Caspar Whitney
Caspar William Whitney (September 2, 1864 – January, 18 1929)[1] was an American author, editor, explorer, outdoorsman and war correspondent.[2] He originated the concept of the All-American team in college football in 1889 when he worked for Harper's Magazine.
From 1900, he was an owner and editor-in-chief of the monthly Outing magazine, which promoted the outdoors and sporting pursuits, as well as a good deal of adventure fiction; authors included Jack London and Clarence E. Mulford. He was a founding member of The Explorers Club (1904) after expeditions in North and South America. He declared bankruptcy in 1910.
As a sports journalist he was an advocate of athletic amateurism and was a member of the International Olympic Committee (1900–1905) and the American Olympic Committee (President 1906–1910). He wrote on a wide range of subjects including big-game hunting, inter collegiate sporting contests (especially football and baseball), amateur versus professional contests, and the Olympic games.[3] In the early 1900s, he edited "The American Sportsman's Library," a quality series of 16 volumes.
Whitney testified in a lawsuit against him that he earned a salary of $8,000 (nearly $200,000 inflation adjusted to 2008) for editing Outing and $1,500 (about $35,000 inflation adjusted) for editing the American Sportsman's Library [4].
Whitney married three times: Anna Childs in 1889, Cora Adele Chase in 1897 and Florence Canfield in 1909. The latter was the daughter of the colorful miner and industrialist Charles Canfield (the subject of a Whitney biography). She participated in founding the League of Women Voters and remained active politically until her death in a motor vehicle accident in 1941.
[edit] Books
- Sporting Pilgimage (1895)
- On Snow-Shoes to the Barren Grounds (1896)
- Hawaiian America (1899)
- Musk-Ox, Bison, Sheep and Goat (1904) (with George Bird Grinnell and Owen Wister)
- Jungle Trails and Jungle People (1905)
- Flowing Road (1912)
- What's the Matter with Mexico? (1916)
- Gott mit Uns - the Boche Delusion (1918)
- Hunt Clubs and Country Clubs in America (1928)
- Charles Adelbert Canfield (1930)
[edit] References
- ^ Who's Who Whitney's
- ^ Time Magazine, 29 Jan 1929
- ^ J.A.Lucas, Journal of Olympic History May 2000
- ^ N.Y. Times, May 2, 1903
[edit] Sources
- Dillon Wallace Papers
- Edgar Rice Burroughs Library
- Explorer's Club History
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