1881 AAA Championships

Outdoor track and field competition August 2022 1881 AAA Championships Birmingham, England 16 & 18 July Aston Lower Grounds Senior Outdoor 14 1880 1882 AAA Championships The 1881 AAA Championships was an outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), held on Saturday 16 July and Monday 18 July at Aston Lower Grounds, Birmingham, England.<ref name="Buchanan"> Ian Buchanan "AAA Championships 1880-1939" National Union of Track Statisticians (2003)</ref> This was the first time the championship had been held outside of London."The Sportsman", Mon 18 Jul 1881 p. 4 Summary thumb|right|150px|Maurice Davin won two titles The weather in Birmingham was hot and sunny, "a thin tissue of clouds and a cool breeze somewhat tempered the sun's rays," and a crowd of 14,000 spectators attended the championship. The Aston Company Band played musical selections throughout the afternoon and the prizes were presented by Mrs. Richard Chamberlain, the Lady Mayoress of Birmingham."The Referee" Sun 17 Jul 1881 p. 5 The programme of events was the same as last year with fourteen events for men only. The heats and finals all took place on one day with the exception of the 10 miles race which took place on the following Monday, 18 July, at the same venue. Performances were generally better than last year with championship best performances in eight of the fourteen events, while that in the 100 yards was equal to the best. The track at Aston was a cinder path with a circumference of 501 yards 1 foot. It was measured on the Friday afternoon by a surveyor, Mr. Wilson, using a foot chain laid 12 to 15 inches from the inside edge to confirm the accuracy of the race distances. The ground, did, however, have a slight slope, "the last 300 yards of the 440 yard course sloped more than 6 feet."Richard Hymans "World Record Progressions" International Amateur Athletics Federation (2015) This favoured competitors in the 440 yards and 120 yards hurdles, so performances in these events cannot be compared with other years. The stadium layout included a separate straight sprint track which also sloped to some extent, and this favoured competitors in both the 100 yards and the long jump. Lon Myers, the American world record holder, said in a letter home, "the descent was about three-quarters of a yard on the sprint path."Donald H. Potts "Lon" a biography of Lon Myers, Tafnews Press (1993) Lon Myers competed in both the 100 yards and 440 yards and together with Eugene Merrill (Boston AC) who competed in the 7 miles walk, they were the first foreign athletes to compete in the championship. Myers appeared first, in the first heat of the 100 yards, but the slope on the track threw him off and he did not live up to expectations and finished fourth. The Birmingham Mail said, "before half the distance was covered it was seen that Myers was labouring hard to keep his place.""Birmingham Mail", Mon 18 Jul 1881 p. 2 In a letter home Myers described his race thus: "I was thrown out of stride, owing, no doubt, to the downhill course, and the rest of the way I was trying to run and keep from falling at the same time." The 440 yards was a different story, as Myers won easily with time to look round at the other competitors. Walter George (Moseley Harriers) was the defending champion in both one mile and four miles, but he had been ill since the spring and was not at his best. In the one mile he was challenged by Bernhard Wise, an Australian studying at Oxford University. William Snook (Moseley H.) took the lead for the first 200 yards, then George went to the front to try push the pace and take the sting out of the Australian. Wise stuck to his shoulder until with around three hundred yards to go a small gap opened up and Wise moved ahead and then gradually the gap widened out to around six yards by the finish. 