William Rappaport Performing Handstand on Wire (March 18, 1939)
Description:
This photograph shows Springfield College gymnast William Rappaport performing a handstand on a wire that was part of the guard rail on the side of the road (March 18, 1939). The photograph was likely taken during a trip of the SC Gym Team. The history of Gymnastics at Springfield College goes all the way back till nearly the founding of Springfield College in 1885, when Dr. James Naismith, the creator of Basketball, was an early SC Gymnast. Beginning in 1904, the SC Gymnastics team would travel to cities to perform their Gymnastics routines. At the end of their travels, they would perform a “Home Show” at Springfield College, a show they continue to perform to this day. It was during the reign of head coach Leslie Judd, widely considered a father of modern Gymnastics, that the Gymnastics exhibition team really gained a claim to fame. Under the leadership of Professor Leslie J. Judd, the purpose of the Springfield College Exhibition team was to promote and maintain an interest in gymnastics, dance, and the artistic phases of physical education in schools, colleges, YMCAs, and recreational centers. The Exhibition Team has appeared before thousands of spectators in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In fact, in 1941 the team appeared before thirty-five-thousand spectators in twenty-five cities. This photograph comes from a series of photographs that make up Series 5, Sub-series b within MS534 - Eliott G. Baker ’74 SC Memorabilia collection. Most of the photographs are dated and have writing on the back identifying those shown in the photograph. The photographs were arranged and divided up into folders based on this information by the processor for ease of use and do not reflect original order. To see other images within this series, please see the finding aid for the collection for links to all digitized objects for each folder.
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