MATT McGRATH / CIVILIANS

MATT McGRATH

Matthew John McGrath, or Matt as he was later known, was born outside of Nenagh on 28/12/1875in Curraghmore, Silvermines. His father was farmer Tim McGrath and his mother Anne was also a McGrath. In Matt’s own words….

“I was born and grew up to healthy boyhood on a farm near the town of Nenagh. Fireside tales, full of knightly deeds fired my heart with a desire to be heard of in the world of Athletics and I took early to the pastime of putting the stone from the shoulder….”

Matt as a teen was known to have walked a distance of 10 miles in order to see an exponent of the Hammer-throw, the renowned Irish American Policeman, John Flanagan, then return home again and go to a field with an old hammer in order to emulate his hero. Life continued in this vein but only after the all important farm chores had been completed. Matt would walk 25 mile marathons in a day, hunt hares and rabbits in the Tipperary mountains. He took pride in his physical prowess but lacked any coherent training being largely left to his own devices.

Matt's Birth Registration

Matt left Ireland when he was around 18 and emigrated to the United States. The New York Times obituary records he was 21. In any case he arrived in New York and made his way to Central Park where he thought he was back in the country again. There he started flinging rocks around only to be gently reprimanded by a Mounted Policeman. Matt explained he was newly arrived from Ireland but the quiet authority of the Policeman encouraged young Matt and obviously made a deep impression.

Work was difficult to find at first. Matt worked for a while as a Salesman, Barman or Blacksmith but by 1906 Matt was working as a Beat cop for N.Y.P.D. Matt managed to stay fit by nightly gym exercises at the Pastime Athletic Club. Whilst here Matt perfected his own unique style of Hammer Throwing.

“I joined the club and there I first saw John Flanagan training. I thought Hammer throwing was the prettiest and most skilled action in athletics I had ever seen….”

Matt made his debut at the Olympic’s in 1908 in London. The previous year in Montreal, Matt had established an unofficial world record throw of 173’7’’. At the London Olympiad, Matt came second to John Flanagan’s 170 feet. Matt threw just fractionally under 168’, enough to earn him a Silver Medal.

Freemans Journal - 10/08/1908

Matt also visited Nenagh in 1908. On the 9th of August, from a 9 foot circle he threw the hammer a staggering 176 feet. The measurement was certified by Robert P. Gill, from Fattheen, Puckane, a local Civil Engineer and Surveyor for North Tipperary. At this exhibition was also J.J. Hayes, fellow Olympian and winner of the controversial Marathon at White City.

After the Olympiad, the duel between these two giants, McGrath and Flanagan was to develop into a fiercely fought competition thereafter. Flanagan and McGrath, both Irish -American Policemen each snatched the title from each other with the distance gradually snaking upwards until the 21st of June 1909 when Flanagan reached the 180 foot mark.

Matt answered with a throw of 183’8” at the Tipperary-men’s Games at Ulmer Park in Brooklyn, New York. Unfortunately he was denied this as a record. Various rules meant that as it was an Exhibition throw, Matt was often denied the credit for the distance he had achieved. Flanagan responded with 184’4’’ at the Clan-na Gael games in New Haven, Connecticut on 24/07/1909.

John Flanagan retired from N.Y.P.D. and returned to Ireland in 1910 but in the meantime, Con Walsh from Macroom in Cork stepped in to fill the adversary void. The same pattern of tit for tat winning and losing, breaking and destroying of records achieved continued for the two Sportsmen.

On Christmas Eve 1910, Matt made headlines again but not for his sporting prowess. He shot a man five times in the stomach then set about beating around the head with his nightstick. It transpires Matt found him drinking in his apartment with his wife Loretta and took exception to this. Loretta apparently had invited George Walker back to their apartment to fix their Christmas tree after spending some time drinking with him in a local bar. Amazingly, Walker survived the assault but Matt was charged with Grievous Bodily Harm. After a three day trial matt was found not guilty. The incumbent Commissioner had Matt dismissed for Conduct Unbecoming a Police Officer but a month later he was replaced and the new Commissioner had Matt re-instated. Clearly not a man to be trifled with and with many friends in high places. This incident alone would have broken many men's careers but despite this he was promoted Sergeant in 1916. His success with his other career would have played a significant role in this.

Meanwhile back with his Athletic career, finally in 1911, at the Galway-mens Association Games at Celtic Park, Matt reached 187 foot and 4 inches at his first attempt. Matt took no more throws that day. He handed over his hammer to the American Athletic Union Committee to have the throw verified and recorded. Previous record achievements had been denied by simple physics. The length of the wire handle attached to the hammer would have stretched with subsequent throws and voided any records as it exceeded the stipulated 4 foot required. Two years later Matts record was beaten by a Limerick man from Pallasgreen at Grant Park, Chicago. This was Pat Ryan who set the mark at 189’6½”.

Stockholm Gold Medal 1912

In 1912 Matt achieved the ultimate award. He won a Gold medal at the Stockholm Olympics beating John Flanagans previous Olympic record by 9ft. with a personal best of 179’ 7⅛. This was to remain unbroken until the 1936 Berlin Olympiad. To show how good and ahead of his game he was, the shortest of Matts six throws was still almost 15 foot longer that anyone else’s longest throw.

There were no Olympics in 1916 due to the First World War and by the 1920 Antwerp Games, Ryan was in the ascendancy having a 3 foot lead over Matt in the American Olympic trials. Matt was also suffering from a knee injury and withdrew after his second throw. Pat Ryan retired in 1921 but Matt continued on, returning to the Games at Paris and winning another Silver in 1924. He was 45 at this time. Matt wasn’t selected for the 1928 Olympic’s which is a shame given that the achieved distance was 153, a figure he could easily beat. There was a public outcry over Matt’s omission from the team and although he went to Amsterdam after a subscription fund had been raised to pay for his transportation, he was, not surprisingly, not allowed to compete. Matt continued to compete, though not always successfully until he was almost 58.

…and what of his other life…his life in the real world. Matt rose through the ranks of the New York Police Department, first as Patrolman, Sergeant in 1917, Lieutenant the following year and Captain in 1927. Matt was based at Bronx Park Station.

By the time of his death he had been promoted as Inspector of Traffic Division, third highest rank in the Police Department in 1936 and based at Manhattan. He was well loved and respected by his subordinates and colleagues in the department. Matt had an almost religious attitude to training. The body was a temple and had to be treated as such. In later years when he thought he was too heavy he adopted his own unique diet to loose the weight, He had a similar attitude to preparing himself mentally to discipline his focus for an event.

In tandem with his training for hammer throwing, some of his Police activities were unorthodox also. In 1906 he won a N.Y.P.D. Valour Medal for jumping into the freezing waters of the East River to rescue a would be suicide. In 1913 Matt was awarded another citation for subduing an armed murderer who had taken refuge on a river barge. Matt pelted him relentlessly with bricks from a nearby pile until the criminal threw the pistol into the river and surrendered.

Matt was married to Loretta Smith but the couple weren’t blessed with their own children. In 1936 they adopted a Chinese orphan named Bobby Lou. They lived in that most Irish of New York suburbs, The Bronx. Matt died 29.01.1941 in St Clares Hospital, on West 51st St, in Hells Kitchen, Manhattan. He had been poorly for over a year with Carcinoma of the Liver. He finally succumbed when he also contracted Pneumonia.