Editorial No. 1, October 08, 2005
by Bruce Davis
The United States Gymnastics Federation was founded on December 8, 1962, when I was
in my first semester at Southern Connecticut State College (now known as Southern
Connecticut State University). I had been enrolled at Indiana University Normal College,
a physical education college located in the Athenaeum Turners building in downtown
Indianapolis. I transferred to the University of Illinois my second term when my Father
was recovering from mental illness. Muriel Grossfeld, my sister, became my legal
guardian. Muriel and I were enrolled in the under graduate school at Illinois while Abie
Grossfled, Muriel’s husband, was completing his Master’s degree. I had a gymnastics
background from a lifetime of acrobatic, ballet and tap dancing lessons as well as
instruction at Athenaeum under Walt Lienert; but, at that time I was more interested in
playing college basketball and/or baseball. After all, Oscar Robertson was my basketball
idol from local Crispus Attucks High School; and, being a lefthanded
pitcher, I loved
Warren Spann’s leg kick, but wondered if it would work for me.
After completing the winter term at Illinois I had a decision to make! I could stay at
Illinois, return to “Indy” to Normal College or follow Muriel and Abie to Connecticut.
Muriel was going to Southern to be coached by Dick Zuber and Abie took the head men’s
gymnastics coaching job at the Coast Guard Academy. Muriel and Abie, both two time
Olympians (Melbourne and Rome), were at the height of their competitive careers. I
decided to follow Muriel and Abie to Connecticut. I was commuting to SCSU from New
London (50+ miles everyday and back). I was a red shirt athletic transfer majoring in
physical education and working out every afternoon with the freshman basketball team
under Coach Lloyd Barrow. I would go into the small gym after basketball practice and
began working rings to gain strength. The men’s varsity gymnastics team worked out in
the afternoon and the international gymnasts took over at night. What a sight! Muriel
Grossfeld, Abie Grossfeld, Olympian Don Tonry, 9time
NAAU Tumbling Champion
Barbara GalleherTonry,
3time
Olympian Doris Fuchs Brause, NCAA PH Champion
Russell Mills and 3time
Pan Am Games gold medalist Jamile Ashmore all working out
in a small gym room while I was observing and doing my muscle ups to press handstands
on the rings!
Things changed quickly at Southern! Dick Zuber followed Olympian Sharon Richardson
to Texas and left his coaching position and his wife. Jamile Ashmore took over as head
coach while continuing graduate studies. I moved to New Haven and quit basketball to do
gymnastics full time and began working out with the varsity in the afternoon. Abie left
the Coast Guard Academy the following fall to become head gymnastics coach at SCSC.
Muriel made her third Olympic team (Tokyo). I completed my bachelor’s in Health and
Physical Education; and, my two years of intercollegiate gymnastics competition along
with a year on the baseball team pitching and a year playing tennis. Then it was off to
graduate school at Ohio University to get my master’s degree with a return to New Haven
to complete my thesis called “A Cinematographic Study of Floor Exercise Skills”. Using
an eight shot Polaroid camera, skills were demonstrated by Abie Grossfeld, Don Tonry,
Arno Lascari, Jim Amerine and other collegiate gymnasts.
I worked allaround
in college with the idea of learning more about coaching gymnastics.
I had started late to have “Olympic” aspirations With Abie as a role model, I decided that
I wanted to be a collegiate coach in a college on the East coast. I took the job at Miami
Dade Junior College in 1966, thinking that I would move to a Northeast college when an
opening was available. I was also going to work for Nissen Corp. until I found out that I
would loose my teaching deferment and be shipped off to Nam!
Muriel, in the meantime, established one of the first private gymnastics schools in the
country in 1967. Upon visiting her gym school, I got the itch to try it too. I wanted to
train high level gymnasts and you could not do a complete job in a two year college. In
November 1969 I opened the Muriel Grossfeld School of Gymnastics of North Miami
Beach. We changed the name a couple years later to alleviate name confusion with her
school and we became Gymiami.
The year 1969 was eventful with opening a gym school while still teaching college
fulltime, winning the Men’s NJCAA Gymnastics Championship and getting an FIG
judges brevet at the Penn State international judges course. The year 1970 brought more!
I directed the 1970 NAAU at the Miami Beach Convention Center. FDR’s son, Elliot,
was the administrator from the Tourist Development Authority who staked us the money
for the meet. Jackie Gleason was right next door filming the Jackie Gleason Show and
Linda MethenyMulivhill
and Cathy Rigby, 1968 Olympians and two of our greatest
Olympic gymnasts were competing for the national championship.
In October of 1970 the United States won it’s first medal in the World Championships
when Cathy Rigby placed second on the balance beam in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia. At the
FIG Congress held in conjunction with the World Championships, the General Assembly
of the FIG voted the United States Gymnastics Federation the official ruling body for
gymnastics in the United States. Yes, a political power struggle of many years was
officially over.
Why didn’t I just tell you that it took over eight years for the USGF to assume control of
gymnastics from the AAU and have done with it? Well, I wanted to tell you a little about
my background and what I was doing while the USGF struggled for gymnastics control.
At the time it was happening, I really didn’t have the right perspective and I couldn’t look
at it historically even though the struggle was all around me due to what I was doing for
work and career in my lifetime. Now my perspective is keen in hindsight and I have spent
much time considering the events and the individuals involved that have created a fiftyfive
year history of USGF/USAG beginning with the creation of the National Association
of Gymnastic Coaches (NAGC) in 1950 until now. I want you to realize what a long
struggle it was for gymnastics to become independent from a selfserving
organization
that was not in the sport‘s best interest. I want you to consider and remember the
individuals who gave you what you have and why it is worth protecting. I want you to
realize why it is important to be vigilant and make certain that the administrative power
brokers of gymnastics direct the sport in the interest of all and not just some. I plan to do
this with continuing and timely editorials and historical articles about your sport. I need
feedback from you. Guest editorials will be invited.
Email
your reactions and responses
to me.
Compare the USGF/AAU power struggleto the American Revolution. Some naïve
Americans may think there were a few little skirmishes in Concord and Lexington and
then the British nicely went home to let Americans like us rule ourselves. Some
American Revolution stories, reports and documentaries reach fairy tale dimensions. The
carnage and suffering of the Revolution has somehow been dismissed or barely
mentioned from many our school systems textbooks perhaps to protect the children. The
economic recession and infighting between the states for power went on for years. The
Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th. 1776; but, we did not have a
constitution with the correct powers until 1787 and we have been debating and adjusting
ever since in a democratic process. How about the leaders who gave it their all to win
independence! We talk about our “founding fathers” all the time in today’s politics. What
would George Washington, Ben Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Tom
Jefferson, John Adams, Samuel Adams and others think of how today’s government
leadership is handling this issue or that issue in the best interest of the country? Let’s ask
the same question as it pertains to the sport of gymnastics, the USAG and the FIG. What
would the founding fathers of the USGF (Hal Frey, Jacob Geier, Chester Phillips, Charlie
Pond, Lyle Welser, Gene Wettstone, Donald Boydston, Glenn Sundby, Frank Farkas,
Dick Clausen, Frank Bare, Sam Bailie, Chick Warner and others) think of how today’s
USAG and FIG leadership is handling the sport of gymnastics in the best interest of all
people involved in the sport of gymnastics? My answer is, "Not very well." You may
agree or disagree, so. . .Let’s Talk Gymnastics.
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