Hot Foot

Walter Knox's Remarkable Life as a Professional in an Amateur World

Nonfiction, Sports, Outdoors, Camping, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Hot Foot by David F. Town, FriesenPress
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David F. Town ISBN: 9781460244647
Publisher: FriesenPress Publication: September 25, 2014
Imprint: Language: English
Author: David F. Town
ISBN: 9781460244647
Publisher: FriesenPress
Publication: September 25, 2014
Imprint:
Language: English
Walter Knox lived in two worlds. As an outstanding track and field athlete, he won amateur championships and broke world records. However, he also explored the seedy world of matched races and it’s violent gambling culture. He played the dangerous game of the con man, hustling local hotshots. Prior to WWI, amateur officials, determined to eradicate the corrupt betting sports, demanded that an athlete be a pure and honest amateur or be banned as a reviled professional. Knox tried to have it both ways. He made his money in the disreputable matched racing world, yet still manoeuvred to enter amateur competitions. The story of his life in pursuit of both money and respect is as audacious as it is fascinating. This is the first full length, detailed biography of a Canadian professional track and field athlete in the pre-WWI era. The pros in that era sought anonymity, quietly slipping from town to town looking for high stakes races. Few records of their exploits exist. With thorough background research on why and how this struggle to control gambling in sports evolved, David Town has crafted an engaging account of Walter Knox’s unbelievable life. Brazen matched race hustler, Canadian amateur champion in five different track and field events, twice Canada’s Olympic coach, champion wrestler, wealthy gold miner, legend on the circuit of Scotland’s highland games, developer of high school sports in Ontario, he did it all. It was a life full of adventure; a life well worth remembering.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Walter Knox lived in two worlds. As an outstanding track and field athlete, he won amateur championships and broke world records. However, he also explored the seedy world of matched races and it’s violent gambling culture. He played the dangerous game of the con man, hustling local hotshots. Prior to WWI, amateur officials, determined to eradicate the corrupt betting sports, demanded that an athlete be a pure and honest amateur or be banned as a reviled professional. Knox tried to have it both ways. He made his money in the disreputable matched racing world, yet still manoeuvred to enter amateur competitions. The story of his life in pursuit of both money and respect is as audacious as it is fascinating. This is the first full length, detailed biography of a Canadian professional track and field athlete in the pre-WWI era. The pros in that era sought anonymity, quietly slipping from town to town looking for high stakes races. Few records of their exploits exist. With thorough background research on why and how this struggle to control gambling in sports evolved, David Town has crafted an engaging account of Walter Knox’s unbelievable life. Brazen matched race hustler, Canadian amateur champion in five different track and field events, twice Canada’s Olympic coach, champion wrestler, wealthy gold miner, legend on the circuit of Scotland’s highland games, developer of high school sports in Ontario, he did it all. It was a life full of adventure; a life well worth remembering.

More books from FriesenPress

Cover of the book Corbett's Daughter by David F. Town
Cover of the book The Sphere Wars by David F. Town
Cover of the book The Rushing of the Brook by David F. Town
Cover of the book Three Weeks Less a Day by David F. Town
Cover of the book ACE the PMI-ACP® by David F. Town
Cover of the book The Musings of One A-N-G-R-Y Canadian Zebra by David F. Town
Cover of the book Sovereign, Soldier, Sinner, Saint by David F. Town
Cover of the book Honeymoon Hotels by David F. Town
Cover of the book Concentration Camps of Canada by David F. Town
Cover of the book Living the Love by David F. Town
Cover of the book The Sun Road by David F. Town
Cover of the book Murder is Forever by David F. Town
Cover of the book Speaking Finch by David F. Town
Cover of the book Be Love by David F. Town
Cover of the book The Checker Board: Book One by David F. Town
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy