Leroy Colombo became deaf when he suffered spinal meningitis when he was seven years old (1912). He grew up to be a remarkably good lifeguard. Being deaf might have disqualified him for lifeguarding under certain circumstances, but Leroy’s deafness seemed to make him even better at his job.

When he was on the beach of Galveston Island, his eyes scanned the water constantly. The sound of the surf, children playing, or seagulls cawing did not distract him. Having grown up blocks from the ocean, he knew the tides and the currents so well that he could sense any alarming disruption in the water. Simply put, he was one of the best lifeguards ever.

For many years he was listed in The Guinness Book of World Records for the record number of lives he saved. Galveston’s Chamber of Commerce documented it at 907; in all likelihood, there were even more.

To understand, Leroy Colombo (1905-1974) and his noteworthy accomplishments, we need to look at his background, consider the waters of the barrier island of Galveston (27 miles south of Houston and a big tourist destination), and recognize that lifeguarding was in its infancy.

Leroy Colombo

Leroy’s parents emigrated from Italy to Galveston, a town that was then known as the Ellis Island of the West, because there were many jobs. Up until 1900, Galveston was the main deepwater port in Texas, shipping out almost as much cotton as New Orleans. It was a great place for immigrants. Many found jobs at the port, and others found work in town to keep the port workers housed and fed. It was a true melting pot, and though it was located in the Jim Crow South, townspeople of all backgrounds tended to get along.

Leroy was the 5^th child out of what would be a family of 8 children–three sons and five daughters. In 1912-13, an outbreak of spinal meningitis swept through Texas, and Leroy was among its victims. Antibiotics had not yet been discovered, so the only hope for a return to health was giving a patient rest and plenty of hydration.

Leroy’s Recovery

Leroy was among the fortunate who recovered, but he was initially paralyzed from the waist down, and the illness permanently cost him his hearing. In some patients, the paralysis can ease over time, and Leroy was helped by his two brothers who refused to give up on him. They took him swimming daily, and  they encouraged him to walk some of the time by holding him upright between the two of them so that he could try to use his legs. Within a year, Leroy was walking again.

A year after Leroy’s illness, his father died from a heart condition. The oldest son, Nick, needed to leave school to support the family. The family faced the added burden of Leroy who was not doing well in a classroom where he could not hear. One of his uncles heard about the Texas School for the Deaf (a public school established in Austin in 1856) and encouraged his sister to send Leroy there.

School for the Deaf

This move altered Leroy’s life for the better. In addition to gaining an education, he learned sign language and found a community with whom he could talk. There was a creek nearby, and when he was not in class, Leroy could be found swimming. He was only 12 when he rescued his first drowning victim.

Colombo Returns to Galveston

After almost 6 years in Austin, Colombo returned to Galveston. He was thrilled to be back near the water.

Colombo was a gifted athlete and very strong swimmer; he was among the early surfers in the Galveston waters; he swam in races of all lengths but excelled in deepwater swimming. Colombo also loved to perform. He could clown around and dive from high boards with the best of them.

But Galveston was a tricky area for all levels of swimmers. On the Gulf side of the island the water is treacherous. There are sandbars and places where the ocean floor drops away unexpectedly. The riptides are a constant issue, pulling under experienced and inexperienced swimmers alike.

The peril was increased because in the early 1900s, few people learned water safety. The first swimming programs in the U.S. began in 1912 (see Wilbert E. Longfellow), and the programs were slow to spread throughout the country. Those who came to Galveston for vacation often did not know how to swim, because few towns and cities had public access to pools.

Yet summers were hot, and there was no air conditioning until the late 1920s-1930s. Many traveled to Galveston to enjoy the cooling ocean breezes, and of course, they went into the water.

Take unpredictable currents and mix in crowds of people who don’t know how to swim (or how to swim well), and Galveston had the makings of daily disaster.

Lifeguarding in the Early Days

Throughout the country, most lifeguards were volunteers—self-appointed groups of men (and a very few women)—who made it their job to patrol the waters. In Galveston, they created an official club for lifeguards. The young men who qualified for the Galveston Toboggan and Surf Club were the first tier of lifeguards along the beachfront.

To become a member, there was a stiff entrance exam: Swimmers had to swim for three straight hours without floating or using any form of outside support. Colombo, at age 18, passed on his first try in 1923.

Would Colombo have qualified if there had been an interview process as well? Probably not. Then—and now—deaf people face obstacles in getting hired for many mainstream jobs.

Aince that time, researchers have learned that Colombo may have been a better lifeguard because he couldn’t hear. Almost all lifeguards see a problem before they are able to hear someone crying for help. The roar of the ocean or the shouts of children often block out other sounds. Colombo’s senses were particularly well tuned for what needed to be observed.

Galveston Lifeguards

Colombo’s additional advantage was that he grew up near the Galveston waters. He had intimate knowledge of how the ocean could behave in all types of weather. When he was on the beach, he was constantly scanning the waters looking for abnormal movement of people. Drowning does not always involve wild waving; sometimes a swimmer is worrisomely still. All those signs were ones Colombo recognized as possible calls for help.

Lifeguarding in the Galveston waters in that day was generally a three-step process. The best first step was throwing a line to a victim. Second was swimming out with a float. The third step—and the one that Leroy primarily used–was a swimming rescue.

Swimming rescues are difficult as the drowning victim may panic and make a too-tight hold around the rescuer’s neck or thrash about so wildly that the rescuer can’t take hold of the person to swim in. In that day, lifeguards were encouraged to knock out a swimmer who was inhibiting the rescue. Colombo sometimes resorted to that.

Daring Rescues

Colombo’s rescues often made news—he rescued drivers from cars that went into the ocean; he often had to bring out multiple victims when well-intended family members entered the water thinking they could save the struggling person. Colombo often had to rescue the original victim as well as those who were trying to help.

One summer a big group of deaf people came down to visit Leroy. Six of the men were standing in what started out as calm waters. Then the undertow took all six off their feet. Colombo was left to bring them all in one by one.