440 yards splits are as follows: 59.0, 2:04.5 (65.5), 3:13.0 (68.5), 4:24.4 (71.4). Disappointed by his performance George did not contest the four miles. Thomas Ray of Ulverston Cricket Club broke his own world record in the pole jump. He held the world record from September 1879 to July 1891, improving it nine times from 11ft 2 3/4in (3.42m) to 11ft 6 5/8in (3.52m). Maurice Davin (Ireland) equalled the world record in the hammer. Edmund Baddeley had thrown 98ft 10in (30.12m) at the Amateur Athletic Club championship in 1878 and this remained the world record until June 1883. In finishing second in the 440 yards William Phillips became only the second amateur to beat 50 seconds for 440 yards, albeit slightly downhill, a feat achieved by no other amateur until 1886. There were no heats in the field events, some of which had only two or three competitors. It was customary at the time for race winners only to have their performances recorded, therefore, in the tables below other competitors are shown with the distance each man was behind the man in front. Field event performances are shown in feet and inches as they were originally measured, with a conversion to metric measurement in parentheses. Conversions have been obtained using the International Metric Conversion Tables published by the International Amateur Athletics Federation in 1970. Results https://nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists National Union of Track Statisticians 23 July 2024https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000686/18810718/084/0004 National Championship Athletic Meeting Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 18 July 1881 British Newspaper Archive subscription 23 July 2024 Event1st2nd3rd100 yards William Page Phillips SCO James John Milroy Cowie Richard F. Shaw440 yardsUSA Lon MyersWilliam Page Phillips John H. Plant880 yardsSidney Herbert BakerW. LockSamuel King Holman 1 mileAUS Bernhard WiseWalter GeorgeHenry D. Thomas4 milesGeorge Morley NehanGeorge Augustus DunningJ. A. Voelcker10 milesGeorge Augustus DunningJ. A. Voelcker William Whiteway AlexandersteeplechaseJames OgdenWilliam J. Lawrence W. Lock120yd hurdlesGeorge Patrick Charles LawrenceA. J. PorterSamuel Palmer7 miles walkJohn W. RabyUSA E. E. MerrillHenry Whyatthigh jumpLeinster Patrick Davin SCO John Whitehill Parsonsn/apole jumpThomas RayEdward Aubrey Strachann/along jumpLeinster Patrick Davin Leinster Thomas Michael MaloneGerard Fowlershot putLeinster Maurice Davin William Young Winthropn/ahammer throwLeinster Maurice DavinWalter Lawrence William Young Winthrop Event summary + 100 yards Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. William Page Phillips London AC 10 1/52. James John Milroy Cowie London AC 1/2 yd3. Richard F. Shaw London AC 6 inches4. F. F. Cleaver Notts Forest FC 6 inches Notes: 2 heats. first two in each heat qualify for the final. + 440 yards Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. Laurence Eugene Myers USA 48 3/52. William Page Phillips London AC 5 yd3. John H. Plant Stourbridge FC 15 yd4. W. R. Parry Moseley H. 5 yd Notes: no heats. Myers was the first winner of a AAA championship not from Great Britain. The World Record for 440 yards was 49.0 by Myers at Boston, Massachusetts, 26 June 1880. His performance in Birmingham was never ratified as a record due to an advantageous slope on the track. + 880 yards Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. Sidney Herbert Baker London AC 2:02 1/52. W. Lock Spartan H. 1 yd3. Samuel King Holman London AC 2 yd4. W. R. Parry Moseley H. 10 yd5. J. Law Birchfield H. Notes: 5 competitors + 1 mile Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. Bernhard Wise Australia / Oxford Un. AC 4:24 2/52. Walter George Moseley H. 4:25 3/53. Henry D. Thomas London AC 35-50 yd Notes: only 3 finished + 4 miles Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. George Morley Nehan Blackheath H. 20:26 1/52. George Augustus Dunning Clapton Beagles 20:323. J. A. Voelcker London AC 400 yd Notes: “Bell’s Life” gives the winning time as 20:25 1/5 and Dunning’s time as 20:26 4/5. "The Referee" gives Nehan 20:26 4/5 and Dunning 20:32. "The Sportsman" says Nehan 20:21 4/5 with