Gymnastics
b. 1871
d. 19??
It's too bad that so little is known about Eyser, because he's an intriguing figure in the history of sports: The only Olympic medal winner who had a wooden leg. There's apparently no record of when or how he lost the leg, or even of which leg it was.
Confusion even surrounds the 1904 Olympics in which he competed. The Olympics were held in St. Louis that year, and not many foreign athletes took part. The U. S. was the only country represented in a number of sports, including gymnastics.
The AAU national gymnastics championships were held as part of the Olympics and winners were considered Olympic champions. It's uncertain, however, which events were actually considered Olympic events. In the AAU competition, Eyser
won the parallel bars and rope climb; tied for first with Anton Heida in the vault; finished second in the pommel horse and all-around; and placed third in the horizontal bar. His club, the Concordia Turnverein, won the team championship, bringing Eyser his third gold medal and seventh medal overall.
Eyser also competed for Concordia when the club won a 1908 international meet in Frankfurt, Germany, and a 1909 national meet in Cincinnati.
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