Oldbones
Hates Surprises
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2014
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During these dog days, when for Jet, Bruin and Celtic fans hope is still “the thing with feathers that perches on our soul,” in a topic that I also hope is not already a dead BY horse, I nominate the Brit Lottie Dod as the greatest sportswoman/athlete of all time.
I used only two guidelines for this pronouncement: First, that a woman’s athletic prowess should be demonstrated by excellence in multiple athletic disciplines, demonstrating that she would likely be good to great in almost any athletic endeavor; second, that we armchair/desktop evaluators should set aside modern training, equipment, apparel and venue advantages when making comparisons.
I also conveniently ignored the fact that most modern athletes continually practice, train, and play and in all ways strive to maintain and improve their competitive edge in their top sport, limiting the numerous renaissance sportswoman possibilities available to Lottie
Lottie Dod was an Olympic Silver medalist in Archery, a British Women’s Golf champion, and an accomplished mountaineer. She was a five-time Wimbledon women’s tennis singles champion, the first at age fifteen. She was also a championship-caliber ice skater, and she played on the English National Field Hockey team. Competitive in various national and international sports for 25 years, Lottie died in 1960 at age 88.
What other woman beside Lottie Dod could hit a golf ball and a tennis ball with such accuracy, one ball not moving at all and the other coming toward her with great speed, consistently hit a small target using a bow and arrow and, using 1896 gear, climb multiple 13,000 foot-plus European peaks in the middle of winter, almost always attired in ankle-length garb?
I also wanted to credit Lottie as the inspiration for Annie Hall, “Brown-eyed Girl,” and the many other uses of “Lah-dee-dah,” but the jury is still out on that one.
And finally, at MoJeff height, would Lottie have started for that great 1890 Huskies basketball team? Who was the two-guard that year? Someone must remember.
The floor is open for other nominations. Surely someone out there believes that Jackie Joyner-Kersee would wipe the links, court or peak with Ms. Dod, of course using a Slazenger Zenith Mashie, a Wright and Ditson Lawn Tennis Racquet, and a Werkgen Fulpmes wooden ice ax, and other fondly remembered sports gear from my own youth.
I used only two guidelines for this pronouncement: First, that a woman’s athletic prowess should be demonstrated by excellence in multiple athletic disciplines, demonstrating that she would likely be good to great in almost any athletic endeavor; second, that we armchair/desktop evaluators should set aside modern training, equipment, apparel and venue advantages when making comparisons.
I also conveniently ignored the fact that most modern athletes continually practice, train, and play and in all ways strive to maintain and improve their competitive edge in their top sport, limiting the numerous renaissance sportswoman possibilities available to Lottie
Lottie Dod was an Olympic Silver medalist in Archery, a British Women’s Golf champion, and an accomplished mountaineer. She was a five-time Wimbledon women’s tennis singles champion, the first at age fifteen. She was also a championship-caliber ice skater, and she played on the English National Field Hockey team. Competitive in various national and international sports for 25 years, Lottie died in 1960 at age 88.
What other woman beside Lottie Dod could hit a golf ball and a tennis ball with such accuracy, one ball not moving at all and the other coming toward her with great speed, consistently hit a small target using a bow and arrow and, using 1896 gear, climb multiple 13,000 foot-plus European peaks in the middle of winter, almost always attired in ankle-length garb?
I also wanted to credit Lottie as the inspiration for Annie Hall, “Brown-eyed Girl,” and the many other uses of “Lah-dee-dah,” but the jury is still out on that one.
And finally, at MoJeff height, would Lottie have started for that great 1890 Huskies basketball team? Who was the two-guard that year? Someone must remember.
The floor is open for other nominations. Surely someone out there believes that Jackie Joyner-Kersee would wipe the links, court or peak with Ms. Dod, of course using a Slazenger Zenith Mashie, a Wright and Ditson Lawn Tennis Racquet, and a Werkgen Fulpmes wooden ice ax, and other fondly remembered sports gear from my own youth.
