119: Ultrarunning Stranger Things – Part 9: Corruption and Bribes

By Davy Crockett
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With the great success of ultrarunning (known as pedestrianism) in the 1880s, and the millions of dollars of legal wagering involved, corruption raised its ugly head in the sport. “Match Fixing,” was the most common form of corruption used. This practice made it possible for bookmakers to maximize their profits. Sports scholar Mike Huggins wrote, “The fixing of sports events has a history that is probably as old as organized sport. Persons off the field directed match fixing to make often illegal financial gains using a mixture of legal and illegal sports betting platforms, sharing some of that profit with those connected to the sport who executed the fix on the field.”

In this nineth part of the Ultrarunning Stranger Things series, some strange stories are shared about attempts to fix pedestrian matches. They are only the “tip of the iceberg” for what was taking place.



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Bill Daly Runs for Six Days Without Fatigue

Denver in 1880

In 1894, a strange story was published in the Washington Post about a six-day race that occurred in 1880, in Denver, Colorado. The story was widely published and affected public opinion about the sport and the corruption involved.  The six-day race was organized by Mark Montgomery Thall (1858-1901) and James Henry Love (1852-1902), celebrated agents and promoters with a firm in Denver. Previously, together they established Forester’s Theater, one of the first in Denver.

Thall was born in Montgomery, Alabama and went to California with his family in 1865. After living in Placerville for four years, he ran away from home and joined the circus at the age of eleven. He rose to become one of the best-known theatrical men in the country.

Mark Thall

Thall and Love were referred to as “hustlers” and had been involved in organizing six-day races as early as 1879 in San Francisco where he was arrested for running off with $85 of the proceeds. The following year he went to Denver and established a theatrical business with J. H. Love called “Love, Thall & Co.”

Old Sport Campana

The race in Denver was held in a big tent on a track going around the edge with raised seats in the middle. About sixteen runners started including Peter Napoleon “Old Sport” Campana (1836-1906) and others. A rookie started that no one really knew – Bill Daly, who did not look very strong. Another local runner participated, “Rocky Mountain Sam” who traveled around the track with an impressive long stride. The race was popular and kept the tent full with spectators.

By day four, young Daly caught up with the leader, Rocky Mountain Sam. “The pace had been so swift that day, that Sam was all used up. His feet were swollen, and he was sick, but he kept up after Daly.”  Most of the other runners had dropped out, it was a two-man race, or so they thought.

After a rest, everyone was amazed how Daly would come out so fresh, skipping around and whistling “Yankee Doodle.” Sam’s backers encouraged him and even had a brass band march along with him. On the last day, a large crowd came to watch the finish. “It got down to the last hour. Bill Daly was running easy and gaining one lap in five on poor old Sam.” In the end Daly won by over 40 miles and received a check for $3,000.

The Hoax is Discovered

However, something seemed wrong, and Sam made an investigation. “It didn’t take him long to find out that it was a fixed race. You see that damned Bill Daly was twins. His twin brother Jim looked just like him to a dot. Bill would walk until he got tired and then he would go into the tent, and in an hour or so, Jim would come out. Neither one of them could walk much, or they would have beat the world record.”