During World War II, the beaches were overrun by soldiers on leave before shipping out, and the crowds were overwhelming. On one single afternoon, he saved 19 people.

One of Colombo’s most dramatic rescues was when a tugboat hit a barge, and the barge burst into flames that quickly engulfed the tugboat. To rescue those on board, Colombo dove under the flames several times to save the men.

Colombo Continued to Compete

Throughout the 1920s and ‘30s, Colombo also performed and raced. His specialty was sea-water distance racing. (This is a sport that is no longer encouraged, as it’s viewed as too dangerous.)

In addition to a 5k race held at the opening of the Galveston beach season each year, there were also competitions to swim across the Gulf—a 15-mile journey that many who entered could not finish. One year fourteen swimmers began the race. Leroy Colombo was the first come in. Forty-five minutes later, his brother finished—all the other swimmers quit before the end of the race.

Another year, Colombo raced against the fellow who held the amateur Athletic Union National Endurance title. In both 1924 and 1925, Colombo bested him—one year he did so by a full 90 minutes.

Those who saw Leroy Colombo swim said that his secret was an unwavering pace. He just kept swimming.

Colombo remained active in several sports teams made up of alumni from the School for the Deaf. As part of the team, he traveled to Houston, San Antonio, Biloxi, and St. Louis for races and frequently won. Galveston loved the publicity for the city. The Chamber of Commerce attempted to raise money to send him to England to train for the Olympics but it never came to pass.

Lifeguard Duties

In addition to saving lives, lifeguards tended to many other matters. They aided swimmers stung by jellyfish; they policed the beach, cleaning up around the bathhouses; and they scolded children who didn’t clean up after themselves.

Because they were volunteer workers until the mid-1940s, they all did what they could to make money. Some split the small profits from a concession renting umbrellas, chairs and floats. Most also took jobs at restaurants and casinos that would hire extra people for the night shifts.

Galveston Changes

Attracting tourists became even more important after Hurricane Isaac wiped out so much of the area in 1900. (Isaac holds the record as the deadliest natural disaster in the U.S. Between 6000-8000 people were killed.)  While Galveston was re-building, other companies were dredging out a deepwater port in Houston so that the region would be less dependent on the storm-prone Island.

In response, Galveston worked hard to earn their title as “the Riviera of the South.” Engineers recommended building a 10-mile long, 17-foot high seawall to protect against floods and hurricane storm surges. It still helps protect Galveston today.

Professor Jean F. Andrews, who has written extensively about Colombo, including her book, High Tides, Low Tides, The Story of Leroy Colombo, notes that all Colombo’s rescues were good for Galveston, and the newspaper was happy to write them up. Galveston had a vested interest in assuring future tourists that it was a safe place to come for a visit.

More Leisure Attractions

When prohibition was enacted in 1920, Galveston’s geography meant that they could bring in liquor or store it offshore with very little trouble. The town became Vegas before there was a Las Vegas. Major entertainers made a point to appear in Galveston, and casinos, partying, and prostitution were the order of the day. There was never a shortage of liquor.

Like most lifeguards, Colombo loved being a part of the Galveston “scene.” He was a drinker, so he loved the night life. As a strong well-built man, he was used as a bouncer at a lot of the clubs, and no one particularly monitored whether he’d had a few beers.

Law Comes to Galveston

After World War II, the Texas legislature wanted the town cleaned up. The casinos began cat-and-mouse games they played regularly with the an arm of the sheriff’s department, the Texas Rangers. The Balinese Room, one of the clubs where Colombo worked, was built on a pier. If you walked the length of the covered pier (about 200 feet), you would come to the “members only” casino.

One summer, the Texas Rangers arrived every night for 64 nights running hoping for a bust. They never achieved it.

Each evening followed a similar pattern. The Rangers entered the pier, and a signal from the business manager would go to the casino. Crap tables became bridge tables and slot machines were folded into the wall. If the owners had time to spare, then they cued the band. As the Rangers entered, the bandleader would announce: “And Ladies and Gentlemen, we give you in person, the Texas Rangers.”

The Balinese Room finally closed in 1960.

Personal Life

Leroy Colombo was fortunate to have six years within a community of deaf people. While he loved being on the beach in Galveston, it was a lonely existence. No one in his family ever learned to sign, and while some classmates came down to visit him, there were many days when he could only share simple lip-reading conversations with others.

And he never lost interest in trying to find a way to re-gain his hearing. During these years, medicine men circulated throughout the U.S. promising cures for everything from arthritis and “dropsies” to deafness.

Leroy bought into one fellow’s theory that Leroy could regain his hearing through a “plane cure.” He became friends with Army Airman Lt. G.H. McHenry, and McHenry took him up daily for a period of time.  They would fly up to 11,000 feet and then McHenry would bring the plane down quickly to 7000 feet. Colombo said he heard some of the sounds of the plane, and he desperately hoped it would restore more of his hearing.

Deaf Fraternal Society Important

Health insurance was virtually impossible for a deaf person to obtain during those years. Most deaf people are just as healthy as anyone else, but fear kept insurance companies from writing policies for them.

The Fraternal Society of the Deaf (FRAT) grew out of graduates from the Texas School for the Deaf, and among their accomplishments was negotiating group health insurance rates for its members.

As Colombo grew older, his health worsened. He inherited his father’s heart condition, and he drank heavily, eventually causing a bleeding ulcer.

When he didn’t feel well, he couldn’t do the odd jobs that helped him support himself. He finally had to turn to his deaf friends for help in paying dues to the fraternal order so that he could continue to get the healthcare he needed.

Colombo’s Last Years

Colombo retired from his position as a lifeguard at the age of 62 because of his health. He continued to swim a mile daily, winter and summer, for the next six years until he just couldn’t do it anymore. After that he lived for only another few weeks.

After Colombo’s death, the Galveston Police Chief, D.K. Lack said: “He was one of greatest lifeguards that ever lived. He saved more people that I ever heard of or knew. Colombo could sense anything going on in the water and see it before anyone else could. He’s a legend in the city of Galveston.” (Lack was quoted in The Deaf American, 1974.)

