The Great Olympic Club Schism
A power struggle over prizefighting and instructor hiring tears Seattle’s athletic club in two.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The meeting of the Olympic Athletic Club at the old First Presbyterian church last evening resulted in a split and the formation of two new organizations, each claiming to be the one and only club. The real cause of the trouble is said to be the opposition of the faction headed by M. M. Teater to the employment of W. H. Hammersly as instructor and their advocacy of prizefighting, but the issue was raised on the approval of the minutes of the previous meeting. It was claimed by the anti-Hammersly faction that the secretary, C. J. Challar, had added several names to the list to be voted on for governors and that his minutes were otherwise inaccurate. The Hammersly party stood by Challar, but on a vote, the chairman, M. M. Teater, declared them beaten by 42 to 31. The Hammersly party claimed the chair had refused to count all the votes for approving the minutes. Appeals failing, the Hammersly party withdrew to the basement and held a separate meeting for organization, while the antis continued proceedings in the main hall. Both factions immediately proceeded to elect their own full slates of officers.
“The meeting of the Olympic Athletic Club at the old First Presbyterian church last evening resulted in a split and the formation of two new organizations, each claiming to be the one and only club.”
Seattle has long been a place where social clubs and organizational boards are prone to spectacular, public infighting. This 1894 schism mirrors the endless cycles of splintering that still define Seattle's various neighborhood and civic advocacy groups today.
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