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.
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. There are photographs of McGovern working with Ruth in the August 1926 issue of the Physical Culture magazine, titled, "Brought Back By Physical Culture". McGovern has been described as a "prominent practitioner" of physical culture.
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
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