Irish Whales

The Irish Whales or "The Whales" was a nickname given to a group of Irish, Irish-American and Irish-Canadian athletes who dominated weight-throwing events in the first two decades of the 20th century. "This group dominated the field events, particularly throwing events, at the Amateur Athletic Union national championships and at the Olympic Games between 1896 and 1924."[1] They were primarily members of the Irish American Athletic Club, and the New York Athletic Club and also members of the New York City Police Department. They were known as such because of their athletic prowess, physical size, voracious appetites, and their impact on a generation of sports fans.

Irish Whales: John Flanagan and Martin Sheridan of the Irish American Athletic Club, with fellow Irishman James Mitchell of the New York Athletic Club at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Irish Whales included; John Flanagan, Simon Gillis, James Mitchell, Pat McDonald, Paddy Ryan, Martin Sheridan, Matt McGrath and Con Walsh. What Sheridan lacked in girth, he made up for with his appetite and athletic accomplishments, nine Olympic medals in all. "Matt McGrath was built like a wedge. He was a six-footer, but he weighed 248 pounds. John Flanagan was about the same. Simon Gillis was 6′2″ and 240. Paddy Ryan was 6′5″ and 296, while Pat McDonald was 6′5″ and 300 pounds."[2]

Origin

Irish Whales: Pat McDonald and Matt McGrath of the Irish American Athletic Club, posing for a 1912 U.S. Olympic team photo.

While it is not entirely clear when this moniker came into use, and was likely not used in the face of any of these giant men, it seems to have first appeared in print in 1937 in John Kieran's New York Times column, "Sports of the Times," written by John Drebinger (who was substituting for Kieran).[3] The term was further popularized in "Sports of the Times" columns written by Arthur Daly in the New York Times, with the first reference to "The Whales" in 1942. On the subject of the origin of this nickname, Daly wrote:

"It was on the Olympic trip of 1912 that the 'whale' nickname took hold. Dan Ferris, then a cherubic little boy, recalls it with relish. 'Those big fellows,' he related, 'all sat at the same table and their waiter was a small chap. Before we reached Stockholm he had lost twenty pounds, worn down by bringing them food. Once as he passed me he muttered under his breath, 'It's whales they are, not men.' They used to take five plates of soup as a starter and then gulp down three or four steaks with trimmings. That Simon Gillis would think nothing of having a dozen eggs for breakfast. But what fascinated me was the way he ate them. He'd put a dab of mustard on each and eat it whole, shell and all.' The Irish American A.C. behemoths always were the life of any party."[4]

Another tale of the Irish Whales' voracious appetites came from Arthur Daly's typewriter twenty-two years later. In a Times column in 1964 he wrote:

"Some of their more prodigious feats were at the table. The Irish American A.C. was competing in Baltimore when (Simon) Gillis placed an order for a post-meet snack with the head waiter at a local restaurant. He ordered 27 dozen oysters and six huge T-bone steaks. Slight Miscalculation - The waiter was ready when Gillis, McDonald and McGrath arrived. The table had been set for a party of 33. 'Do you want to wait for the rest of your group?' asked the headwaiter. He turned pale as he watched three whales devour 27 dozen oysters and six huge T-bone steaks."[2]

Summary table

Heights and weights are taken from various reference sources; heights given sometimes vary by several inches, while, obviously, weight can fluctuate substantially over an athlete's career. All Olympic medals won were for the United States, except for Con Walsh's which was for Canada.

NameBirthDeathHeightWeightOlympic medals
John FlanaganJanuary 28, 1868
County Limerick
June 3, 1938
Limerick
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)248 pounds (112 kg)

1900 ParisHammer throw
1904 St. LouisHammer throw
1904 St. Louis56 pound weight throw
1908 LondonHammer throw

Simon GillisApril 6, 1875
Cape Breton Island
January 14, 1964
Phoenix, Arizona
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)241 pounds (109 kg)none
James MitchelJanuary 30, 1864
Bartoose, County Tipperary
July 3, 1921
Limerick
6 ft 1.5 in (1.87 m)220 pounds (100 kg)[5] 1904 St Louis56 pound weight throw
Pat McDonaldJuly 26, 1878
Killard, County Clare
May 16, 1954
New York City
6 ft 2.5 in (1.89 m)265 pounds (120 kg)

1912 StockholmShot put
1912 StockholmTwo-handed shot put
1920 Antwerp56 pound weight throw

Paddy Ryan20 January 1883
Old Pallas
13 February 1964
Limerick
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)249 pounds (113 kg)

1920 AntwerpHammer throw
1920 Antwerp56 lb weight throw

Martin SheridanMarch 28, 1881
Bohola
March 27, 1918
New York City
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)194 pounds (88 kg)

1904 St LouisDiscus
1906 AthensDiscus
1906 AthensShot put
1906 AthensStanding high jump
1906 AthensStanding long jump
1906 AthensStone throw
1908 LondonDiscus
1908 LondonGreek discus
1908 LondonStanding long jump

Matt McGrathDecember 28, 1875
Nenagh
January 29, 1941
New York City
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)254 pounds (115 kg)

1908 LondonHammer throw
1912 StockholmHammer throw
1924 ParisHammer throw

Con WalshApril 24, 1885
Carriganimma, County Cork
December 7, 1961
Seattle, Washington
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)210 pounds (95 kg)[6]

1908 LondonHammer throw

See also

References

Footnotes
  1. Lee, J. J.; Casey, Marion; Casey, Marion R. (February 9, 2006). Making the Irish American: History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814752081 via Google Books.
  2. "All About Whales." New York Times, July 13, 1964.
  3. "Cementing Friendly Relations" New York Times, Dec. 25, 1937.
  4. "About Some Whales, Human Variety."New York Times, June 12, 1942
  5. "Jim Mitchel Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
  6. Slattery, David (October 15, 2012). Poet Madman Scoundrel: 189 Unusual Irish Lives. Orpen Press. ISBN 9781871305968 via Google Books.
Sources
  • Lee, Joseph; Casey, Marion (2006). Making the Irish American: History and Heritage of the Irish in the United States. New York: Glucksman Ireland House / NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-5208-1.
  • McCarthy, Kevin (2010). Gold, Silver and Green: The Irish Olympic Journey 1896 – 1924. Cork, Ireland: Cork University Press. ISBN 978-1-85918-458-5.
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