A History of United States Artistic Gymnastics
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Grossfeld A. A HISTORY OF UNITED STATES ARISTIC GYMNASTICS… Vol. 2 Issue 2: 5-28 A HISTORY OF UNITED STATES ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS Abie Grossfeld Southern Connecticut State University , New Haven, USA Invited original research article Abstract “A History of United States Gymnastics,” by Abie Grossfeld, covers the development and accomplishments of U.S. gymnastics through the years, starting with the organizations and the individual pioneers who introduced and helped spread gymnastics across the U.S. The contributions, to U.S. gymnastics, of the various organizations – Turnvereins, Sokols, YMCAs, athletic clubs, colleges, and high schools - are explained. In addition are the roles that the NCAA and AAU had in U.S. gymnastics development. Presented are the nature of and the participation in the various past and present gymnastics events (apparatus). Listed are skills that were initially performed by U.S. gymnasts for each event, and the notable accomplishments of U.S. gymnastics luminaries. How American gymnasts fared in international competition, with special performances, through the years, starting with the 1904 Olympic Games up to the 2009 World Championships. Lists for U.S. gymnastics medal winners are provided for the U.S. Olympic Games, World Gymnastics Championships, World University Games and Pan American Games. Keywords: artistic gymnastics, USA, history. AMERICAN GYMNASTICS training. Beck was also active at Harvard PIONEERS University from 1832 to 1850. In 1826, Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut The history of gymnastics in the purchased gymnastics apparatus to be United States started with three followers of placed on the college campus. Friederich Ludwig Jahn, known as the Simultaneously, brothers named Devight father of German gymnastics. The three opened the New Haven Gymnasium where disciples that are credited with introducing gymnastics exercises were practiced. In gymnastics to the United States are Carl Amherst, Massachusetts, the Turnplatz “Charles” Beck, Carl “Charles” Follen, who (based on Jahn’s model) opened in 1828. came to the U.S. from Germany in 1824, Other schools and clubs soon followed and Francis Lieber who arrived in 1827. Beck’s and Follen’s example (Metzner, Beck first developed Jahn’s gymnastics 1989). system at the Round Hill School in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he AMERICAN TURNVEREINS spent five years. Beck had Jahn’s book, “Deutsche Turnkunst” (German Artistic About 20 years after Follen, Beck Gymnastics) translated into English. Then and Lieber had developed their programs, Follen, who was also a teacher at Round the Turnverein or Turngemeinde Hill School, became a member of Harvard (gymnastics societies) movement in University’s faculty in 1831, where he America took hold. Through the efforts of introduced Jahn’s system of physical German immigrant Fredrick Hecker, the 5 Grossfeld A. A HISTORY OF UNITED STATES ARISTIC GYMNASTICS… Vol. 2 Issue 2: 5-28 first Turnverein opened in Cincinnati in clubs in different areas of the country - like 1848. (U.S. President Howard Taft was a Chicago, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Buffalo, member of the Cincinnati Turnverein) (Old Omaha, Milwaukee and Madison caricature drawing in the archives of the (Wisconsin), New York and Newark,. Over New York Turnverein now at International the years and up until just a few years ago, Gymnastics Camp, Stroudsburg, PA). The the number of American Turnvereins have American Turnvereins were completely dwindled so that approximately 60 Turner independent and did not have ties to the clubs, divided into 14 districts, with a total Turnvereins in Germany (Metzner, 1989) . of 13,000 members were left (Wright, Then, Turner halls opened up in Boston and 2005). Philadelphia in 1849, in New York, St. Louis and other cities in 1850. By 1885, 89 AMERICAN SOKOLS cities had Turner clubs (Moore, 1941) and kept expanding so that by 1894, there were The Sokol clubs were the Slavic 317 Turner clubs with 40,000 members version of the Germanic Turnvereins. The (Wright, 2005). Eventually, over 700 Turner first Sokol in America was established in clubs existed across the U.S. (Wright, 2005). Saint Louis in 1865, just three years after Of the various nationality Turnvereins, Miroslav Tyrs founded the organization in German, as one would surmise, were the Bohemia (Wikipedia, 2010) . Soon most common, followed by Swiss. New Bohemian, Slovakian, Slovenian and Polish York City alone had several Turnverein Sokols spread across the U.S. However, the clubs located in the boroughs of Manhattan, Polish called themselves Falcons, which is Brooklyn (which also had a Norwegian the English translation for Sokols. Early Turners), Queens, and the Bronx. Located prominent U.S. National champions and just across the Hudson River from New Olympians who came from the Sokols were: York’s Manhattan, in New Jersey were Frank Jirasek, Anton Jahoda, Anton Klar, other Turnvereins, including the National Rudolph Hradecky, Frank Kriz, and (in Newark), the Elisabeth, Union Hill and Ladislava “Laddie” Bakanic, a (1948) the