ALAN WHALLEY'S WORLD

THE time when George ('Hotfoot') Dootson ruled the world of long-distance walking has been revived in all its amazing detail.

Dootson's unique place in St Helens' sporting history has been winkled out for us by local history buff Bernard Murphy who is totally fascinated by off-beat episodes in the town's past.

Bernard strides back more than a century in recording Dootson's success in beating the American-held world record of 110 miles in 24 hours.

The amazing Dootson had even taken time time, at the 107-mile mark, to change his socks and finish with a spurt that smashed the record out of sight!

And he must have felt quite dizzy at the end of that mighty footslog marathon, for the short course, pegged out on an old St Helens fairground, was measured out at 10 laps to the mile.

Bernard, from Glover Street, St Helens, unearthed that prodigious feat from the columns of an old newspaper in the local history archives.

In the customary reporting style of the day, that great moment of triumph, in May, 1876, appears under the deadly dull headline of 'Pedestrianism in St Helens.'

But the details are truly gasp-making.

Setting-off to attack the record of an American athlete named Weston, the St Helens walking wonder responded to the starter's gun late one Friday afternoon.

Within only six hours, Dootston, a 40-year-old employee of the now long-gone Sutton Glassworks, was showing signs of stress and his mighty challenge looked doomed.

But, prompted by the cheers and urgings of his supporters, he rallied and plodded on for a further six hours before taking a 30-minute rest stop.

A local reporter of the day, revealed: "He then resumed his journey, 'pegging away' until seven in the evening, having then accomplished 107 miles."

Then came the great Dootson's grandstand finish. "He then changed his socks and resumed walking, increasing his pace until the last two laps when he put on a spurt which made those who accompanied him have to almost run to keep up." Dootson reached his beat-the-clock target distance with 25 minutes to spare.

"He was then seized by two stalwart men," wrote the local scribe, "and carried shoulder-high into the Salisbury Hotel adjoining the fairground, amid tremendous cheering from an immense crowd who had been spectators of the feat."

Dootson proved a real surprise package. Although he'd often figured in local walking handicaps he'd never, up to that day, demonstrated much speed.

"But it was noticed that he could stay well," explained the eye-witness reporter, "and his present feat is striking proof of it . . . as he pulled up at the finish quite fresh."

He even declared that he was prepared to attempt to walk 114 miles within 24 hours on the same fairground course . . . "provided it was levelled out a bit."

His 12-year-old daughter, present throughout the challenge, showed early promise of following in her father's footsteps. She tackled several individual miles alongside her dad "with the greatest of ease." Then, for good measure she completed a three-mile spin, during which she fairly outpaced her father!

Whether this early potential blossomed is not known, and records have yet to reveal whether Weston accepted a challenge from Dootson for a head-to-head walking encounter.

The 19th-century newspaper report reveals, however, that friends and admirers of Dootson held a celebratory meeting in St Helens when it was resolved to raise a subscription with the purpose of presenting their hero with an inscribed gold watch.

The modest Dootson, in agreeing to a challenge match against Weston, said his intention was not financially motivated but "to assert the supremacy of English athletes over Americans . . . as Harry Kelly had done in rowing and Captain Webb in swimming."

TRULY a priceless gem from the annals of local history. Thanks for setting the pace, Bernard, old chum!

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.