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HOME OF THE FAMOUS ACMES - Born in a barn and matured in a Chinese wash-house, the Acme Athletic Club - The San Francisco Examiner, 02 Dec 1893

HOME OF THE FAMOUS ACMES
Born in a barn and matured in a Chinese wash-house, the Acme Athletic ClubHOME OF THE FAMOUS ACMES Born in a barn and matured in a Chinese wash-house, the Acme Athletic Club 02 Dec 1893, Sat The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California) Newspapers.com

HOME OF THE FAMOUS ACMES

An Oakland Club Which Houses Champions of all Descriptions

PYRAMIDS MADE A SPECIALTY.

How the Influential Amateur Organization From Small Beginnings Became an Affair of Vast Importance - Personnel of Those Who Have Achieved Fame In Different Departments of Sport

Born in a barn and matured in a Chinese wash-house the Acme Athletic Club of Oakland has risen to such importance that it is now able to produce at least as good athletes as those turned out by the famous Olympic Club of San Francisco. Some of the Acmes championship men have won their laurels from the Olympic champions and the intervention of several years has not been enough to regain for that organization its lost honors.

The Acme Club of to-day has some remarkable athletes among its members. In athletic sports of all kinds as well as bicycling, aquatics and the more difficult pyramid building the symbol of the winged acorn has never had to take second place and the boys are determined that it never will.

The early history of the club is as interesting as its later development into the fore most athletic organization in Alameda county. Way back in the fall of 1881 a handful of young men living in the vicinity of Sixth and Alice streets with nothing to occupy their time after school rigged up a swinging trapeze in an oak tree in De Witt Van Court's back yard, and this broomhandle trapeze, together with an ancient pair of boxing gloves, were the only apparatus the club owned.

The members of the club at that time were: DeWitt C. Van Court. Eugene Van Court, O. C. Musser, George Faulkner and J. M. Polk, all being neighbors and living within a few blocks of the Van Court residence. The early meetings of the club were held in the Van Court back yard whenever the rain permitted. In course of time the boys obtained permission from Mrs. Dr. Lafevre [Lefevre] to use the loft of a barn close by. The roof of this barn was so low that but one member could exercise at a time, and while he was busy swinging clubs or two others were boxing the rest of the club sat down and did their best to keep out of the way. From this early stage the club progressed by steady growth until it was able to rent an old China washhouse at the corner of Eighth and Webster streets. Here the membership was increased by the admission of Tim Scanlon, Ed Merwin, Rufus Hepburn, Ross Hardy and John F. Conners. Those, with the original members, afterwards became charter members when the Acme Athletic Club was formed.

From this time on the club grew rapidly, moving first to College Hall, at the corner of Twelfth and Harrison streets, and later to the old Synagogue building on Fourteenth street, which had been especially fitted up for the club's use. It was less than a year ago that the club moved into its own building, on Twelfth street, near Broadway, and its progress since it was first organized has been little short of a marvel.

One of the best features of the club has been its selection of officers. It always has had progressive men to direct it. When the club became important enough to have a boxing master of its own Walter Watson of England, who held the rank of champion boxer of America at the time, was installed in that all-important position. Watson also taught the young men of the Olympic Club how to defend themselves, and on every Acme class night Watson brought an Olympic pupil of his across the bay to box with the Acme men. The records yet fail to show an occasion on which an Olympia boxer went home victorious.

It was these matches with the Olympics that gave the Acme Club its first standing in the community, and ever since that time the two clubs have held many an interesting tournament together. It was at one of these tournaments that Jack Kitchen of the Acme Club became the first champion the club ever had. He won from the Olympic Club the title of amateur heavyweight champion boxer of the Pacific Coast. Kitchen has held this title for about three years, and since that time championships have been liberally distributed among the club members, until now the walls of the clubrooms are literally lined with life-size photographs of champions, who have won fame in every branch of athletics, from tests of strength in gymnasium and field to feats of endurance in a swimming tank.