Leroy Colombo Honored in Many Ways

Leroy Colombo’s passing was noted in the Texas Legislature by a moment of silence. Many towns in Texas flew flags at half mast.

Other honors followed. The 5K race held annually in Galveston is known as the Leroy Colombo race. Fittingly, it is a fundraiser for the beach patrol. Several markers in Galveston note the life of Leroy Colombo. He would have particularly loved the one that is by the seawall that is just blocks from the house where he grew up. That stretch of the beach is also known as Colombo’s View.

The Texas School for the Deaf also honored him. In 2002, Colombo was inducted into the Texas School for the Deaf Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2006, the school named their Swim Center after him.

Despite Colombo’s ups and downs, he lived as he wanted where he wanted. One of his friends said: “He couldn’t hear the roar of the surf, but he saw the sun and water, and he felt the sand between his toes every day.”

Water safety is important for people of all backgrounds and ages. To help children with special needs, www.safety.com has put together a special guide: Water Safety Guide for Children with Special Needs. Very helpful!

To read about another deaf person who excelled in her career, read Kitty O’Neil, Stuntwoman.

And to read about how deaf education came to the U.S. read Alice Cogswell: Bright Child Who Inspired Deaf Education.

Cracker Jack holds the spot as “most famous of baseball snacks.” Remarkably, it has held that honor for over 100 years.

The snack itself began as a simple, inexpensive confection sold by street vendors in Chicago.  The story of the product, however, starts a little before that.

The Inventor of Cracker Jack

The creator of the treat, Frederick William Rueckheim (1846-1934), emigrated from Germany in 1869. He was 23 when he arrived in the U.S., and he moved to the Midwest to work on an uncle’s farm. For a couple of years, Rueckheim worked there and saved money, but farm life was not for him.  The farm was near Chicago, so when much of the city was wiped out by fire in 1871, volunteers were sought to help with the clean up. Rueckheim saw this as his opportunity.

As he worked with the men who were re-building the city, he met a fellow who soon became his partner in a candy business. In that day, few vendors had shops. They simply sold from a cart on a street corner.

Rueckheim and his partner named their company Reliable Confections, and their first product was a sweetened popcorn.  Rueckheim staked out a corner on Fourth Avenue and did well. His partner lost interest, however. Frederick bought his share of the business and wrote to his brother Louis (1849-1927) to come to America to join him. Within a few years, the brothers had a three-story plant on South Clinton Street and were adding to their product line.

Cracker Jack at Columbian Exposition

While some sources say “Cracker Jack” was introduced at the Columbian Exposition, this is only partially true. The Rueckheimers obtained a booth from which to sell, but their product did not do well.

The mixture they settled on was then called “Candied Popcorn and Peanuts” (popcorn and peanuts mixed with molasses). It tasted good but was a sticky mess to eat.

Sales at the Exposition were disappointing, but they learned from the experience. Louis went back to the factory kitchen and experimented. By 1896, he came up with a way to make the molasses less sticky. (This process is still a trademarked secret.)  With that, the brothers began offering it to people to taste.

According to The Chicago Daily Tribune, a foreman at the company was the one who came up with the name. Upon being offered the treat to taste, he responded with: “Why that’s cracker jack!”  (Cracker jack was a slang term from the day that meant “first rate.”)

The Rueckheims loved the name and trademarked it.

By the first decade of the 20^th century, their company made 750 different confectionery products ranging from Angelus Marshmallows to the Hunky Dory bar, but Cracker Jack was the mainstay. Popcorn was relatively inexpensive to purchase, and the fact that Cracker Jack didn’t melt made it popular with vendors and customers alike.

Packaging Needed Improvement

Like other types of popcorn that was sold in that day, the street vendors carried paper tubs scooped the sweet mixture into a tub when a customer paid for it. This was fine for street sales, but it limited growth. The product could not be shipped in tubs, and if left open for long, the popcorn became stale.

Henry Gottlieb Eckstein, one of the men they worked with, had an idea. In 1899 he presented to the Rueckheims a waxed sealed box for use with Cracker Jack. The box could easily be packed for shipping. The waxed box meant that the snack stayed fresh longer. The Rueckheims acknowledged the step forward this gave their product, and in 1902, the company was reorganized as Rueckheim Bros. & Eckstein.

At about this time, they acquired the tagline that is still used: “The More You Eat, The More You Want.”

As they developed the look of the box, cartoon bears became the products mascots. The bears were always having fun —fishing, playing baseball, or even climbing the Statue of Liberty. It was all to convey that Cracker Jacks and fun went together.

Marketing Luck

Some of the best marketing ideas are ones that can’t be planned, and this was certainly the case with Cracker Jack. In 1908, an entertainer named Jack Norworth was riding on the New York subway when some fun lyrics came to him, and he scribbled them down. He later sang the words for his friend, Albert von Tilzer who wrote the music. Their song was perfect  for the time:

Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out to the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and crackerjack
I don’t care if I never get back

So it’s root, root, root, for the home team
If they don’t win, it’s a shame
It’s one, two, three strikes you’re out
At the old ballgame

The Ruekheim brothers and Eckstein could not have had a better stroke of luck. The song became popular then, and it is still sung at baseball games today.  In recent years, one stadium actually tried to save money by switching to a cheaper vendor selling a knock-off of Cracker Jack. But the song has so deeply embedded the snack into the game that the fans protested. After only a game or two, the familiar Cracker Jack box returned to its rightful place at baseball concession stands.

Cracker Jack: A Prize in Every Box

In 1910 the company began experimenting with putting coupons in each box of the product. The coupons could be redeemed for prizes such as watches, silverware, sewing machines, and other expensive consumer goods.  But only a couple of years later, the Rueckheims made a change. This was a snack loved by kids, so the attraction inside should be for young people. In 1912, the company began inserting small trinkets into the boxes.

