Jim Jeffries as an athlete

[Dr. Z]

I able to stand flat on the floor,
then leap upward, kick a ceiling eight
feet high with my toes— -and land on
my feet. As a kid I watched acrobats
doing tricks, I conied some of them—
and originated others of my own. In
the ond, I had a dozen stunts in my
of tricks, some of which even the
lightest acrobats couldn't perform.
Historians of pugilism insist

. Then Billy Delaney and a crowd *
from my camp measured off 100 yards. I
ran it in 10 3-5th seconds. They couldn't
quite believe what had hapnened because
I was weighing around 225 then — and
that's a lot of bulk for a sprinter. So
they remeasured, verified thn distance—
and I ran the next 100, in 10 1-5. .
'I can run pretty nearly nil day at
that clip,' I grinned at the fellows.
'Well,' said Delaney, 'here's where yon
get your chance. You'll run 100 yards,
walk back, 'to the starting, line, win. it
againr— and repeat ten times. We'll
see if you are kidding us.'
That was the day. When I made the
ten snrints in an average time of
10 2/5 seconds

10 2/5 seconds in the 100 yard dash and a high jump of a ceiling ( I'd image is at least seven feet high ) is better the both Olympic records in 1896. Wow Jeffries really was the best athlete of his day. You should see him jump rope on film for his 1901 training clips.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/a...%20tour%201899

[Willow The Wisp]

His feats of strength, agility and toughness were legendary and widely known and celebrated in his time. His legacy was very damaged after his ill-advised 1910 comeback; but James J. Jeffries was extraordinary. In the 1st half of the 20th century only Johnson, Dempsey, Tunney, Wills and Louis can be mentioned in the same breath. Sam Langford refused to fight him, and that says an awful lot.

[QueensburyRules]

- - John L played minor league baseball as a kid, and JJohnson played 1st base for a few games for the Black Philadelphia Giants along side HOF Texas Buddy Rube Foster who was not only an All Star quality pitcher, but was the driving force behind the establishment of Negro League Baseball. It was Rube who ferried JJ across to Canada by train in advance of his Man Act sentencing and incarceration.

Babe was a high end ambidextrous bowler and played at scratch level golf who challenged and went into training vs JJ best buddy Gunboat Smith. Like Wilt, he got his payraise beyond that of boxing and the rest history.

Of late we've had a smattering or retired football players turn pro, Gerald Washington the best of that bunch.

[markusmod]

We need him on the Yankees in the last few days, that's for sure!

[QueensburyRules]

We need him on the Yankees in the last few days, that's for sure!

- - Stopped following baseball after Bonds and baseball owners ran baseball into the ditch, totaling it.

Did the Yanks make the playoffs and lose?

[markusmod]

- - Stopped following baseball after Bonds and baseball owners ran baseball into the ditch, totaling it.

Did the Yanks make the playoffs and lose?

They got swept.

[QueensburyRules]

- - At any rate, for a boxer, Jeff one of the top guys who would've made a great decathlete in a short list of heavies.

My only regret is that Jim Thorpe never boxed professionally that would've made him the Home boxer athlete, but no matter, he's already the Home athlete in world history not that modern soft lads that make these lists would ever understand.

[Ivich]

- - At any rate, for a boxer, Jeff one of the top guys who would've made a great decathlete in a short list of heavies.

My only regret is that Jim Thorpe never boxed professionally that would've made him the Home boxer athlete, but no matter, he's already the Home athlete in world history not that modern soft lads that make these lists would ever understand.

How accurate was the film made about him?

[QueensburyRules]

How accurate was the film made about him?

- - Not interested in made up film history. See the two Ali films, the last being full Hollywood with Will Smith, the first being based on his made up autobio that bombed where he played himself. I came across the that filming of a scene in downtown Houston, so I may be in that scene as a bystander, not that I would even bother to watch such balderdash as that to find out.

[Ivich]

- - Not interested in made up film history. See the two Ali films, the last being full Hollywood with Will Smith, the first being based on his made up autobio that bombed where he played himself. I came across the that filming of a scene in downtown Houston, so I may be in that scene as a bystander, not that I would even bother to watch such balderdash as that to find out.

Thorpe was 6'1" and 200lbs he is supposed to have gotten into an argument with Errol Flynn.

"Thorpe got into an altercation one night with actor Errol Flynn in a Hollywood restaurant. The story goes, Jim Thorpe hit Flynn so hard, he lifted his entire body off the ground with a single punch. Flynn fell to the floor and was out cold.2
Of course the story may be apocryphal.