beat that mark.
Nohfdy Ever Coached Him.
Asked il Pat Mcdonald is coach
ing him, Wanzer said:
Il don't like TO spoil a good yarn
by saying no, but the truth is no
one ever coached me. Several have
been kind enough to show me a few