
Scipio Africanus "Sam" Mussabini (6 August 1867 – 12 March 1927)
[ was an English athletics coach best known for his work with ]Harold Abrahams
Harold Maurice Abrahams (15 December 1899 – 14 January 1978) was an English track and field athlete. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''.
Early life and educati ...
. In total, he led athletes to eleven medals over five Olympic Games. However, in an era where amateurism
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist.
History
H ...
was prized, he was not officially recognised because he was a professional coach.[Sam Mussabini]
Southwark Council
Early life and career
Mussabini was born in Blackheath, London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to a family of Syrian
Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
, Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
and French descent. Mussabini's father, Neocles Gaspard Mussabini (1827–1915), was born in Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
to a Syrian father and Italian mother. Mussabini's mother, Aline Farcat (1839–1914), was French. The Mussabini family was Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
and originally from Damascus
Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
, Syria. Mussabini's great-grandfather was a Syrian merchant who had altered his original surname, Mussa, to the Italian-sounding Mussabini. Mussabini's great-uncle, Antonio Mussabini, was the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of İzmir from 1838 to 1861. Mussabini was educated in France, and later followed his father into journalism.[ In the 1890s he was also a professional sprinter for about five years. In 1894 he coached Bert Harris to the first professional ]cycling
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
championship the same year he was employed as a cycling coach by the bicycle tyre company Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company
Dunlop Ltd. (formerly Dunlop Rubber) was a British multinational company involved in the manufacture of various natural rubber goods. Its business was founded in 1889 by Harvey du Cros and he involved John Boyd Dunlop who had re-invented and ...
.[
Mussabini played ]billiards
Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...
to a high standard and reported on matches as a sports journalist during the winter months. In 1897 he co-authored a technical book on billiards and began writing articles for a billiards journal. In 1902, he became its assistant editor and later the joint proprietor and editor. In 1904 he wrote a two-volume book on the technicalities of billiards. He was also one of the top billiard referees.
Olympic athlete coaching
It has been widely stated that he coached the South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n sprinter Reggie Walker to a gold medal at the 1908 Olympic Games
The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...
in London but this is an error and Walker was actually coached by former sprinter Sam Wisdom. He coached further gold medal winners at the 1912 Olympic Games, including Willie Applegarth.[ He was appointed as full-time coach by Polytechnic Harriers from 1913 until his death from ]diabetes
Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
in 1927[ aged 59.
He brought a systematic approach to coaching, rather than just being a masseur. For example, he used the techniques of ]Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge ( ; 9 April 1830 – 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture Movie projector, projection.
He ...
to photograph runners' actions and techniques at the finish.[
At the 1920 Olympic Games in ]Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, he coached Albert Hill to two gold medals in the 800 m and 1500 m, and Harry Edward, third in the 100 m. He led Harold Abrahams
Harold Maurice Abrahams (15 December 1899 – 14 January 1978) was an English track and field athlete. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''.
Early life and educati ...
to win a gold medal in the 100 m and silver in the 4 × 100 m at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Legacy and honours
Mussabini's success at the 1924 Olympics was portrayed in the film ''Chariots of Fire
''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 historical drama, historical Sports film, sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Summer ...
'' in which Mussabini is played by Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. After graduating from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a ...
. After filming, Holm exchanged letters with living relatives of Mussabini concerned about accuracy.
His trainees won further medals at the 1928 Olympic Games after his death.[
In 1998, the ]Mussabini Medal
The Mussabini Medal was a sports award recognising the coaches of British sports people and teams, named after Sam Mussabini. Mussabini, who died in 1927, is considered to be the first professional (paid) coach in sport, breaking the occupation's ...
was created, to celebrate the contribution of coaches of UK performers who have achieved outstanding success on the world stage.
In 2011, Sam Mussabini was inducted into the England Athletics Hall of Fame.[Sam Mussabini]
englandathletics.org
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
installed a blue plaque at 84 Burbage Road, Herne Hill
Herne Hill () is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the London ...
, on 11 July 2012.[Scipio Africanus ‘Sam’ Mussabini]
plaquesoflondon.co.uk The house was Mussabini's home from 1911 until about 1916 and backs on to the Herne Hill Stadium, where he worked as a cycling and athletics coach from the 1890s until his death and trained several medal-winning Olympic athletes, including the young Harold Abrahams. The plaque was unveiled by Lord Terence Higgins, who competed in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, and Ben Cross, who played Abrahams in the film ''Chariots of Fire
''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 historical drama, historical Sports film, sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Summer ...
''.
Mussabini was quoted as saying, "Only think of two things – the gun and the tape. When you hear the one, just run like hell until you break the other."
Archives
Sam Mussabini's papers are held at the Cadbury Research Library (University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
), along with the papers of his father, Neocles. This collection includes material related to Neocles Mussabini's journalistic career at the ''Pall Mall Gazette'', during the era that its editor W. T. Stead was involved with the Eliza Armstrong scandal.
References
External links
Herne Hill velodrome The only remaining venue still in use from the 1948 Olympic Games
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mussabini, Sam
1867 births
1927 deaths
English people of Syrian descent
English people of French descent
English people of Italian descent
English athletics coaches
Cycling journalists
People from Blackheath, London
Athletes from the London Borough of Lewisham
Olympic coaches for Great Britain
English players of English billiards
Athletes from the Royal Borough of Greenwich