This “prize in every box” marketing strategy proved successful. The early prizes ranged from miniature books and dolls to decoder rings, magnifying glasses and tiny trains. Many are valuable collectibles today.

In 1914 and 1915, the company took a lead from other companies and put baseball cards in boxes instead of the toys. They produced two separate issues of cards featuring classic baseball players. While these are highly collectible today, the company returned to their signature trinkets in 1916.

Today’s prizes are different–temporary tattoos or a printed insert with jokes or riddles. (Regulations on toy sizes acceptable for children are certainly part of the reason for the change.)

World War I Affects U.S.

But as the national mood changed so did the business culture.  As a group, German immigrants in the U.S. were viewed as innovative, intelligent and loyal to America. But as the situation between Europe and Germany escalated, Americans began to take a closer look at German families who arrived in the U.S.

The Rueckheims, at first, were unconcerned. Frederick became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1881. Now, 35 years later, he felt very much an American. Before emigrating, he served in the Prussian Army, and he still visited his home country every few years, but in his mind, he was an American.

In 1915, a German submarine sank the Lusitania, a passenger ship with many Americans on board. By 1917, the U.S. was entering the war. The Secret Service was on watch for any anti-American activities at home, and they began visiting businesses that were owned by German immigrants.

Anti-German Sentiment Increases

When they visited Frederick Rueckheim’s office, the Secret Service was alarmed about two things. They had been informed that Frederick had turned down the American Red Cross when they approached him for a donation. This coupled with the fact that Frederick kept a photo of Paul von Hindenburg, a German Field Marshal, on his desk caused concern.

The local paper got wind of the story, and a reporter called Rueckheim to see what he had to say. Rueckheim explained the Red Cross turn-down by explaining that his company had a policy against opening the workplace to solicitors; he turned down the Red Cross only for that reason.

The photograph was quickly put away. (Both Frederick and Von Paul Von Hindenburg served in the Prussian Army in the 1860s. Perhaps they served together, though that was never fully explained.)

And on May 8, 1917, Rueckheim released a statement avowing his loyalty to the United States. He made a donation to the American Red Cross, and arranged times when military recruiting officers could come in to talk to employees.

Hysteria Continues

As the country continued to respond negatively to anything German (changing street and town names, etc.), Rueckheim decided that Cracker Jack packaging could offer an opportunity to more closely align with his adopted country.

Discussions with his art department resulted in a removal of the fun-loving cartoon bears, soon to be replaced by a patriotic sailor. Sailor Jack is depicted as a young boy, and his face was modeled after Frederick’s grandson, Robert, who was a cute 4-year-old at the time.  To keep him from being alone on the box, he was given a dog, Bingo, who was a mutt copied after one belonging to Henry Eckstein.

The first packaging featuring “Sailor Jack and Bingo” appeared in 1918. The following year it became part of the registered trademark.  To continue to support American war effort, Rueckheim arranged for the printing of a pocket edition of a songbook that included Uncle Sam’s Famous National Songs. Sailor Jack was on the cover. (In 1920, grandson Robert died of meningitis. His tombstone bears a carving of Sailor Jack.)

Company Lives On

In 1922 the company name was changed to the Cracker Jack Company.

Cracker Jack continued as a family-owned and managed business until 1964 when they received a good offer from Borden Foods, Inc., in 1964.

Then in 1997, the Frito Lay division of Pepsico purchased the company.

To read about another 19th century candy that we still enjoy today, read about Jelly Beans.

“Water is a good friend or a deadly enemy,” said Wilbert E. Longfellow (1882-1947), a man who invested most of his life in teaching Americans the importance of water safety.

His first job was as a reporter in Providence where he wrote story after story about drowning victims along the waterfront of the Rhode Island city.

During his after-hours, Longfellow donated his time to water safety education. As a result, he was hired as the national field representative for the American Red Cross. He spent almost 40 years working for them, spreading information about the fun of swimming and the importance of safety in, on, and around water.

Though Longfellow was perhaps the most visible national figure talking about the subject, he was not the first to recognize the need for water education. That movement originated in New York.

The Importance of Water Safety Increases

Awareness of the importance of water safety grew during the late 19^th century as more people moved into cities. Newspaper articles reported almost daily about boating or ferry accidents that often resulted in drownings. Life preservers and life boats were rare, so drowning numbers were high.

Children were largely unsupervised in this era, and a good number fell off docks and drowned. Few families had leisure for water sports, and most people had no idea how to swim.

If women on a ferry or in a boat went overboard, they were doubly hampered by their clothing. Voluminous skirts of the day were heavy, and the fabric tended to float upward, covering a woman’s face and arms. This made it even more difficult for a victim to survive.

As the population of New York grew, the city reported about 450 drowning deaths per year.

Nan the Newsboy

William O’Neill, known as Nan the Newsboy, was perhaps an unlikely hero for launching a volunteer water rescue group. In addition to hawking newspapers, he polished men’s boots along the waterfront. He was troubled by the number of water-related tragedies he witnessed along the docks of Manhattan.

In 1878, Nan encouraged a couple of friends to join him in what he called the Volunteer Life Saving Corps. (Firefighting units began in this same way in the 1700s.) When they had time, the young men patrolled the waterfront along the lower eastside.  Their only equipment was a rope to help retrieve a person.

Nan’s group also used somewhat unusual rescue methods. Their victims often panicked and fought back against the rescuer. Nan’s solution was to subdue them by punching them in the face. Then they could be towed in.

Children were also problematic. They generally grabbed the rescuer by the neck, sometimes cutting off air or pulling the man down. But since they were smaller, the children were easier to put under one’s arm and swim to shore with them.

In the meantime, other volunteer groups formed. Several of the rescue groups were happy to include women, unique for the time.

Wilbert Longfellow’s Inspiration

In Rhode Island, Wilbert E. Longfellow maintained his job as a reporter, and continued to teach about water safety. He realized a major problem was that people lacked access to bodies of water for recreation. Some of his early newspaper stories focused on the need for clean swimming sites in the community so that people could become comfortable around water and learn to swim.

