Frank Hart (athlete)

Frank Hart (1857 or 1858 - 1908) was an American athlete famous as the first African-American world record holder in the 19th century sport of pedestrianism.[1] His most noted win was in an 1879 6 Day Race at Madison Square Garden where he covered 565 miles and won $21,567 in prize money (equivalent to $599,023 in 2020).[2]

Frank Hart
Hart circa 1880
Personal information
Nickname(s)Black Dan, The Negro Wonder
Born1857 or 1858
Died1908 (aged approxmiately 50 or 51)
Sport
CountryUSA
SportPedestrianism

Born in 1857 or 1858 as Fred Hichborn (or a similar spelling), Hart immigrated to Boston from Haiti as a teenager and worked as a grocery store clerk before joining races to earn extra money.[1] [3] Frank Hart was chosen as his stage name, and he was variously also known as "The Negro Wonder" and "Black Dan", after his mentor and promoter Dan O'Leary.[1] While the sport of pedestrianism was short-lived in popularity, Hart was ultimately one of the first black sports celebrities in America.[4][5] Hart later played in a Negro league baseball team, and died in Chicago in 1908.[6]

References
  1. Algeo, Matthew (2014-04-01). Pedestrianism: When Watching People Walk Was America's Favorite Spectator Sport. Chicago Review Press. pp. 177–183. ISBN 978-1-61374-400-0.
  2. "FRANK HART THE WINNER; AND ANOTHER BOSTON NEGRO SEC- OND IN THE RACE. HART ROLLS UP 565 MILES BEFORE LEAVING THE TRACK, BEATING BROWN'S WORLD RECORD BY TWELVE MILES--PEGRAM THREE MILES AHEAD OF THE GREATEST AMERICAN RECORD--THE CLOSING HOURS OF THE GREAT WALK". The New York Times. April 11, 1880.
  3. "In The 1870s And '80s, Being A Pedestrian Was Anything But". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  4. Gorvett, Zaria. "The strange 19th-Century sport that was cooler than football". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  5. "Black American Running Timeline". www.nyrr.org. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  6. Kastner, Charles (2008-02-12). "Frank "Black Dan" Hart (1858-1908) •". Retrieved 2021-11-20.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.