“Good old Jack Caffery has
crossed the tape in life’s great race, and in his passing one of the most
popular athletes that ever wore a shoe has gone.”
Hamilton Spectator. February 12, 1919.
It was a sad morning for
Hamilton sports enthusiasts, especially those who followed marathon racing,
when the news came out that Jack Caffery had died at his family home on Melborne
street.
The Spectator carried a
photo taken of Jack Caffery and quickly put out the news in that paper’s
afternoon edition.
“As his death was not
completely unexpected, there was an already put together account of his running
career ready to appear :
“The entire world knew of
the great feats of Jack Caffery, for he was, without doubt, one of the greatest
long distance runners that was ever developed. Being a natural runner, he was
taken in hand by Tommy Power and Lawrence Robertson, away back in 1897, and
they trained him for the Herald race of the year following. He won the bay
event in 1898, establishing a new record by covering the course in 1.54.05. His
feat was considered phenomenal, but that was at the time when Billy Sherring
was also springing into the limelight, and the result was that next year he was
forced to follow Sherring down York street. The year following he turned the
tables on Sherring, and made a new mark of 1.31.52, which stood until Sammy
Mellor established a new record three years later, only to have Jimmy Duffy
make it still lower in 1912.
“In 1900, both Sherring and
Caffery went to Boston to compete in the famous Marathon there, and some of the
older followers of the sport will remember the great race between the pair. For
nineteen miles, Sherring was well out in front, leading Caffery at one stage by
nearly a mile, but Jack did not allow that fact to excite him in any way, and
he kept to his steady pace which he figured would win in the end. And he
guessed right. Sherring was overcome with the heat and had to stop for
treatment for so long that many runners passed him, but he came around, and managed
to pass them all but Caffery, who won, and set a mark that Bostonians could not
credit, clipping nearly twenty miles off the record. He covered the course that
day in 2.29.44, and the Yankees thought it would stand forever, but Jack went
back the next year, and although he did not have the benefit of Sherring’s fast
pace, he covered the distance in 2.29.23 2-5, a record that stood until Tom
Longboat went to Beantown in 1907, Caffery was the only man to win the Boston
event twice.
“He went back to Boston a
couple of times after but could never manage to finish in the first three, the
opposition being keener and his condition not what it was in the years
previous. He also competed in the Herald race a couple of times after that, but
never managed to win again. For a time, it was feared he was going into
decline, and he spent the biggest part of a year in the north country, where he
regained his health, and when the trial races were being held to select the
team to represent Canada at the Olympic games in England in 1898, he staged a
great come back and made a showing that entitled him to a place on the team. In
the big race, he was jogging along in sixth place, but with but seven miles to
go, when he was taken ill as a result of drinking wine which had been given
him, and he had been given him, and he had to drop back, but he showed his
gameness by sticking to his guns, and he finished eleventh in a field that
comprised the best distance men of the entire world. That was Jack’s last great
race, although he loved running, and many a Sunday morning he could be found in
the togs that brought him glory at Boston, jogging over the bay course.”1
1 “Jack
Caffery, Famous Distance Runner, Dead ; Only Man to Win the Boston Marathon
Twice – His Career”
Hamilton Spectator. February 12, 1919.
The Spectator reporter
assigned the Caffery matter did manage to quickly get ahold of Caffery’s former
competitors and other associates for reaction :
“The news of Jack Caffery’s
death , while not altogether a surprise, was received with deep regret in local
sporting circles this morning. One of Jack’s strongest competitors in the days
when he was in his prime was Billy Sherring, winner of the Olympic marathon of
1906.
“ ‘No gamer runner lived
than poor old Jack Caffery,’ said Sherring this morning, ‘and I do not believe
that there was ever a faster one at ten miles or over. I often thought that if
Caffery had been in his prime when the indoor marathon craze was on in New
York, he would have shown them all up. He had a peculiar gait such as I have
never see in any other long distance man, and I think his style would have been
ideal for board work. He did not lift his feet very far from the ground and
took a short stride, but it always got him there at the end. At the time, the
rivalry between us was greatest, I always figured that if I could defeat Jack
Caffery, I could win.’
___________________________________
“ ‘It is too bad that Jack
Caffery was not in his prime as a runner when Longboat and other stars were so
prominent,’ said Sol Mintz. “He was a wonderful runner and I do not believe his
best was ever shown, for Jack made it a point to win without paying too much
attention to records. In his fastest races, he was never extended, such as some
of the men who broke his records later on were.’
_____________________________________
“ Tommy Powers and Lawrence Robertson, the men who brought Caffery out, and who later developed other good runners, always figured that Caffery was the greatest distance runner that ever lived.
“ ‘He was a natural runner,’
said Mr. Powers, ‘and training him was one of the easiest jobs a man could
have. He liked to run, and if we sent him out in the morning to a named point
and back, you could always depend on his covering the ground selected. Other
runners we have trained were apt to run a mile or two, sit down and rest, and
then come back with a story about how well they felt. When Caffery won the
first Boston , the members of the Boston A.A. thought that he was ready for a
long rest, but a few minutes after the race, he was around as sprightly as
ever. I believe that Jack revolutionized training for long distance running,
for until he went to Boston no runner ever thought of running anything like a
marathon distance in training. He was the gamest man we ever handled, and I
think that he was the greatest distance man ever developed, despite the fact
that his records have all been broken.’’ 2
2 “Sporting
Comment”
Hamilton Spectator. February 12, 1919.
Jack Caffery had suffered a
recent attack of influenza. His passing at age 39 was peaceful.
There was a funeral
procession as his body was taken from his Melbourne street home, along Locke
street to St. Joseph’s hospital for the funeral. He was later buried in Holy Sepulcher
cemetery.
