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5 - The High Five

One Singular Sensation

from Part I - Sports

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2021

Edward A. Wasserman
Edward A. Wasserman
Affiliation:
University of Iowa
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Summary

A second horse racing innovation is riding “acey-deucy.” With this technique, the jockey’s left stirrup iron is commonly placed from 2 to 12 inches lower than the right by separately adjusting the attached leather straps. This acey-deucy style confers important advantages on oval tracks, where only left turns are encountered in counterclockwise American races; it permits the horse and jockey to better lean into the turns and to enjoy better strength and balance, thus harnessing the centripetal force of a tight bend. This sounds so scientific that it must have resulted from careful study and planning, right? But, no it didn’t! The origin of riding acey-deucy was actually accidental. Bad fortune became good fortune for riding sensation Jack Westrope, who is now credited with beginning and perfecting this racing innovation. Combined with the monkey crouch, acey-deucy allows the jockey to “fold into” the horse instead of squatting over him.

Keywords

Horse racingjockeyriding styleAcey-DeucyJack Westropeaccidentinnovationimitation
Type
Chapter
Information
As If By Design
How Creative Behaviors Really Evolve
 , pp. 55 - 62
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

References

Banks, A. (2016, July 5). How the Los Angeles Dodgers Birthed the “High-Five.” The Hundreds. https://thehundreds.com/blogs/content/los-angeles-dodgers-high-five-glenn-burkeGoogle Scholar
Burke, G. and Sherman, E. (1995). Out at Home: The True Story of Glenn Burke, Baseball’s First Openly Gay Player. New York: Berkley Books.Google Scholar
Crockett, Z. (2014, July 23). The Inventor of the High Five. Priceonomics. https://priceonomics.com/the-inventor-of-the-high-five/Google Scholar
Frey, J. (1994, October 18). Once a Promising Ballplayer, Glenn Burke Is Dying of AIDS. The New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/sports/baseball/090699bbo-bean-burke.htmlGoogle Scholar
Jacobs, M. (2014). The High Five. ESPN 30-for-30. Grantland feature film. http://grantland.com/features/30-for-30-shorts-high-five-invention-glenn-burke/Google Scholar
Mooallem, J. (2011, August 8). History of the High Five. ESPN The Magazine. www.espn.com/espn/story/_/page/Mag15historyofthehighfive/who-invented-high-fiveGoogle Scholar
Newhan, R. (1977, October 3). The Gang of Four. Los Angeles Times. https://search.proquest.com/docview/158375442/7E3E1A3335F48C9PQ/68?accountid=14663Google Scholar
Shirley, B. (1977, October 6). Baker Gets Hit of Year and Dodgers Are Even. Los Angeles Times. https://search.proquest.com/docview/158309744/fulltextPDF/E69F864ABF7F4B26PQ/1?accountid=14663Google Scholar
Smith, M. J. (2013, May 8). The Double Life of a Gay Dodger. Deadspin. https://thestacks.deadspin.com/the-double-life-of-a-gay-dodger-493697377Google Scholar

Further Material

Glenn Burke Cut Down by Hypocrisy, AIDS. (1995, June 1). SFGate. www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Glenn-Burke-cut-down-by-hypocrisy-AIDS-3144951.phpGoogle Scholar

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  • The High Five
  • Edward A. Wasserman, University of Iowa
  • Book: As If By Design
  • Online publication: 01 July 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108774895.011
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  • The High Five
  • Edward A. Wasserman, University of Iowa
  • Book: As If By Design
  • Online publication: 01 July 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108774895.011
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The High Five
  • Edward A. Wasserman, University of Iowa
  • Book: As If By Design
  • Online publication: 01 July 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108774895.011
Available formats
×