Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America's Favorite Spectator Sport
Apr 2014 · Chicago Review Press
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272
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About this ebook
Strange as it sounds, during the 1870s and 1880s, America's most popular spectator sport wasn't baseball, football, or horseracing—it was competitive walking. Inside sold-out arenas, competitors walked around dirt tracks almost nonstop for six straight days (never on Sunday), risking their health and sanity to see who could walk the farthest—more than 500 miles. These walking matches were as talked about as the weather, the details reported in newspapers and telegraphed to fans from coast to coast. This long-forgotten sport, known as pedestrianism, spawned America's first celebrity athletes and opened doors for immigrants, African Americans, and women. But along with the excitement came the inevitable scandals, charges of doping and insider gambling, and even a riot in 1879. Pedestrianism chronicles competitive walking's peculiar appeal and popularity, its rapid demise, and its enduring influence.
Strange as it sounds, during the 1870s and 1880s, America's most popular spectator sport wasn't baseball, football, or horseracing—it was competitive walking. Inside sold-out arenas, competitors walked around dirt tracks almost nonstop for six straight days (never on Sunday), risking their health...
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About the author
Matthew Algeo is the author of Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure, Last Team Standing, and The President Is a Sick Man. An award-winning journalist, he has reported from three continents for public radio's All Things Considered, Marketplace, and Morning Edition. He lives in Washington, DC.
Matthew Algeo is the author of Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure, Last Team Standing, and The President Is a Sick Man. An award-winning journalist, he has reported from three continents for public radio's All Things Considered, Marketplace, and Morning Edition. He lives in Washington, DC.
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