Seventy years ago today-- April 3, 1936-- Bruno Richard Hauptmann was executed for kidnapping and murdering the Lindbergh baby in what was billed as "the trial of the century."
One of the lawyers on his defense team was an Olympic Gold Medalist and a former world record holder. Who was he??
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"Trial of the Century"
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"Trial of the Century"
Re: "Trial of the Century"
Sorry, don't know the answer but it was Truly the trial of the 20th century. Hauptmann was set up and royaly railroaded. It was a circus atmosphere with Hauptmann playing the scapegoat. A very sad commentary on, and an historical day of infamy for the US justice system.
I have not read a ton about this trial but 2 points: 1) it was indeed a too-quick judgement and punishment, but 2) just because he said he did not do it does not mean that didn't. Now I might try to read more about it all.
Re: "Trial of the Century"
Was he really executed in "the trial of the century"? I thought it was the practice then, as it is now, to have the execution some time after the trial. 
So what's the answer here? Nobody seems to know and I can't find it - yes, Garry, I admit it - I tried to look it up when nobody could answer. Beat me, whip me.
Also, I don't think its so definite that Hauptmann was railroaded. There was a lot of evidence against him - he had the ransom money in his garage, he had the ladder in his garage, he was not at work that day, multiple other things. His excuse was that a German friend of his did it and put that stuff in his garage - that friend had conveniently just died and the story could not be corroborated. Maybe he didn't do it - maybe he did. None of us could know at this late remove.
I don't think the ladder was found in his garage, but rather the wood used to make the ladder was found to come from his attic. Pieces of wood were missing in his attic and the ladder used in the crime matched the wood from his attic. He claimed a friend of his gave him the money to hold. It was a circus of a trial and went very quickly. At the trial, miniature ladders were sold to anyone who would buy them.
"I'm going nuts on this one !"
I am, too. How 'bout just telling us this one - nobody seems to have any idea. On a related trivia note - which Olympic track & field medalist was the judge at the Black Sox trial in 1919?
Sorry, bambam. You need Google lessons. I looked it up and found it very quickly. Send me a pm and I'll send you the answer, if it hasn't already been posted. I'd post it myself but I think that's against Board policy.
We did the Black Sox judge back in this great set of trivia:
http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/discus ... php?t=7445 (and I'm stumped on the Lindbergh lawyer question!)
No guesses? I guess I'll have the first go. And I've got little to go on.
I'm figuring the person had to have been old enough to have won his gold in 1912 or earlier. He's a lawyer in the middle-Atlantic states, so having been a member of the New York AC is a start. I know Tom Burke studied for the bar at one point, and as the winner of the '96 100 and 400 for the Boston AA, he's my first guess. I'll take a second crack with Paul Pilgrim, just because something tickling my brain makes me think he might have been a lawyer. Last shot is Mel Sheppard, who might have gone into law while he was serving as coach of the Millrose A.A. And I'm likely wrong on all three tries.
Actually I'm not trying to be friendly. I Googled the Hauptman trial and all I can find as his defense attorny is Edward Reilly, who never competed in the Olympic Games that I know, certainly did win multiple gold medals, is not listed in Hymans/zur Megede as ever setting a world records, and is not "one of the greats."
I've been all over Google and can find no other reference to another lawyer for Hauptmann. I may not be the greatest "Googler" but I'm not too bad.
As to DJ's guesses, I had already checked Quest for Gold: The Encyclopedia of American Olympians, which I think is a superb book, looking for multiple gold medalists. Burke is a possibility as he did get a law degree, but he practiced in Boston - so what was he doing at a trial in Flemington, New Jersey? He did win 2 gold medals but his world records are a bit suspect - indoor 660 yds, and a relay.
Paul Pilgrim only worked as the Athletic Director as the NYAC in later life, and Sheppard worked as the Recreational Director of the Millrose AA in later life. [/i]
Interesting question for which the answer given is the Mel Shepard. But, is this one of those myths of which gh is always exhorting us to be wary? Using "Google," there are plenty of links to what seems to be a single biographic profile that includes the conclusory statement that "he [Sheppard] was one of the defenders of the Lindbergh child kidnapper Bruno Hauptman." Wikipedia has it that way. But is it right? I have before me, however, a reprint of "The Trial of Bruno Richard Richard Hauptmann," by Sidney B. Whipple, originally published by Doubleday, Doran & Co., NY, 1937. Whipple was a journalist who attended the trial. His book is essentially a 90 page history of the whole affair followed by 470 plus pages of edited daily transcripts of the 32 day long trial. At page, 92, Whipple lists the defense team present for the first day of trial as "Mr. Reilly, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Pope, Mr. Rosecrans." At page 73, Whipple notes Hauptmann's appeal was handled by "the three 'country' lawyers, Fisher, Egbert Rosecrans, and Frederick A. Pope, …" I find no references to Sheppard. My review of my one source, which is not indexed and which I have not read in full for years, is not dispositive as to any other contribution Mr. Shepard might have made to the drama, but I am curious: Does anyone know what role, if any, the great Olympic Gold medalist and World Record holder, Mel Sheppard, played in the "defense team" of the "Trial of the Century"?
