Book Review: "Pedestrianism" by Matthew Algeo

Have you ever heard of Edward Payson Weston or Dan O'Leary?  How about the Astley Belt? Does the term "six-day" mean anything to you?

Well, I never had either, nor did I know what a "six-day" was until I read the newest book by Matthew Algeo:

Note the sub-title: "When Watching People Walk Was America Favorite Spectator Sport". Yes, this a book about a sport known as pedestrianism and for a brief period of time, from the early 1870's to the mid-1880's, pedestrianism was the number one, and a case can be made it was the first, major spectator sport in America.  Watching people walk in arenas over a six day period (hence, the term six-days) was a craze in the United States and in Great Britain as well. Weston and O'Leary were the biggest stars and the fiercest rivals in the sport.  They were the Palmer-Nicklaus or Ali-Frazier of the late nineteenth century.  The Astley Belt was a prize for which pedestrians competed for and prized every bit as much as athletes of today seek a Lombardi Trophy, a Stanley Cup, or a Green Jacket. 

How did such a sport came into existence?  Well, increased industrialization in United States and Britain led to a new concept among people, leisure time, and the people began to fill that time by paying to watch people walk.  Top line pedestrians earned, what in today's dollars, would equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars. They earned additional money from product endorsements, and were pictured on trading cards long before baseball players were.  And if you think the first great African American athlete in America was Jack Johnson or Jesse Owens or Joe Louis, you would be wrong.  That honor goes to pedestrian from Boston named Frank Hart.  And just to prove that everything old is new again, pedestrians were accused of taking performance enhancing substances (coca leaves, in this case) and the sport was also beset with problems related to gambling and accusations of tanking in races - and, in fact, gambling was among the chief issues that led to the undoing of the sport (along with the introduction of bicycle racing and, of all things, baseball).  So Barry Bonds and Pete Rose had their precursors way back in the late 19th century.

A lesson to be learned from this book, I think, is that nothing lasts forever.  Pedestrianism, America's first great spectator sport, took hold in the early 1870's and then pretty much disappeared by the early 1890's.  Similarly, boxing and horse racing, were once the preeminent sports in America, and are pretty much niche sports today.  So, the Sport of Football, now being beset with safety concerns, should not think that the same fate could not befall it as well.

As much as it sheds a light on this now obscure sport and its practitioners, the book also gives a look at life and social mores in a now long gone time in America.  Through the wonders of Facebook, I feel that I have come to "know" Matthew Algeo, and I am hoping that his promotional tour for "Pedestrianism" will bring him to Pittsburgh sometime this year so I can meet him in person.  This is his fourth book, I have read them all, and I highly recommend them all....

"Last Team Standing" - about the wartime combine of the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, or "Steagles".

http://grandstander.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-reviews-last-team-standing-and.html

"Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure" - about a cross country drive that the former President and his wife took, alone, shortly after he left the White House.

http://grandstander.blogspot.com/2011/08/book-review-harry-trumans-excellent.html

"The President Is A Sick Man" - about a secret operation to remove a cancerous tumor from the mouth of President Grover Cleveland.

http://grandstander.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-review-president-is-sick-man.html

We also like Matthew Algeo because, even though a native of the Philadelphia area, in 2013 he became, again through the magic of Facebook, a Pirates fan, and while living in Ulan Bator, Mongolia (his wife Allyson serves in the United States Foreign Service), he proudly Raised the Jolly Roger in the Square in front of the Mongolian capital.

So, I ask, how can we not support this newest book from Mr. Algeo?