Artie McGovern
Arthur McGovern (died 1942, at age 54) was a personal trainer to the titans of Broadway and Wall Street at his Madison Avenue gym. A former flyweight boxer, he shot to fame by reconditioning Babe Ruth, who came out of a slump to hit 47 home runs next season, and a record 60 homers the next. Jack Dempsey, Gene Sarazen, John Philip Sousa and Paul Whiteman were among his other celebrity clients.
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In December, 1925 Babe Ruth started working out at McGovern's gymnasium. He put Ruth on a rigorous program of diet, exercise and arid rest.[1] There are photographs of McGovern working with Ruth in the August 1926 issue of the Physical Culture magazine, titled, "Brought Back By Physical Culture".[2] McGovern has been described as a "prominent practitioner" of physical culture.[2]
McGovern was also the author of a 1935 fitness book title The Secret of Keeping Fit. He died in Manhattan, New York.
References
- Ritter, Lawrence S; Rucker, Mark. (1988). The Babe: A Life in Pictures. Ticknor & Fields. p. 136. ISBN 978-0899199153
- Barthel, Thomas. (2018). Babe Ruth and the Creation of the Celebrity Athlete. McFarland. pp. 128-129. ISBN 978-1-4766-6532-0
External links
- "How the Babe Got Fit," Parade, April 30, 2006
- "Milestones," Time, November 9, 1942
- Photo of Artie McGovern with Gene Tunney