Caspar William Whitney (September 2, 1864 – January 18, 1929) was an American author, editor, explorer, outdoorsman, and war correspondent. He originated the concept of the
All-American team in
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
in 1889, when he worked for ''
Harper's Magazine
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...
''.
Biography
Caspar Whitney was the son of John Henry Whitney (1833–1869) and Amelia D. Goldermann, born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was educated at Saint Mathew's College in California.
During the
Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
, Whitney submitted articles from the front in Cuba. At the
Battle of Las Guasimas
The Battle of Las Guasimas of June 24, 1898 was a Spanish rearguard action by Major General Antero Rubín against advancing columns led by Major General Joseph Wheeler, "Fighting Joe" Wheeler and the first land engagement of the Spanish–Ameri ...
, he accompanied
General Young's 1st and 10th (Regular) Cavalry. His published map of the battle is considered the most accurate of that action published at that time. His depiction of the fighting on the right is made from personal observation. His depiction of the left where the
Rough Riders
The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...
fought was based on post-battle interviews.
From 1900, he was an owner and editor-in-chief of the monthly ''
Outing
Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBTQ person's sexual orientation or gender identity without their consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia, biphobia, and/or transphobia
Transphobia consists ...
'' magazine, which promoted the outdoors and sporting pursuits, as well as a good deal of adventure fiction; authors included
Jack London
John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...
and
Clarence E. Mulford. He was a founding member of
the Explorers Club
The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for ex ...
(1904) after expeditions in North and South America. He later edited ''Outdoor America''.
[ He declared bankruptcy in 1910.
As a sports journalist he was an advocate of athletic amateurism and was a member of the ]International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
(1900–1905) and the American Olympic Committee (president 1906–1910). He wrote on a wide range of subjects including big-game hunting, inter collegiate sporting contests (especially football and baseball), amateur versus professional contests, and the Olympic Games. In the early 1900s, he edited the '' American Sportsman's Library'', a quality series of 16 volumes.
Whitney testified in a lawsuit against him that he earned a salary of $8,000 (nearly $200,000 inflation adjusted to 2008) for editing ''Outing'' and $1,500 (about $35,000 inflation adjusted) for editing the ''American Sportsman's Library''.
During World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Whitney was involved in Europe with the Commission for Relief in Belgium
The Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB, or simply Belgian Relief) was an international, predominantly American, organization that arranged for the supply of food to German-occupied Belgium and northern France during the First World War.
It ...
(1915), and then war correspondent of the ''New-York Tribune
The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...
'' (1917–1918).
Whitney married three times. He wed Anna Childs in 1889; after he departed for the Arctic Circle in December 1894, a trip he would later describe in his book ''On Snow-Shoes To The Barren Grounds'', she filed for divorce, which was granted in Oklahoma in January 1895. He wed Cora Adele Chase in 1897; they were divorced in 1908. He was married a third time in 1909, to Florence Canfield Whitney, who like him did relief work in Belgium during World War I. She later helped found the League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...
and served on the Democratic National Committee. She remained active politically until her death in a motor vehicle accident in 1941.
Books
*''Sporting Pilgrimage'' (1894)
*''On Snow-Shoes to the Barren Grounds'' (1896)
''Hawaiian America''
(1899)
''Musk-Ox, Bison, Sheep and Goat''
(1904) (with George Bird Grinnell
George Bird Grinnell (September 20, 1849 – April 11, 1938) was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. Originally specializing in zoology, he became a prominent early conservationist and student of Native American life. ...
and Owen Wister
Owen Wister (July 14, 1860 – July 21, 1938) was an American writer. His novel ''The Virginian (novel), The Virginian'', published in 1902, helped create the cowboy as a folk hero in the United States and built Wister's reputation as the " ...
)
''Jungle Trails and Jungle People''
(1905)
''Flowing Road''
(1912)
*''What's the Matter with Mexico?'' (1916)
*''Gott mit Uns - the Boche Delusion'' (1918)
*''Hunt Clubs and Country Clubs in America'' (1928)
*''Charles Adelbert Canfield'' (1930)
References
Sources
*Dillon Wallace Papers
*Edgar Rice Burroughs Library
*Explorer's Club History
*Kent State Smart Club
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitney, Caspar
1864 births
1929 deaths
19th-century American explorers
American International Olympic Committee members
College football awards organizations
College football championships
Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
Presidents of the United States Olympic Committee
Sportswriters from Massachusetts
Writers from Boston