jeff kenton

"George Washington was apparently seen throwing silver dollars across the Rappahannock River, which in 1936 was said to measure 272 feet in width and even wider in Washington’s day. The founding father’s reputed feat was likely not possible, but Walter Johnson was designated to pitch a silver dollar from one riverbank to the other to see if it could be done at all. A local newspaper called that bet and put up $50 of its own. A reward was issued for the return of the coin should Johnson connect with the other side. Lou Gehrig tossed a coin across New York’s Harlem River to prove it could be done. "Maybe I can’t throw that far, but there’s one thing certain, if George Washington did it, I can." Walter Johnson. A few days before the event, the 48-year-old Johnson sent a lighthearted telegram to City leaders: "I am practising with a dollar against my barn door. Arm getting stronger, barn door weaker." On February 20, The Associated Press reported: "Unable to wait until Saturday, when Walter Johnson tries his arm against the legendary prowess of George Washington, citizens are trying to settle the matter among themselves; But with iron washers, not silver coins. All tries have fallen short." U.S. Rep. Sol Bloom had offered 20-to-1 odds against a successful throw, and over 4,000 people gathered along the snowy riverbank in the 27 degree weather. Walter Johnson came dressed in a suit. The footing was icy and muddy. He took off his suit jacket for his attempts. According to Shirley Povich, Johnson handed his jacket to the famous White House correspondent for the Washington Post, Edward T. Folliard. Years later Folliard, recounting the many events and famous people he had covered, said holding Walter Johnson’s jacket that day: "Was my biggest thrill." The coin was marked: "Walter Johnson threw this dollar across the Rappahannock River, February 22, 1936" cleared the river by more than 10 feet!! Walter Johnson`s throw was measured at 286 feet. "Walter Johnson threw it over with the same easy grace he once used in fanning Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and "Ping" Bodie, and so doing he brought to Fredericksburg something of that joy that was denied to Mudville when the mighty Casey struck out." Edward T. Folliard, "The Washington Post". After it was all said and done, Rep. Sol Bloom refused to pay the citizens the $100,000 he owed. Bloom insisted that 18th-century maps depicted the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg to be more than 1,300-feet wide: "Farther than Washington or anyone could throw a coin." City officials pooh-poohed Bloom's that claim about the river’s width.