Simon Gillis
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
track and field athlete
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, a member of the New York Athletic Club, and the New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
. He was one of a group of athletes known as the Irish Whales
Irish Whales
The Irish Whales or "The Whales" was a nickname given to a group of Irish and Irish-American athletes who dominated weight-throwing events in the first two decades of the 20th Century...
and frequently kept company with members of the Irish American Athletic Club
Irish American Athletic Club
The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York at the beginning of the 20th Century.-Early years:...
. He competed in weight throwing events in the 1904 Summer Olympics
1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States from 1 July 1904, to November 23, 1904, at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University...
, 1908 Summer Olympics
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
and in the 1912 Summer Olympics
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
.
Biography
He was born in Nova ScotiaNova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and died in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
.
In 1904, Gillis accidentally killed a boy when he was practicing his hammer throw in a vacant lot in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
. Gillis was practicing with a 16 pound hammer in a vacant lot on Park Avenue
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
between 134th and 135th street on September 30, 1904, and "just as he had let the 16 pound hammer go for an extra long throw, Christian Koehler, a fourteen-year old boy, climbed the fence in pursuit of a baseball. Gillis and several boys shouted a warning, but Koehler did not hear. The hammer struck him in the head and he was instantly killed." Gillis, who was a big, good-natured fellow, was said to be "...heartbroken over the affair."
In 1906, Gillis was the National Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
junior champion hammer thrower, with a throw of 161 feet and 8 inches.
In 1908 he finished seventh in the hammer throw event
Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's hammer throw
The men's hammer throw was one of six throwing events on the Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme in London. The competition was held on July 14, 1908.19 throwers from eight nations competed.-Records:...
. He also participated in the discus throw event
Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's discus throw
The men's discus throw was one of six throwing events on the Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme in London. The competition was held on July 16, 1908.42 throwers from eleven nations competed.-Records:...
but his result is unknown. Prior to the 1908 Summer Olympic Games, Gillis won the English amateur championship with the 16 lb. hammer with a throw of 164 feet 5 inches.
Four years later he competed in the 1912 Olympic hammer throw contest
Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics - Men's hammer throw
The men's hammer throw was a track and field athletics event held as part of the athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourth appearance of the event, which had been won all three previous times by John Flanagan...
but was not able to set a mark.