Dunning 80 yards behind. the times here are from Buchanan, president and founder of the International Society of Olympic Historians. + 10 miles Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. George Augustus Dunning Clapton Beagles 54:342. J. A. Voelcker London AC 58:44 3/53. William Whiteway Alexander Civil Service AA ret (8 miles)4. George Morley Nehan Blackheath H. ret (2 miles)5. W. LockSpartan H.ret (1 mile) Notes: Monday 18 July, same venue, only 2 finished + Steeplechase Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. James Ogden Birchfield H. 11:17 3/52. William J. Lawrence Moseley H. 90-100 yd3. W. Lock Spartan H. ret Notes: distance 2 miles, 3 competitors, only 2 finished. + 120 yards hurdles Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. George Patrick Charles Lawrence Oxford Un. AC 16 1/52. A. J. Porter Leicester A.S. FC 8 yd Notes: 2 heats. first 2 in each heat qualify for the final. Lawrence 16sec. (1 h1). in the final Samuel Palmer (ex-Cambridge Un. AC) fell at the fifth hurdle and did not finish while F. J. W. Wood (London AC) qualified for the final (2 h1) but did not start. + High Jump Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. Patrick Davin Carrick-on-Suir, Ireland 6ft 1/2in (1.84m)2. John Whitehill Parsons Edinburgh Un. AC 5ft 9 1/2in (1.76m) Notes: only 2 competitors + Pole jump Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. Thomas Ray Ulverston CC 11ft 3in (3.43m)2. Edward Aubrey Strachan Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 10ft 6in (3.20m) Notes: only 2 competitors. Ray beat his own World Record set in 1879. + Long Jump Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. Patrick Davin Carrick-on-Suir, Ireland 22ft 11in (6.98m)2. Thomas Michael Malone County Clare, Ireland 22ft 7in (6.88m)3. Gerard Fowler Moseley FC 22ft 1/2in (6.72m) Notes: John Whitehill Parsons (Edinburgh Un. AC), Francis John W. Wood (London AC), and D. H. Brownfield (Trentham Park CC) also competed but their performance and position are not known. + Shot Put Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. Maurice Davin Ireland 39ft 6 1/2in (12.05m)2. William Young Winthrop London AC 38ft 4 1/2in (11.69m) Notes: only 2 competitors + Hammer Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. Maurice Davin Carrick-on-Suir, Ireland 98ft 10in (30.12m)2. Walter Lawrence Oxford Un. AC / London AC 97ft 5in (29.70m)3. William Young Winthrop London AC 95ft 4in (29.06m) Notes: only 3 competitors. "The Field" reports a "7 foot run with a 4 foot handle." + 7 miles walk Pos Athlete Club Time /Dist 1. John W. Raby Elland 54:48 2/52. E. E. Merrill Union AC, Boston, USAret (3 miles)3. H. WhyattNotts Forest FC ret (2 miles) H. WebsterLiverpool disq Notes: 4 starters, only 1 competitor finished + Championship best performance Event Athlete Time / Dist Year 100 yards William Page Phillips (London AC) 10 1/5 1880 William Page Phillips (London AC) 10 1/5 1881 440 yards William Page Phillips (London AC) 51 sec. 1880 880 yards Samuel King Holman (London AC) 2:00 2/5 1880 1 mile Bernhard Wise (Australia / Oxford Un. AC) 4:24 2/5 1881 4 miles George Morley Nehan (Blackheath H.) 20:26 1/5 1881 10 miles George Augustus Dunning (Clapton Beagles) 54:34 1881 120 yards hurdles George Patrick Charles Lawrence (Oxford Un. AC) 16 2/5sec. 1880 High jump Patrick Davin (Ireland) 6ft 1/2in (1.84m) 1881 Pole jump Thomas Ray (Ulverston CC) 11ft 3in (3.43m) 1881 Long jump Charles Langton Lockton (London AC) 22ft 2in (6.75m) 1880 Shot put Maurice Davin (Ireland) 39ft 6 1/2in (12.05m) 1881 Hammer Maurice Davin (Ireland) 98ft 10in (30.12m) 1881 7 miles walk John W. Raby (Elland) 54:48 2/5 1881 Notes: Performances in the Steeplechase are not comparable until the event was standardised in the 1930s. External links National Union of Track Statisticians References Category:AAA Championships Athletics Outdoor Category:Sports competitions in Birmingham, West Midlands AAA Category:July 1881 in the United Kingdom Category:19th century in Birmingham, West Midlands