He also convinced the newspaper to sponsor an essay contest about why few girls were taught to swim. This brought attention to the gender difference in the sport.

Then in 1904 in New York, a sidewheel paddle boat, The General Slocum, was carrying more than 1300 people on a church outing. The boat was making its way up the East River near Manhattan when it caught fire. It burned quickly, causing massive panic on board and pitching old and young into the water. One thousand thirty-seven people died in the tragedy.

Longfellow was deeply distressed by the New York tragedy. In Providence, he knew his next step needed to be gaining access to water facilities for more members of the public. He soon made deals with local facilities who agreed to provide blocks of time for 200-300 children to come each day for swimming instruction.

When someone asked him why he did what he did, Longfellow answered: “Every man needs a hobby. Mine is Live People! I don’t like to see dead ones—particularly drowned ones. Let’s keep more of them alive.”

Spreading the Word

From New York, the U.S. Volunteer Life Saving Corps (a more advanced version of the group begun by Nan the Newsboy) sent representatives to each state to encourage them to form similar rescue groups.

In Rhode Island, the group connected with Longfellow. He greeted them warmly and welcomed the written material they provided. They also encouraged him to learn rescue techniques himself so that he could start teaching others.

Longfellow was effective. By 1909, the statistics on drowning victims in Rhode Island decreased by 50 percent.

“Waterproofing” America

Impressed by these numbers, the New York chapter of the U.S. Volunteer Life Saving Corps hired Longfellow. He moved to New York and was given the designation of General Superintendent and Commodore-in-Chief of the USVLSC in New York.

Longfellow realized one challenge was standardizing rescue methods. (No more punching in the nose!) He organized training for the YMCA and YWCA and also worked with the Boy Scouts, an organization he supported from the beginning. He saw that his work needed to be expanded throughout the country, but those who hired him wanted him to focus only on New York.

Despite this, Longfellow continued to talk about his many plans to spread water safety messages nationally.

In 1914, the American Red Cross decided to take the lead in water safety, and they knew that Longfellow was their man. They hired him as their national representative to devote himself fully to matters concerning water safety.

For the next 43 years, Longfellow did everything he could to teach water safety to Americans. His enthusiasm, knowledge, teaching skills, and showmanship made him a natural leader.

Longfellow’s Approach to Water Safety

Longfellow developed a four-pronged method to use in each community:

• Create a corps of local people who are good swimmers. Teach them life-saving and resuscitation. Designate these people as that community’s first volunteer corps and assign them to spread the word.
• Encourage owners and operators of swimming facilities to hire lifeguards for their beaches and pools. This was not standard practice at the time.
• Provide large-scale swimming instruction to community members of all ages. He relied on his volunteer corps to teach swimming while he gained access to facilities for the public.
• Longfellow also ran local and national awareness campaigns about water safety. In addition to lectures and demonstrations, he contributed articles to magazines and newspapers.

Longfellow’s Philosophy

Above all, Longfellow believed being in the water was fun and refreshing. In his teachings, he stressed: “Water is a good friend or a deadly enemy. After you have been properly introduced to it, keep on good terms with it. Don’t slap it; try pulling—an arm full at a time.”

He also always told his instructors: “Entertain the public hugely while educating them gently.”

Swimming Pageants

Early in his career, Longfellow learned it was important to ease fears and create fun. One of his teaching methods involved story-telling about great swimmers and their daring rescues. He then asked children in his classes to act out the stories he told. Of course, everyone in the story was always saved.

Longfellow also created water pageants, often involving costumes. Many of the stories were fantasy tales he wrote, like “Showing Father Neptune.” (Longfellow’s large frame made him the perfect person to play Neptune.) The content of other stories can be guessed at by their titles: “The Princess Learns to Swim,” “A Water Circus,” “A Night in Hawaii,” “The Guardian of the Beach,” and “The Downfall of Davy Jones.”

He also loved to set up diving demonstrations (using both men and women) and to create races and contests. The most notable race may have been the Hurry-Scurry Race held in Boston. The competition began with the swimmers in bungalows changing into their suits. Then they ran down the beach, dove in the water, and swam to a raft where they had to put on a costume that was laid out for them. They then swam back to shore where they could be declared winner only after consuming a piece of pie.

Throughout this time, America experienced a tremendous upsurge in the  popularity of aquatic recreation. Many enjoyed swimming but there were also boat and fishing enthusiasts.

“The Amicable Whale”

From 1914 until his retirement in 1947, Longfellow worked tirelessly to run a nationwide water safety program, and he was effective. He produced an astonishing reduction in drowning. In 1914, 10.4 people per 100,000 people drowned. By 1947, these statistics were cut in half to 5.2 per 100,000.

The Red Cross wanted his message to live on and later they created WHALE tales (Water Habits Are Learned Early) to stress the importance of children learning water safety.  In memory of Longfellow (some called him their “amiable whale”), a blue whale became the symbol of the program.

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Water safety is important for people of all backgrounds and ages. To help children with special needs, www.safety.com has put together a special guide: Water Safety Guide for Children with Special Needs. Very helpful!

For another story about safety, see Duck and Cover.

“Taft Throws Out Ball” read the headline of The New York Times on April 15, 1910. With that report on an easy toss of a baseball, a presidential tradition was born.

Since that time, most presidents have found a way to honor the sport that is often referred to as America’s favorite pastime. War, disasters, and the intricacies of presidential scheduling have sometimes prevented the president from being at a ballpark on Opening Day, but most have found some other opportunity to be a ceremonial part of the game. Jimmy Carter, perhaps the most reluctant, finally succumbed to pressure by throwing out the first ball at Game 7 of the 1979 World Series.

This year, President Donald Trump’s office has said he has a conflict the day the games begin. But it’s just the beginning of the season. He still has other opportunities to appear.

Baseball’s Opening Day, 1910

On April 14, 1910, President Taft—a true fan of baseball– attended Opening Day of the American League season in Washington. The Nationals were playing Philadelphia at Griffith Stadium.

