Max Hess (gymnast)

Max Hess (December 29, 1877 – June 22, 1969) was an American gymnast and track and field athlete who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis.[1] He was born in Coburg, Germany, and came to America at an early age, settling in Philadelphia.

Max Hess
Personal information
Born(1877-12-29)December 29, 1877
Coburg, Germany
DiedJune 22, 1969(1969-06-22) (aged 81)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupationretail sales
Height165 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight71 kg (157 lb)
Spouse(s)Clara Hierholzer
Sport
ClubPhiladelphia Turgemeinde
Medal record
Men's gymnastics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1904 St Louis Team

In 1904 he won the gold medal in gymnastics in the team event. He was also 10th in athletics' triathlon event, 31st in gymnastics' all-around competition and 50th in gymnastics' triathlon event.[2]

He was affiliated with Philadelphia's well-known Turngemeinde Athletic Club, a successful organization that sent seven other athletes to the 1904 Olympics.[1] The Turngemeinde was one of the oldest German-American Turner, or gymnastics clubs in the United States, and was founded in 1849. An extensive club, it originally taught gymnastics, fencing, singing, drawing, writing and ladies' needlework. Helping German immigrants acclimate to life in America, the club also offered social events, including an annual ball and originally maintained a lending library.[3]

In July 1908, he competed again and made a good showing in both all round gymnastics competition and field sports in St. Louis at the International Gymnastics Tournament at Frankfort-on-the-Main.[4]

In Philadelphia, he worked at Hess and Young, the family company store, specializing in printing and bookbinding services, where in the 1940's he was in business with his relatives Carl and George.[1] The family company was in business as early as 1900,[5]and continues to specialize in platemaking services for printing and bookbinding.[6][7]

He died in Philadelphia on June 22, 1969, and was predeceased by his wife Clara Hierholzer.[8]

References
  1. "Max Hess". Olympedia. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Max Hess Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  3. "Philadelphia Turgemeinde". Philadelphia Turgemeinde. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  4. "St. Louis Turners Make Good Showing", St. Louis Globe Democrat, pg. 4, 22 July 1908
  5. "Bookbinder", Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pg. 12, 22 February 1900
  6. "Hess and Young". Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  7. Carl and George in printing services in "Firms Registered", The Philadelphia Inquirer, pg. 25, 14 Feb 1942
  8. "Obituaries, Hess", The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pg. 34, 25 June 1969
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.