Bill,
I agree with the ladies not getting the attention they deserve. I have to admit,in all the years I 've been interested in and have collected old archery items,not much is ever spoken about some of the women that excelled at the sport. Babe Bitzenberger's name is probably most familiar to all of us here but I never really heard much about Ann Marston. When her name was mentioned in conversation all I usually heard was that she was a beauty queen and was trampled by a bull. Also heard she was injured by a pig,which caused her to go blind and die.Never heard about what a wonderful archer she was even as young as 9 or 10 years old. She competed against the adult women while still in her early teens,beating many of them and breaking records,many of her own included. She won 11 national titles,was a Miss Michigan winner and won the talent award in the Miss America pageant by shooting her bow and arrow.She was also a t.v. celebrity,appearing on many of the popular shows at that time including The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,the Jack Parr show,and the Morning Show with Dick Van Dyke just to name a few.After losing her sight,due to complications from diabetes,not by being trampled by a bull,which did happen at one of her shows,she became a manager for many of the local rock bands including the MC5. She even met the Beatles when they were at their peak in the 1960's. She was a very humble and giving person I have heard. Unfortunately she died at the very young age of 32 after suffering a stroke. A very sad end to a remarkable yet short life. I never really knew anything about her and all of her accomplishments until doing a little research. We've all heard of Fred Bear,Howard Hill,Ben Pearson,Chet Stevenson,but not much about the likes of Ann Marston. I hope to introduce her to a few more people. John
Topic: Archery display at upcoming event in Mich (updated with photos 8/19) (Read 3912 times)