Taft was accompanied by a coterie of people from D.C. Mrs. Taft attended, and Vice President James Sherman and other members of Congress were there to see the game as well.

The Times reporter wrote that Taft had a good time… “he sat through the entire nine innings and seemed greatly to enjoy the contest.”

Taft was a natural to start a tradition involving baseball. About a

month later, on May 5, he was in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was asked about his participation in that first game:

“The game of baseball is a clean, straight game…It furnishes amusement to thousands and thousands. I like to go for two reasons; first, because I enjoy myself and second, because if by the presence of the Chief Magistrate such a healthy amusement can be encouraged, I want to encourage it.”

The Tradition Evolves

During most years the ceremonial pitch took place at a stadium in the nation’s capital, generally where the Senators played. But by 1973, the Senators were no more. The original team moved to Minnesota to become the Twins. Then the team that replaced them in D.C. packed up and left for Texas to become the Rangers.

This meant that in 1973, President Richard Nixon, a Californian, was free to toss the opening pitch from a place of his choosing. That year the ceremonial pitch was tossed out for the Los Angeles Angels who played in Anaheim.

The style of the ceremony also altered over the years. When Taft began the tradition, he simply tossed the ball into the stadium from where he was sitting. It was then caught by a designated player. Over time, the ball-catch involved a group of players vying for the chance to catch that first ball. Because there was always the danger of the players being injured in the melee, team owners were delighted when the tradition of throwing the ball to one player was reinstated.

Ronald Reagan was the first president to toss the ball from the field. Now the opening pitches are always from there. Most toss from in front of the mound. A few are confident enough to pitch from the mound itself. A home team player is always in position to receive the ball.

A Few Notable Occasions

In 1940, Franklin Roosevelt tossed the ball in such a way that it hit and damaged a camera belonging to one of the press photographers. Was Roosevelt nudged and therefore threw the ball to one side, or did the photographer jump into the ball’s path in an effort to get the perfect shot? We’ll never know.

Harry Truman was known as a lefty, but he actually was ambidextrous. In 1949 he tossed with his left hand, but in 1950, he threw twice—one pitch with each arm to prove that he could use either arm.

One year President Dwight Eisenhower regretted that he went along with a press request to toss a second ball for a better photograph. The second ball hit the umpire in the leg.

Symbolic Moments for America

Great symbolism was attached to two different ceremonial pitches. The first heart-singing moment was on April 16, 1946, when Harry Truman arrived at a game to start the baseball season. Because of the war, it had been four long years since this tradition had taken place. We can only imagine the joy Americans felt when they saw that life was returning to normal.

The year 2001 was a heart-stopper. That autumn the world paused in grief over the tragedies of 9-11. Baseball games ceased for a six-day hiatus while the people of the United States began to register the new normal.

Then it was late October. The World Series had been delayed by the halt in game-playing. Now Game 3 of the World Series was to be played, and it was to be at Yankee Stadium.

President George Bush wanted to be there.

Political pundits, newspaper reporters, and the public were worried. Should the president be in a public arena for a ceremonial event? Were there snipers in the area? Would a bomb be detonated? (Would our lives always feel threatened?)

On the night of October 30, 2001, President Bush arrived at Yankee Stadium and asked for some time to warm up before the game. The New York Times (10-31-2001) wrote:

“Bush, wearing a New York Fire Department windbreaker, walked to the mound, and fans burst out with applause.

“After giving a thumbs up to fans at the top of the mound, Bush threw the ball on a line to the Yankees’ backup catcher, Todd Greene.”

According to Bleacher Report (9-2-2008), Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary from that time, said: “To see the commander in chief say, ‘I’m not vulnerable. I’ll stand right here on the mound at Yankee Stadium and nobody can bring harm to our country’ That’s what that appearance represented. It had tremendous impact.”

What the Ceremonial Pitch Is About

Above all else, that ceremonial pitch is about America, about a game we have loved, and about people having a good time. In participating, the presidents celebrate our history, the game’s history, and the prospect of the fans enjoying a good and long season when they know their team is going to win—-this year.

There is still time for President Trump to fit a baseball game into his schedule. We hope he will.

Here are some other stories about baseball:

Baseball Catcher’s Mask: How it was Invented

Wrigley Field

and Fenway: America’s Most Beloved Ballpark

The baseball catcher’s mask is a fundamental piece of equipment in the game. The catcher is  positioned behind home plate and is needed there, but it is a dangerous position to play.

From the catcher’s vantage point, he can see the whole field. This lets him observe and respond to the ongoing game in a way that no other player can. But it also puts him in the direct line of fire during batting. He may be hit by an errant pitch or a flying bat or pieces of a splintered one. Injuries from any of these causes can be serious. Catchers have been known to be knocked unconscious during play. Protective gear is essential.

How the Baseball Mask Came About

According to information from the Baseball Hall of Fame, the early catchers wore only a rubber mouth guard—there was no mask, no chest guard, no shin guards, and most surprisingly, no glove.

Because they wore no protection, they stood a few feet back from the plate and caught pitches on the bounce.  With this type of play, there was also no need for catchers to crouch.

The development of the curveball in the late 1860s or 1870s brought about the need for the catcher’s mask. Catchers needed to come in closer to the plate in order to be there for the catch. This put the player in a position where he could be hit by either a ball or the bat.

Fred Thayer Comes Up with Concept

A Harvard student named Fred Thayer is credited with having invented the first catcher’s mask. Thayer was team captain of the Harvard Nine. He also played third base.

The pitcher for Harvard’s team was working on perfecting the curveball. It wasn’t an easy pitch to master, and there was controversy over the use of it. Slowly, teams, including Harvard and other college teams, were adding it.

Thayer’s concern centered on a new catcher who joined the team. James Tyng had just qualified for the team and would play catcher. Thayer wanted to keep Tyng and other players safe.  What would protect Tyng from being injured with the new style of play?

As he walked across the campus to classes and to team practices, he noticed the face masks being carried by members of the fencing team. He wondered if that model could be used for a catcher’s mask.

