Abraham Lincoln, the athlete

[RJNorton]

Thanks to Laurie for sending the following:

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From A History of American Sports in 100 Objects by Cait Murphy:

Abraham Lincoln, the Athlete

"In his early days in New Salem, Indiana, Abraham Lincoln made his name among the tough Clary Grove gang by wrestling their leader, Jack Armstrong, to a draw.

"That was the first of many matches; Lincoln lost only once in 12 years, as far as the US Wrestling Hall of Fame can determine. Indeed, young Lincoln was known for two things: his character and his strength.

"Like many an accomplished sportsman, Lincoln had attitude. After winning one wrestling match with in­different ease, he is said to have shouted to the crowd, 'Any of you want to try it, come on and whet your horns!' Lincoln was also an excellent runner and jumper, the latter no doubt helped by his unusual height. His friends were awed by his strength; one contemporary described him as 'a Hercules."'

In the months leading up to the 1860 presidential election, Abraham Lincoln and his friends used this handball in heated contests in a Springfield, Illinois, alley.

"As a grown man in Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln's favorite athletic activity was a handball game known as 'fives,' played against a brick wall in an alley near his law office. One of his opponents described the scene: 'Here is where "Old Abe" was always champion, for his long arms and long legs served a good pur­pose in reaching and returning the ball from any angle his adversary could send it to the wall.' Another observer was less complimentary, saying that Lincoln's 'suppleness, leaps, and strides to strike the ball were comical in the extreme.'

"Lincoln was not out for style points, however. He liked the competition, and a rousing game of fives was also a good way to relieve the stress of life with his wife, Mary Todd; the law; and politics. So it is not altogether surprising that in May 1860, with the presidential nominating convention going on in Chicago, he went down to the alley for a game. On the first ballot, William Seward of New York took the most votes, with Lincoln second. On the second ballot, Lincoln narrowed the gap. The suspense muse have been excruciating.

"When the messenger came with the results of the third ballot, Lincoln opened the telegram, read the news, and didn't finish the game. Instead, he headed home, saying, 'There is a little woman down on Eighth Street who will be glad to hear this news.' The ball in this picture may not be the exact one Lincoln played with as he waited for word from Chicago, but it certainly could be. It was found in a dresser in his home, and when Lincoln left Springfield after the election, he never returned alive."

[David Lockmiller]

Abraham Lincoln remained an athlete his entire life.

RJNorton made the following posting on April 3, 2014 on the thread: Books - over 15,000 to discuss / Kennedy and Lincoln - Medical & Ballistic Comparisons

"Historians figure Abraham Lincoln was showing off on April 8, 1865, when, at the end of a long day, he spotted an ax at a Union Army field hospital in Virginia. He'd spent hours shaking hands with thousands of wounded soldiers. A doctor told him his arm was surely tired.

Holding his arm straight out, Lincoln picked up the ax by the butt, with the handle parallel to the ground, and held the 7-pound tool motionless. He was 56 years old and one week away from assassination.

Strong men who looked on, men accustomed to manual labor, could not hold the same ax in that position for a moment," wrote Francis Fisher Browne, a Union soldier who authored a biography called "The Every-Day Life of Abraham Lincoln."


Although the veracity of this story has been questioned by some, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has issued the following statement:

"The state of Illinois, it turns out, has owned the ax since 1955, when it was donated to the Lincoln Home, then the state's responsibility. It was accompanied by an affidavit from the director of the field hospital, plus a second statement signed in 1914, verifying the tool's authenticity."

The original affidavit made by the field hospital director reads: "I hereby certify that with this axe Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States, did, on the Saturday before his assassination, chop a twenty inch white oak log in rear of my quarters at the Depot Field Hospital, Army of the Potomac City Point VA." It was signed "G.B. Parker MD, Late Surgeon USV, Chief Medical Officer." In addition, there was a written statement made to verify that the copy of Dr. Parker's affidavit now in the library's possession was legitimate -- that statement was dated Jan. 21, 1914.

Military surgeons who performed the autopsy on Lincoln all remarked how his body looked like that of someone half his 56 years of age."

[Eva Elisabeth]

Laurie - that handball is interesting (I wouldn't even have identified it as such) and new to me. I didn't even know such professionally looking balls were produced in the mid-1850s. (I wonder what the #2 print refers to!) Is ist known when it was found? Soon after the Lincolns moved out?

[RJNorton]

(10-20-2018 12:45 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Is ist known when it was found? Soon after the Lincolns moved out?

"It was found in a dresser drawer when Lincoln's Springfield home was being restored in the 1950s. Today the handball is in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C."

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/163185186471106351/

Eva, I assume that web page is accurate, but I do not know for certain. It seems like a long time to find it, but maybe others saw it there over the years and just let it be.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks, Roger. Well, if I had spotted a ball possibly belong to Lincoln in my dresser drawer...Wasn't most of the furniture sold and partly burned in the Chicago fire?

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(Nevertheless it is fascinating to see a ball of the kind Lincoln played with in those days!!)

[RJNorton]

Yes, Lucian Tilton bought some of the furniture. He moved to Chicago in 1869, and much of the furniture he purchased was lost in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. But he did not purchase all of the furniture; some original Lincoln pieces remained in Springfield.

[LincolnMan]

"In his early days in New Salem, Indiana, Abraham Lincoln made his name among the tough Clary Grove gang by wrestling their leader, Jack Armstrong, to a draw.”

New Salem, Indiana?

[RJNorton]

Good eyes, Bill!

[LincolnMan]

Thank you! But I did ask myself if there was a New Salem, Indiana. Not!

[Steve]

For the record, there is a New Salem, Indiana:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/New+Sa...85.3580231

Pretty sure it's a misprint above, though.

[LincolnMan]

Thanks Steve!