The Edison phonograph monthly (Jan-Dec 1914)

EDISON PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY, AUGUST, 1914 137 EDISON FIELD-DAY MARKED BY CLEVER ATHLETIC STUNTS Mr. Edison Pitches the First Ball in the Edison League Game The entire day, on Thursday, June 25th, was given over to athletic sports under the auspices of Mr. Edison and the officials of his several" manufacturing interests. This year the event assumed larger proportions than ever, for it embraced, beside employees of the plants at Orange, N. J., and at Silver Lake, N. J., those of the Edison Bronx Studio, New York City, and of the Edison Portland Cement Works located at Stewartsville, N. J., in the northern part of the state. All these concerns were closed for the day, and an invitation extended to every employe to be present and to bring his family and friends. The affair was held at "Olympic Park," located in Irvington, N. J., a suburb of Newark and about four miles from the main Edison works at Orange. Over 2,500 persons were in attendance, including Mr. and Mrs. Edison, Mr. Wilson, General Manager of the Orange Edison Works, Mr. Maxwell, Second Vice-President, Mr. Berggren, Secretary, and several other officials of the Edison interests. It was the third annual event and everyone considered it far the most successful ever held. Mr. Edison acted as honorary referee at the games, and was present most all of the afternoon. The welcome that greeted his arrival and the cheering and applause that came his way when he threw the first ball over the plate which started the Edison Baseball League under way was rousing and enthusiastic. That he, too, enjoyed it was evident by the smiles on his face as he made his way to the box to witness, with Mrs. Edison and others, the game. A series of events had been arranged for by the committee in charge, most of which were open to prizes of various kinds, the most important being a solid silver loving cup of superior workmanship and design, won by the main office, for the 880-yard dash. They included a 220-yard dash (junior), won in 25 seconds by R. A. Coe; a standing broad jump, won by J. S. Brown, distance 9 feet 5 inches; 120yard hurdle race, won by R. G. Canfield in 15 seconds; a 100-yard dash, won by H. J. Hector in 11 seconds; throwing the hammer, won by G. J. Wachter, distance thrown being 85 feet 6 inches; a 220-yard dash (senior), won by L. A. Schwoebel in 25 3-5 seconds; a 65-yard dash (ladies'), won by Anna Weiss in 10 3-5 seconds. And in this race was Elsie MacLeod, second, and Julia Kothe, third, both of the Bronx Studio; running high jump, won by J. S. Brown, height scored being 5 feet 4 inches; a 440-yard run, won by J. Kearney in 1 minute and 2 seconds; a 1-mile run, won by W. Shorter in 5 minutes 12 2-5 seconds; a 12-pound shot-put, won by J. Flanagan, distance 35 feet 6}4 inches. "The Grand Prix Edison," 800-yard relay run (senior), was the event of the day, and was won by the Main Office at Orange by E. Hill, H. Spaeth, L. Schwoebel, E. Riker, time 1 minute 45 3-5 seconds. The 880-yard relay run (junior) was also won by the Main Office in 1 minute 49 seconds (R. D. M. Canfield, F. Kitchell, E. Fairchild and G. Deary). The hop, skip and jump was won by L. A. Schwoebel, distance 39 feet 4 inches; the baseball throw was won by W. Finan in 319 feet 1 inch. It was a strenuous day to perform in for all athletes, for it required severe exertion in very warm weather conditions. One or two succumbed to the heat, but the entire day passed very pleasantly, being wound up by dancing and refreshments. One of the added attractions to the meet was a trotting race between horses driven by C. H. Wilson, Vice-President and General Manager of the Edison interests, and William Maxwell, Second Vice-President. Mr. Wilson won the last two heats in an easy manner. An electric car race was won by a car containing H. L. Davidson and C. A. Poyer of the Edison Storage Battery Co. Unusual interest was shown by the spectators in the baseball game played between representatives from the Bronx and a team consisting of Orange office employees. Augustus Phillips acted as umpire, and "Andy Clark" of motion picture fame was official mascot and "fly chaser." It was a close game, the Bronx nine finally winning with a score of 10 to 7. Marc MacDermott and Miriam Nesbitt, the wellknown Edison Photo-players, were entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Edison in their private box during part of the afternoon.