Wrestlers at the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) 1905

Wrestling at the N.Y.A.C.
Ca. November 7, 1905.
American Mutoscope & Biograph Company
Produced by Kennedy Laurie Dickson

New York Athletic Club
Private club at Central Park South and 6th Avenue in Manhattan, formed in 1868 by William B. Curtis, Henry E. Buermeyer, and John C. Babcock in the backroom of the Knickerbocker Cottage on 6th Avenue between 27th and 28th streets. On 11 November 1868 the club sponsored the New York Athletic games, the first indoor amateur athletic meet in the United States, in the unfurnished Empire Skating Rink on 3rd Avenue. On a cold, rainy night the meet drew more than a thousand spectators, who saw six track and eight field events; among the innovations introduced at the meet were cleated athletic shoes and an early bicycle with a large front wheel called a velocipede. The club built a boathouse on the Harlem River in 1870, opened a club at Mott Haven in June 1874, and in 1880 purchased an island of 30 acres (twelve hectares) in Long Island Sound as a training retreat for its elite competitors. Called Sheffields Island (later renamed Travers island for the clubs president William R. Travers), the island had two buildings in which as many as seventy athletes could live and train while carrying on business in New York City. By 1898 the club had many prominent businessmen in the city as members. The clubs building on Central Park South, opened with great fanfare on 22 January 1929, houses extensive athletic facilities, restaurants, and guest rooms.
- Robert Hillenbrand / Encyclopedia of New York City edited by Kenneth T. Jackson

The man in white entering the film at 1:38 is Hugh F. Leonard who was William Muldoon's protege and the chief wrestling trainer at the NYAC. Here he is seen instructing a pair of sparring partners. Here's a news clipping of Leonard's death notice from 1914 which includes a brief career bio. (PDF): http://tinyurl.com/7cmo8la

Also in 1905 the New York Highlanders (a.k.a. ''American's'' or ''Yankees'') finished the season in 6th place in the American League with a record of 71-78. They were managed by Clark Griffith and they played all of their home games at Hilltop Park in Washington Heights / April 19 The 9th Boston Marathon was won by Fred Lorz of New York in 2:38:25.4 / April 26 Chicago Cubs Jack McCarthy becomes only major league player to throw out three runners at the plate in one game, all were ends of a double play / May 13 James J. Jeffries retires as boxing champion

01/01/12 - 6,948

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[mastajupiter1031]

i cant tell..are those wooden floors or are theres mats?

[OVwrestler]

Now that's wrastlin'

[AMEwrestling]

This must be the oldest wrestling video to survive. Hell, this is better than WWE. Wrestling is the name of the game.

[kJf1245]

These dudes are like the ancestors of wrestling the they perform the techniques fluently

[GuineaPigNYC]

respect