One of the club's most interesting features, and which never fails to afford pleasure to its lady visitors, is the acrobatic band that form the pyramid tableaux. The members of this corps are Jack Kitchen and James Fox, the club's two champion boxers; Charlie Andrews, champion wrestler: Harry Maxwell, E. S. Dowdle, Willis Sharpe and Carlisle Coey. These tumblers have eighteen forms of pyramids they make with lightning rapidity. The men are all dressed in white, with powdered wigs, and on exhibition nights they resemble so many statues, so perfect is their work.

Carlyle Coey.
Everett Dowdle.
James Fox. Charles Andrews.
Willis Sharpe. Jack Kitchen.
Henry Maxwell.
PYRAMID CLASS OF THE ACME CLUB OF OAKLAND.
[From a photograph.]

One of the most interesting groups consists of Dowdle "doing a crab" on the backs of Sharpe and Kitchen, with the little Coey boy perched at the top of the group, and the others grouped picturesquely around. Then there is the "single strong man," in which Kitchen supports three men pyramid wise, while the others are grouped around in graceful attitudes.

ONE OF THE MANY PYRAMIDAL COMBINATIONS IN WHICH THE ACMES EXCEL.
[From a photograph.]

The "double strong man" is similar to the latter, except that the pyramid is supported by Kitchen and Sharpe. Then there is the regular pyramid, which is built three men high. There are nearly twenty of these tableaux, and all of them differ in some particular from the others.

The Acme Bicycle Club has done its part to keep up the record of the club. The club has over one hundred members, and has the following officers: De Witt C. Vancourt, Captain; George F. Neece, First Lieutenant; Theodore Schleuter, Second Lieutenant; O. L. Pickard, Bugler.

The bicycle annex was organized in June, 1891, and at a public meet given on November 26, 1891, all the previous Pacific Coast records were lowered. Waller, the phenomenal long distance rider who was brought out by the Acme Club, one day suggested that he guessed he would break the world's record for twenty-four hours. A short while after, on June 10, 1892, he started at the Alameda track and succeeded in establishing the world's record for that distance with ease. His distance for twenty-four hours was 363 miles and 1,490 [1,590] yards.

The Acme's bicycle team which won the EXAMINER trophy in the relay race of last May consisted of ten men who rode from San Francisco to Oakland in 5 hours 48 minutes and 51 1/2 seconds. The ten men were J. A. Sampson, H. A. Maxwell, M. F. Rose, Grant Bell, J. A. Howard, George A. Faulkner, A. Belding, Theodore Schlueter, J. B. Harris and George F. Neece.

"The Trampers' Annex" is the name by which the club's cross country club is known. J. W. Finigan is Captain of this organization; J. Williamson, First Lieutenant; J. M. Polk, Second Lieutenant, and James Shanley, C. H. Lutkey and Harry Germain constitute the walking club's commissary department.

The championship list of the Acme Club becomes longer as each year goes by. From the time that Jack Kitchen captured the Pacific Coast amateur heavy-weight championship to the present nearly all the championships worthy of note have been taken by members of the club.

"Billy" Gallagher, who was once the Acme's champion welter-weight, is now professional, so the club has had to drop his name, but his picture still has an honored place among those of the other club members of note. Then there is James Fox, the Pacific Coast champion feather weight boxer, and Eugene Van Court, the club's light weight wrestler.

Of the wheelmen, George A. Faulkner holds the Pacific Coast record for a twenty-five-mile road race. B. C. Lund, who rides an "ordinary," has the State championships for two, three and five miles respectively, and Grant Bell, another speedy wheelman, holds the State championship for five-mile safeties.

Edward Hartley, up to the time of the advent of Dana Thompson, was the Coast champion half-mile swimmer, doing his record in 15 minutes and 29 seconds. Thompson, who bids fair to hold the world record, is now the club's champion, having a record of 12 minutes and 47 seconds.

The present officers of the Acme Club have done a great deal to make the organization the important one that it is. M. A. Whidden, Auditor of Alameda county, is the club's President. George F. Neece is Vice-President, J. M. Polk Recording Secretary, L. W. Hardie Treasurer, C. H. Lutkey Financial Secretary, and the Board of Directors consists of H. R. French, J. Kitchen Jr., Charles Hannan, James Shanley, G. A. Faulkner and J. W. Finigan.

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