Thayer Took Idea to Tinsmith

Catchers need to see everything on the field, so the density of the webbing on the fencer’s mask would need to be modified.  A mask strong enough to protect against a ball and yet open enough to permit good vision were the elements Thayer had in mind when he visited a tinsmith in Cambridge.

The two were able to work together and modify the creation to Thayer’s satisfaction.

Thayer’s mask was first worn by James Tyng in a game in Lynn, Massachusetts (1877). There was some grousing from the opposing team that the mask gave the Harvard Nine an unfair advantage, but overall, the use of the mask gained approval.

The H Book of Harvard Athletics quotes an editorial from the Harvard newspaper, The Crimson:

“The new mask was proved a complete success, since it entirely protects the face and head and adds greatly to the confidence of the catcher, who need not feel he is in every moment in danger of a lifelong injury. To the ingenious inventor of this mask we are largely indebted for the excellent playing of our new catcher, who promises to excel the fine playing of those who have previously held this position…”

The Patent on the Catcher’s Mask

Fred Thayer applied for a patent for his “Face-Guard or Safety-Mask for Base-Ball Players” on January 15, 1878. The patent was approved less than a month later.

His application describes the mask this way:

“It consists of a forehead and a chin rest or bottom bearing, and a wire cage to receive them and extend about the face, the whole being substantially as represented [in the illustrations provided with the patent application], and provided with straps or means of securing the cage to the head of a player.”

The application also specified that the cage was “arched both horizontally and vertically, in order to deflect a ball when struck by it.”

Catcher Mask Adopted By Professional Teams

The value of the mask for professional teams was understood relatively quickly despite a cultural environment that honored “manliness:”  If a player suffered an injury (including a serious one), the honorable thing to do was to get up and resume your position. In the press, there are mentions of catchers who blacked out briefly from a hit, but the reporters wrote of the player’s heroic action in getting up and continuing to play.

Initially, catcher’s were taunted by the crowds when htey wore masks for the first time.  But because of the very real risks of the position, catchers soon started wearing the new gear.

By the late 1880s, there are enough modifications on record in the patent office that the masks must have come into wide use by that time.

Improvements to the Masks

One of the early patents on file that amends the invention was one by George Barnard (1888) who realized that the catcher’s neck was still exposed. (A powerful ball to the neck can be painful and sometimes fatal.) He added another bar beneath the main part of the mask in order to provide more neck protection.

His mask is also described as the “open view” mask as he saw that one of the horizontal bars across the eyes could be removed to provide greater visibility.

Catcher’s Mask Changes Game

James Tyng, and those who followed, were able to move closer to the plate. Soon catchers began to crouch, enabling them to form a target with their hands in the strike zone.

Over time, it became clear that other protective measures needed to be implemented. Today the catcher wears shin guards, a chest protector, and a glove. The all-important catcher’s mask is sometimes an all-in-one piece combining the mask with a shell-type helmet. This provides the catcher with the protective head gear needed.

You might also enjoy reading about Baseball’s Ceremonial Pitch. And here’s a video of Who First Thought of the Catcher’s Mask?

Isaac Burns Murphy (1861-1896) is considered one of the all-time great jockeys in Thoroughbred racing.  He was the first black jockey to be inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame. Among his many credits were three wins at the Kentucky Derby and four wins at Chicago’s American Derby, the most prestigious track in the late 1800s.

By his own calculation, Isaac Murphy won 44 percent of his races. More recent statisticians who have studied his races report that his percentage is more likely 34 percent—530 wins and 1538 rides. That’s still a very impressive record.

Early Life

Isaac Burns was born in Fayette County, Kentucky to parents who were not enslaved. His father, James Burns, joined the Union Army and died during his military service. Isaac was only a toddler at the time.

To provide for her children, his mother moved back to her father’s house in Lexington, Kentucky, and began working as a laundress. One of her customers owned a racing stable, and sometimes she took Isaac with her. Isaac made himself useful by cleaning stalls and exercising the horses. Occasionally Eli Jordon, the black trainer at the stable, let Isaac help with breaking the yearlings.

Jordon admired Isaac’s self-discipline and good humor.  In 1875, he decided to put the 14-year-old boy in his first race. Isaac lost. One year later, Isaac Burns Murphy had become the jockey to watch.  (Isaac’s grandfather, Green Murphy, was a loving figure in Isaac’s life. When Isaac began racing, he chose to take his grandfather’s surname.)

African Americans Ran the Stables

In the South at that time it was not unusual for African Americans to be working at the stables as riders, trainers, and stable boys. From the early settlement of the colonies, wealthy men imported Thoroughbred horses, and many had slaves to care for them. The workers became skilled horsemen, and the tradition continued through the late 1800s.

In the first Kentucky Derby in 1875, fifteen of the seventeen riders were black. This was no anomaly; within the next 28 years, the Derby was won fifteen times by an African American jockeys.

Isaac Murphy’s Riding Style

Isaac Murphy began to attract national attention in a race in 1877 in Saratoga. One of the racing reporters described Murphy’s win: “he came home like a hurricane.”  Another wrote: “He has a steady hand, a quick eye, a cool head, and a bold heart.”

Murphy’s riding style revealed several signature characteristics, most notably his upright riding position. Observers didn’t need to look for a number or the color of his silks; he was the rider who sat erect on his mount.

As a rider, Murphy was intuitive. He understood the horse he was on, and he encouraged speed through soft words, not through the whip. To Murphy, races seemed to give him all the time in the world. The race began, and he moved toward his competitor to evaluate the power of the other horse. Then he let his own horse fall back a bit to keep the other rider from feeling the pressure.

When it was time to move forward, Murphy gave his horse a bit of a spur with his right heel and then talked quietly to the horse, encouraging him forward. His record shows the method worked.

Running in the Big Races

In the 1880s, Murphy was riding for big purses of which jockeys received a percentage. Jockeys also received fees for availability. In 1887, Murphy commanded $12,000 just for “first call.” He also was paid for second and third call availability. By 1887 Murphy was thought to be the highest paid athlete in the U.S.

