Medals relating to Athletics

This medal was chosen as the 13th issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series in 1936. The obverse bears a line of five runners, flying geese overhead, slim whippet racing below. The reverse bears a nude athlete putting the shot. Flanking the athlete, 19 (RTM monogram) 36 - REJOICE / OH / YOUNG - MAN IN / THY - YOUTH; in exergue, ©

Robert Tait McKenzie is rightly famous for his athletic subjects and this medal is a good example. As he wrote in the brochure accompanying the medal:

"The last fifty years has shown a revival and spread of interest in competitive athletic sports and outdoor life that has no parallel in the history of the world...
As one who has followed this great movement from its inceptionto maturity I have chosen two phases of it for the thirteenth medal issued by the Society."

This medal measures 73mm in diameter and was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York. The reported production quantity of this medal is 1,001 in bronze and 100 in silver.

References: Kozar 109, Marqusee 269

The medal's obverse bears the famous image of three nude males kicking a football from McKenzie's Joy of Effort medal. At left, (RTM monogram) / FECIT / 1932-3

The reverse has a wide square border around center field containing legend EDA-AAHPER / 1919-1969

The edge is marked MEDALLIC ART CO. NY.

This medal is an hommage to McKenzie's famous Joy of Effort design that goes back all the way to 1932. The Eastern District Association (EDA) of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (AAHPER)–certainly among the longer acronyms I've ever encountered–picked the famous motif to celebrate its 50th anniversary in medallic form.

This circular medal measures 40mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.