Myer Prinstein
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Birth name | Mejer Prinsztejn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Szczuczyn, Northeast Poland | December 22, 1878|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | March 10, 1925 New York City, United States | (aged 46)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Education | Syracuse U. 1902, Law | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation(s) | Business, Law | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 171 cm (5 ft 7 in)[1] (sources vary) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse(s) | Henrietta Northshield m. 1908[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Children | 1 b. June 1916 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Irish American Athletic Club, Syracuse U. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Myer (or Meyer) Prinstein (born Mejer Prinsztejn, December 22, 1878 – March 10, 1925) was a
Early life
Prinstein was
Enrolling in 1897, Prinstein was captain of the Syracuse University track team, and graduated with a law degree in 1902.[1] After graduating college, he moved to Jamaica, Queens, New York to practice law, where he was a member and competitor for the highly accomplished Irish American Athletic Club.[6]
In 1908 he married Henrietta Northshield, who had been a New York City school teacher, and they had a son, Elsner, known as Eddie, born in June 1916.[2]
World record
In what was most likely his most significant athletic accomplishment outside of the Olympic games, while competing for Syracuse, Prinstein set a running
Impressively, on April 28, 1900, Prinstein set a new world record of 7.50 m (24 ft 7+1⁄4 in) in Philadelphia, running at Philadelphia's well-attended Penn Relays.[4] Four months later, on August 29, 1900, this record was also broken by Peter O'Connor of Ireland.
A versatile track and field athlete, besides specializing in the long and triple jumps, he ran sprints and relays, pole-vaulted, hurdled, and high-jumped during collegiate competition at Syracuse.[1] He even played on one of the school's earliest basketball teams. He was lean but not exceedingly tall, and though his height estimates from various sources vary, Syracuse University publications place his height at 5'7 3/4" (171 cm).[8][1]
Olympic games
Prinstein won the silver medal in the long jump at the
Competing as a member of the Irish American Athletic Club in the St. Louis Olympics in 1904, he won both the long jump (setting an Olympic record)[4] and the hop, step and jump on the same day, the only athlete ever to win both events in the same games.[10][11] He also came 5th in both the 60 m and 400 m dash.[12]
In
Later career
Prinstein did not compete in the Olympics after 1906. He began the practice of law in Syracuse, and after graduation around 1902 practiced predominantly real estate law in New York City, while living in Jamaica, Queens.[2] By 1904 he had a stationary business, a real estate company, and a business selling legal forms to lawyers, in addition to his law practice.[6][2] In mid-October 1910, he was reported to be guilty of unprofessional conduct to the Appellate division of the Supreme Court. A former Supreme Court Justice Gildersleeve recommended Prinstein be suspended from practice for one year.[15] On February 10, 1911, Prinstein was officially disbarred for a period by the Appellate division of the Supreme Court as a result of fraud in connection with a $200 payment he was given by a client to close a real estate transaction. Prinstein provided a bank statement verifying he deposited the $200 on September 19, 1907, but it was later found Prinstein had spent the money. A six-month suspension was recommended by ex-Justice Gildersleeve. Several sources claim he was a lawyer in good standing prior to the incident. After his temporary disbarment ended in the summer of 1911, Prinstein may have continued to practice law or as a Syracuse University website claims, he focused more on his businesses.[16][1]
He died on March 10, 1925, at age 46 of a heart ailment at
Honors
Myer Prinstein was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1982. In 2000, he was inducted as a member into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, in New York City, and in 2008 he was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame.[6] In April 2001, he was enshrined on the Penn Relays Wall of Fame in Philadelphia where on April 28, 1900, he had set a world record in the long jump of 24' 7 1/4" (7.5 meters).[14]
See also
- List of Jewish American athletes
- List of select Jewish track and field athletes
Notes
- ^ Syracuse University Magazine. 16 (4): 44–45. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "Eisenstadt, Marnie and Croyle, Johnathan, The Untold Story of the Syracuse Olympic Gold Medalist You've Never Heard of". Empire Magazine, August 4, 2016. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ "Myer Prinstein". Olympedia. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
- ^ ISBN 1903900883, pp. 239-40
- ^ Szczuczyn Marriage Register 1870
- ^ a b c d e "Onadaga Historical Association, Myer Prinstein". Onadaga Historical Association. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ Prinstein broke running long jump record in "Two More Records Gone", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, pg. 31, June 12, 1898
- ^ "Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame, Myer Prinstein". Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ Meyer Prinstein, USA Track and Field
- ^ Tyler, Martin; Faulkner, Keith (1984). Olympics 1984. Marshall Cavendish. p. 28. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ISBN 0826264751. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ^ Matthews (2005), pp. 132–5
- ISBN 1-904148-52-2
- ^ a b "Myer Prinstein, Jew-in-sports online encyclopedia". Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ "Mayor Prinstein May be Disbarred", Star-Gazette, Elmira, New York, pg. 8, 17 October 1910
- ^ "Myer Prinstein Disbarred", The Sun, New York, New York, pg. 1, 11 February 1911
- ^ "League Gives Vaudeville", The Standard Union, Brooklyn, New York, pg. 3, 13 February 1920
- ^ "Prinstein, Old Time Olympic Star, Dead", Times Union, pg. 26, 11 March 1925
References
- Greenberg, Stan (1987). Olympic Games: The Records. London: Guinness Books. ISBN 0-85112-896-3.
- Kieran, John (1977). The Story of the Olympic Games; 776 B.C. to 1976. Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott Company. ISBN 0-397-01168-7.