I was recently in the recesses of a vintage book store and glanced up at the top shelf to see an Olympic games book from the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. It was a full record book. I was quite excited because I thought I might be able to find something on “Indian Clubs” because it was supposed to be an Olympic event in 1932.
Indian Clubs are very old training tools that originated in the Middle East thousands of years ago. They were a big part of the “Classical Era” of Physical Education which roughly occurred between 1885-1920 although some of the classical methods and tools from this era never totally went away as with the Indian Clubs. The Indian Clubs were Olympic events in 1904 and again in 1932. I was not able to find anything on “Indian Clubs” until I looked through the gymnastics section of the report, and much to my joyful surprise, there were a few items and photos on the Indian Club Olympic athletes. Here’s a little history on the 1932 Indian Club competitors.
There were four male competitors listed in the 1932 Olympic Games Records: Gold Medalist George Roth (USA), Silver Medalist Philip Erenberg (USA), Bronze Medalist William Kuhlemeier (USA), and in a close fourth place Francisco Jose’ Alvarez (Mexico).
*If you are interested in the multi-racial aspects of Francisco Jose’ Alvarez, I encourage you to read the article below “Playing Across Borders” that goes into the racial overtones of the 1932 Games and the social support for Mexican athletes from the Mexican-American communities in Los Angeles.
For more information, see links below.
- “Tales of Gold: George Roth Section” by Lewis H. Carlson & John J. Fogarty
- 1932 Olympics Official Report (Indian Clubs: Pages 654-663)
- George Roth & Indian Club Swinging
- “Playing Across Borders: Transnational Sports & Identities in Southern California & Mexico, 1930-1945” By Jose’ M. Alamillo
- “A History of United States Artistic Gymnastics” by Abie Grossfeld
–Ron Jones, MS, Historical Kinesiologist, Physical & Health Educator