Swiss Turners of Hudson County in the woman Olympian. The U.S. Postal Union City, where at least 15 U.S. Olympic Department issued a stamp in 1965 to men and women gymnasts had trained - commemorate 100 years of Sokols in the Alfred Jochim (1924, ‘28,’32, ‘36), Herman U.S . (Wright, 2005). Witzig (1928, ‘32), Frank Haubold (1928, ‘32, ‘36), Frank Cumiskey (1932, ‘36, ‘48), COLLEGE (UNIVERSITY), HIGH Marcel Gleyre (1932), Arthur Pitt (1936), SCHOOL AND YMCA GYMNASTICS Irma Haubold (1936), Ada Lunardoni (1936), Helen Schifano (1948), Vincent After Beck and Follen, Dr. Dudley D’Autorio (1948, ‘52), Dorothy Dalton Sargent contributed apparatus training at (1948, ‘52), Doris Kirkman (1952), Donald Harvard University in 1879. Yale University “Don” Holder (1952), Fred Orlofsky (1960), soon followed suit and had gymnastics and Greg Weiss (1964). Also, William competitions (Moore, 1941; Wright, 2005). “Bill” Taylor, a three times National At least half of the “gymnastics” pommel horse champion (1934, ‘35 and competitive events in the late 1800s and ‘41) and Robert Sears, a National parallel early 1900s were track and field events, bars and vaulting champion (1947) – had which currently are retained in the represented the Swiss Turners. Up until the American Turner and Sokol competitions. 1952 Olympics, most of the U.S. women (Track and field events were part of the Olympians and National Champions came gymnastics all-around program in the early from the Philadelphia Turners (Maloney, Olympic Games and up until the 1950 1953). Some of the top women (and men) World Gymnastics Championships.) gymnasts also came from other Turners 6 Grossfeld A. A HISTORY OF UNITED STATES ARISTIC GYMNASTICS… Vol. 2 Issue 2: 5-28 Several universities, other than equipped with apparatus that helped spread Harvard and Yale, initiated gymnastics gymnastics, however, it was difficult to find programs in the late 1800s and early 1900s. competent teachers. To meet this need, The first Intercollegiate Gymnastics Springfield College in Massachusetts Championships was held at the University opened a physical training department in of Chicago (Illinois) in 1897, followed by 1887 and developed the needed physical an eastern competition at New York education instructors for the YMCAs . University in 1899. Then the Intercollegiate Through the years, U. S. National Association of Amateur Gymnasts of champions and Olympians were developed America was formed in 1900 (Moore, through the YMCA programs, with the 1941) . earliest National champions representing a Collegiate competitive programs YMCA being in 1886 (Moore, 1941) . were initiated: at Oklahoma in 1902, at Leopold F. Zwarg, who had Minnesota in 1903, at Illinois in 1909, at immigrated to the U.S. around 1910, taught California in 1912, and at Iowa in 1917. at the Philadelphia Turners before teaching Illinois and Minnesota had remnants of in the Philadelphia public high school gymnastics activities as early as 1889 and system. Dr. Zwarg organized the first 1898 respectively. In 1927, the U.S. public high school gymnastics league in the Military Academy met McGill University U.S. (in Philadelphia) in 1923. He had (Montreal) in what may have been the first written a number of books including: “A U.S. intercollegiate international Study of the History, Uses, and Values of competition (Gymnastics Media Guides; A Apparatus in Physical Education,” History of Gymnastics at the University of “Apparatus Work for Boys and Girls,” and Minnesota, 1898-1950 ) . “Apparatus and Tumbling Exercises” Early regional collegiate conference (Moore, 1941; Wright, 2005) . championships still being conducted today California organized one of the early are the Big Ten in the mid-west (formerly official high school championships and had called the Western Conference which was the overall strongest high school gymnastics initiated as early as 1903), and the Eastern program in the U.S. during the 1940s and Intercollegiate Gymnastics League (EIGL, the 1950s. Eventually, high schools in just initiated in 1926) now being conducted as about every state developed gymnastics the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference programs. Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, (or ECAC - in the northeast) (Wright, 2005; Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, Florida, New Gymnastics Media Guides; Frederick, Jersey and, New York were some of the 2009) . states that had especially strong high school The first institution that provided a programs. While there were many states that formal gymnastics education was the had hundreds of boys’ high school programs Normal College of the American in the 1970s, as of 2010 boys’ high school Gymnastics Union (a Turner related teams no longer exist in many states, with organization) - founded in 1866. It was just a smattering of a few programs in initially a traveling institution, first settling several states. Girls’ high school in New York City, then moving to Chicago gymnastics was initiated years after the before moving to Milwaukee in 1875, under boys’ and as of 2010, still have many (high the leadership of George Brosius, and school) programs across the USA (personal eventually it settled permanently in accounts) .