ONE hundred and fifty years ago this week, George Dootson was acclaimed as St Helens' great sporting hero, writes Stephen Wainwright.
The 38-year-old record-breaking athlete from Parr Street had become the toast of the town and he made a special guest appearance in the annual May Day horse parade.
That was St Helens' big event of the year and George was driven through the streets in a pony and trap to the applause of large, cheering crowds.
Just days before, the exhausted Dootson had – as the Liverpool Daily Post put it – been "seized by two stalwart men, and carried shoulder-height into the Salisbury Hotel, adjoining the fair[ground], amid tremendous cheering from an immense crowd who had been spectators of the feat."
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Dootson's great accomplishment on April 28, 1876, had been to walk 109½ miles in just 24 hours by repeatedly trudging around a circuit.
Numerous newspapers nationwide reported the achievement of the Sutton Glass Works employee with the Edinburgh Evening News headlining their piece "Weston Outwalked".
They were referring to Edward Weston, the famous American pedestrian, who was a massive celebrity in his homeland and well-known in Britain where he happened to be on tour.
Pedestrianism was the sport that during the 1860s and ‘70s took the western world by storm and Edward Weston was credited as its driving force.
Writing for the BBC in 2021, Zaria Gorvett called pedestrianism "the strange 19th Century sport that was cooler than football" and explained how in the States pedestrianism had been full of "epic rivalries, eyewatering salaries, feverish nationalism, eccentric personalities."
For a short period pedestrianism was even claimed as America's number one sport and huge crowds turned out to watch the athletes.
In Britain it was less organised and had many variations in how it took place but, as in America, British pedestrianism was strongly associated with gambling.
The sport spawned the competitive race-walking that still takes place today, although there were some key differences.
In pedestrianism just one walker usually participated and he would walk against the clock in a venue, such as a stadium or field.
The upper portion of what was known as the Fairground, off Salisbury Street in St Helens, was where George Dootson attempted to beat Edward Weston's record of walking 104 miles in 24 hours.
The circuit that was marked off measured one-tenth of a mile and so Dootson needed to walk around it more than 1,090 times to accomplish his great feat.
George only had one break of 30 minutes' duration to take refreshments and rest, although there were several brief stops for changes of socks and for his feet to be rubbed down with whiskey.
After describing one such application, the newspaper wrote that Dootson had subsequently set off again "in the best of spirits", not seemingly realising their own pun!
During the last hour of his walk, spectators had remarked that Dootson looked "as fresh as paint" and during the last mile he increased his pace until he crossed the finishing line.
Two days later, a meeting was held at the Salisbury Hotel in St Helens where a committee was formed to collect donations.
Their purpose was to raise funds to present Dootson with a gold watch to mark his remarkable achievement.
The fairground was uneven and far from ideal as a venue for such walking.
And so a recreation ground at Stanley in Liverpool was chosen for George Dootson's next challenge which took place in June.
That was to walk 112 miles in 24 hours but he could only manage 104½.
However, Dootson still received great applause from the large crowd that had assembled to cheer him on.
Just what happened to George after that failed attempt is unclear.
However, he probably retired from pedestrianism soon afterwards.
Dootson was pushing 40 and the pedestrianism craze was almost at an end.
By the start of the 1880s, only a fraction of spectators turned out to watch such events as they had done previously.
Many other spectator sports involving teams began in earnest during the 1870s and ‘80s and their competitive nature generated much more interest for audiences than a lone man repeatedly trudging round in a circle.
Stephen Wainwright's books, The Hidden History Of St Helens Vols 1 to 5, are available from the St Helens Book Stop and The World of Glass and online from Amazon and eBay with free delivery. Price £12 each.
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