Corruption is part of any sport where bets are laid. Early Thoroughbred racing was no different, and it was relatively easy to rig. Jockeys were offered money to “pull a horse” (hold back) so that bettors could put money on a specified winner. Murphy would never go along with it. He believed in an honest race.

Murphy Established In Lexington

Murphy married Lucy Osborn and purchased a large home in Lexington (the purchase of which was noted in The New York Times, 6-13-1887). They were prominent members of the Baptist Church.

As his career grew, he enjoyed the good life. He loved dressing well and buying jewelry for wife. He also started a small racing stable of his own.

The demon that haunted him, however, was his weight. During the off-season his normal weight was 130-140 pounds. To make weight during the racing season, he needed to get down to 110. As the business grew, the rules changed somewhat; weight requirements edged up to 118 and then 122. These were still difficult weight goals for Murphy.

Jockeys—including Murphy—tended to use a diet system known as “flipping.” This was forced vomiting, what we now know as bulimia.  Murphy usually made weight, but it was at a high cost to his body.

Race Disputed

In the “Suburban Handicap” at Sheepshead Bay in 1890, Isaac Murphy rode an outstanding horse, Salvator, and won.  His victory over a horse named Tenny rankled. Tenny was ridden by his white counterpart, Snapper Garrison, equally famous and also highly-regarded.

In the original race, Salvator won decisively but Tenny’s owner complained that there had been interference. He insisted on a rematch.

The one-on-one race was scheduled for the same track two months later, June 25, 1890.

Most-Watched Race

Interest in the race was high. The press pitched the race of “black vs. white.” Snapper Garrison was a big, lanky white jockey who rode in a high crouch position and favored the whip when he wanted a big finish.  From the grandstand, it was easy to tell the riders apart as Murphy’s upright seat was in stark contrast to Garrison’s crouch.

The race began, and Murphy on Salvator kept opening big leads that no one thought Tenny would be able to close. But twice, Tenny gained on Salvator filling the gaps. Salvator moved ahead again toward the end, and he was leading by two lengths.  But again, Garrison brought his horse up to within a head of the winner.

This race might have been fought over, too, but as fate would have it, a photographer was at the finish. The photograph marked the first-ever “photo finish,” and after the film was developed, it confirmed Salvator ahead by a nose. (Today, the “photo finish” is vital to proving a winner in all types of competition.)

Murphy’s Final Years

Shortly after the Salvator-Tenny rematch, Murphy was riding at Monmouth Race Track. He was on a horse named Firenzi.  Firenzi was anticipated an easy winner, but Murphy held him back and he came in last (7^th of 7).  When the race ended, Murphy fell off the horse, and later had trouble re-mounting. The only explanation anyone could think of was that Murphy was drunk. This was so uncharacteristic of the serious-minded, disciplined Murphy that there was no hissing from the grandstand—only silence.

Monmouth suspended him from riding for the remainder of the season.

In 1891 Murphy had a better year. He rode in 100 races and won the Kentucky Derby on Kingman. Murphy’s win rate for the year was 28 percent.  The following year, however, he rode less and less, and the horses offered him were no longer the top flight ones he was used to. In 1894 he had a repeat of the suspension at Monmouth. This time it was at Latonia.

Murphy had some defenders. They pointed out that with crash dieting, most jockeys had low tolerance for alcohol.

His last race was on the track at Lexington in November of 1895 on a horse named Tupto.  He died just a few months after this race on February 12, 1896, of pneumonia.

Died at a Time of Change

Murphy died at a time of major change in the racing industry. As more race tracks were built in the Northeast, white jockeys began to predominate. With this shift came pressure to edge out the African Americans.

Sportswriter Joe Drape, in his book, Black Maestro: The Epic Life of an American Legend writes of an “anti-colored union.”  The intent among the white jockeys was to run black riders off the race track. Word got around that if owners wanted to take home first-place purses, they best not ride the colored jockeys. The white jockeys would surround a mount with a black jockey, or their whip would accidentally find his leg. They did what it took to scare the other men away.  Jim Crow was at work.

Notable Funeral for Murphy

Isaac Murphy was so well-known that his funeral was covered in The New York Times (11-18-1896): “The largest funeral ever seen here over a colored person was held on Sunday when Isaac Murphy, the famous jockey, was buried. The services took place at his late home on East Third Street. The body was escorted from the house to the cemetery by Bethany Commandery, Knights of Templars and the colored lodges of Masons. The funeral procession was one of the longest ever seen in Lexington. A number of prominent turfmen from all over the country were present, and floral tributes were sent from nearly everywhere; it requiring a large wagon to haul the flowers that the dead jockey’s admirers had sent to decorate his grave. The remains were buried in the colored cemetery on Seventh Street.”

Isaac Murphy had imagined an epitaph for himself: “I am as proud of my calling as I am of my record, and I believe my life will be  recorded as a success, though the reputation I enjoyed was earned in the stable and saddle. It’s a great honor to be classed as one of America’s great jockeys.”

Instead—even after all the pomp and circumstance–Murphy was buried in an unremarkable grave.

Black Jockey Hall of Famer Reinterred

Frank Borries Jr., who worked at the University of Kentucky in the 1960s, went out to look for Isaac Murphy’s grave one day.  He discovered it was no longer marked. For the next three years, Borries worked to identify which plot held Murphy, and once he did so, he worked out reburial. Isaac Murphy was re-interred in 1967 at the burial site of the famous race horse, Man o’ War.

Then in the 1970s plans for a new Kentucky Horse Park were made, and the plans specified honorary placement for both Man o’ War and Murphy. In 1978 when the Park opened, Man o’War and Isaac Murphy were both relocated to a plot of land at the entrance to the Park.

Since 1995 the National Turf Writers Association has remembered Murphy by presenting the Isaac Murphy Award to the North American jockey with the highest winning percentage for the year.

For more information about African American jockeys, see the facebook page maintained by Project to Preserve African American Turf History.