I had noticed the same thing and was wondering the same thing. Every Google hit on this seems to derive from a single source. I haven't had the time to do any further research on this, but without further evidence, I, too, regard that conclusion with some suspicion.
It had occured to me that this was somewhat like former senator (and masters sprinter) Alan Cranston's reported suing Adolph Hitler. There was a copyright infingement trial in the 1939--40 era about publication of an un-authorized translation of Mein Kampf. The Cranston story (I suppose one never knows whether he had much to do with the story himself, or if it was mostly manufactured by publicists) was that he had some central role. He may have had some minor role -- maybe a legal researcher or something -- but his name does not even appear in any of the voluminous legal documentation according to a book on the trial. I wonder if Sheppard's situation was similar? Pat Palmer
We talk so often about "padded resumes", perhaps we should have a separate forum for the subject.   
Good points raised by EastBayprepoftheweek67.
When formulating this question I also noted the single source for the Sheppard/Hauptmann connection and was a little disappointed I couldn't find additional information on the net--more out of curiosity than validation. I tried accessing the NYT archives--without success. Then turned to Marc Bloom's "Run with the Champions" which has a four page chapter on Mel Sheppard. No mention of a law degree, nor Hauptmann. Last night I visited the Knight Library at the U of O and checked the obits from the New York Times and Washington Post. Also looked at a few biographical/sports reference books. Results: Inconclusive . . . no mention of a Sheppard/Hauptmann connection, nor a law degree. In reading the articles, I sensed that if he was a significant player in the trial, it would have been noted. If however, he had only a small supporting role, then the omission did not strike me as unusual. FYI: From these sources, I discovered-- Mel Sheppard past away in Bayside, Queens, early in the morning on Jan 4, 1942. He had been talking with his wife, Estelle, when he fainted. He died before the ambulance arrived. Shortly before the 1908 Olympics, he was rejected as a candidate for the police force because the examining doctors found that he had a slightly enlarged heart. He had two children--Mel Sheppard, Jr., who was a track and cross country star at Princeton ('32) and Adelaide Kohler (San Francisco). His career ended in 1915 when he tripped on a loose board in Madison Square Garden. After WWI (rank of Captain), he continued working for the John Wanamaker Store (salesman and recreation director) and coaching at the NYC Millrose Athletic Association.
I talked with Marc Bloom about this. He checked the file he has on Mel Sheppard (research material for "Run with the Champions") and found no connection with Hauptmann.
Then I contacted the NJ State Bar Association and Client Protection Fund--they have a data base going back to the 1700s that's about "99% accurate." Mel Sheppard was not licensed to practice in New Jersey. But since it was a federal case, he could have been called in from another state. I contacted the NY State Attorney Registration Unit--same result--no record of Mr. Sheppard. So, it begins to appear quite doubtful. But why would someone make that up?? Kind of odd.
Great article in Philadelphia Inquirer on Mel Sheppard. It links him to the Titantic, but not Bruno Hauptmann.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/2 ... ndard.html
Resolution at last . . .
I queried Phil Anastasia--who wrote the Sheppard article--on the Hauptmann connection. His response: Gary: That story about Sheppard being a defense attorney for Bruno Hauptmann is why you can’t trust Wikipedia. It’s 100 percent untrue. Howard Schmertz from the Millrose Athletic Association told me a newspaper in New Jersey wrote it and it began circulating. Sheppard never even went to college. It’s out there, though: As recently as February, Newsday had a guy covering the Millrose Games who made mention of it, and they had to run a correction three days later. I enjoyed working on the piece although I was frustrated by my failure to find a living relative. Had a couple leads – tracked his daughter Adelaide to a senior home in Wildwood New Jersey, where she died in 1991 – but nothing panned out. Thanks for writing. Phil Thanks Phil!
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