"In the fall of 1877 I was living in Troy, N. Y., teaching a large class
of students of the Polytechnic Institute. In my leisure hours it was my habit
to call on my old friend and advisor, James Kiloran, who kept a hotel there.
One day, while chatting with him about my prospective match with William Mc-
Clellan, I noticed a round football on a shelf. I took it down, and began bouncing
it with one hand and then the other. While doing this, all of a sudden the idea
came to my mind that it would make a better punching ball than the big heavy
sand bag that was used by all pugilists and athletes at that time."
And so the story begins. Now I'm not sure that this guy is the lone true inventor of the speed bag, but at a minimum his text narrows down the time period when the bag was born. On Google Books, anything much earlier than the 1890s turns up, when there are any details specified at all, striking bags which were of a heavier, non-rebounding type.
The quoted italic text above is from an article titled How to Punch the Ball by Mike Donovan, boxing instructor, New York Athletic Club, dated 1903. Courtesy of the LA84 Foundation, you can download the entire article here as a pdf:
For evidence of his claim regarding "the big heavy sand bag that was used by all pugilists and athletes at that time", attached is a striking bag patent from 1872. Filled with sand, it's clearly not a speed bag. Mr. Donovan's story rings true. Now when our British or Australian members refer to it as a speed ball, they just might be onto something. It may have all begun with a football.
(I just found the Mike Donovan article, if you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do.)
of students of the Polytechnic Institute. In my leisure hours it was my habit
to call on my old friend and advisor, James Kiloran, who kept a hotel there.
One day, while chatting with him about my prospective match with William Mc-
Clellan, I noticed a round football on a shelf. I took it down, and began bouncing
it with one hand and then the other. While doing this, all of a sudden the idea
came to my mind that it would make a better punching ball than the big heavy
sand bag that was used by all pugilists and athletes at that time."
And so the story begins. Now I'm not sure that this guy is the lone true inventor of the speed bag, but at a minimum his text narrows down the time period when the bag was born. On Google Books, anything much earlier than the 1890s turns up, when there are any details specified at all, striking bags which were of a heavier, non-rebounding type.
The quoted italic text above is from an article titled How to Punch the Ball by Mike Donovan, boxing instructor, New York Athletic Club, dated 1903. Courtesy of the LA84 Foundation, you can download the entire article here as a pdf:
For evidence of his claim regarding "the big heavy sand bag that was used by all pugilists and athletes at that time", attached is a striking bag patent from 1872. Filled with sand, it's clearly not a speed bag. Mr. Donovan's story rings true. Now when our British or Australian members refer to it as a speed ball, they just might be onto something. It may have all begun with a football.
(I just found the Mike Donovan article, if you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do.)
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