[BOAT CLUBS.]
The Orion Rowing Association, the pioneer boat club of Jersey City, was organized in August, 1872, and Judge J. H. Lippincott was its first president. The first club rooms were on the southwest corner of Newark and Baldwin avenues, those formerly occupied by the Hudson City Free Library. The first boat house was a fat factory on the meadows, a quarter of a mile from the Hackensack River, but the enthusiasm of the members was so great that they carried their four-oared barge to and from the river until they were able to secure better quarters. Through Mr. Levering's efforts Gill Ward, one of the famous Ward brothers, at one time champion oarsmen of the world, coached the Orions in the fall of 1872, and again for several weeks in the following year. In October, 1876, the Orions united with the Hudson Athletic Club, which had been organized by Messrs. H. and C. Hoe, C. Rooney, F. Hill and W. H. Kuran, and was henceforth known as the Orion Rowing and Athletic Association. They then made their headquarters in the Beach block, opposite the Court House, where they fitted up a fine gymnasium, with an instructor from New York. These gymnasium privileges were extended to a junior class.
For many years their receptions were social events and largely attended by prominent people. Exhibitions were held every spring and autumn for many years at the West Side Driving Park. The inaugural exhibition, on Decoration Day, 1877, was a red letter day in athletic circles. There was the largest list of athletic games on record up to that date, with entries from most of the prominent amateur athletes in all lines, from all over the United States. Stages were run from the ferries and the elevator to the West Side Driving Park. From that date the Orions gained and held a most desirable reputation for honor, fairness and excellence in athletics, and became a very popular club. Referees and judges, on field days, from the Orion members were selected by athletic clubs, not only in New Jersey, but in other states. There are treasured in the club annals a long list of names of athletes who won on numerous fields honor and medals. In this same year, 1877, the club built their boat-house on the Hackensack River, at the foot of St. Paul's avenue, twenty by one hundred and twenty-five feet. On the lower floor the association boats are kept, eleven in number—a barge, two four-oared gigs, two pair-oared gigs, three single gigs, and one four-oared shell. The second floor is used for lockers and dressing rooms, with tables and chairs. A two-storied veranda extends across the building, and the upper one makes a delightful lounging place for the club members. From the flagstaff floats the blue and orange flag of the Orions. The boat-house occupies an exceptionally fine location. It fronts upon deep water, with a straightaway course of a mile and a half, where a dozen boats could be sent off abreast. At no time are they prevented from rowing by rough waters or heavy winds. Every year the Orions hold a regatta, but no entries are allowed from other clubs. Competition and honors are strictly among themselves. There is a long list of efficient oarsmen whose names are honored in the club. Orions are famous for their jolly good times; with all of their hard work, they have kept up the social side of club life, and are deservedly popular. The Hudson Boat Club, which was organized about the same time as the Orions, had its headquarters at Communipaw Cove, near the Sugar House, and was at one time a very popular club. The Jersey City Athletic Club has a boat-house, and rowing forms a part of the athletic exercises.
[GUN CLUBS.]
In July, 1877, were organized two Gun Clubs in Jersey City—the Jersey City Heights and the New Jersey—both of which were in existence for several years and achieved some very fine records in pigeon and ball shooting. The Jersey City Heights Gun Club was organized July 11th, with the object of "the education and advancement of its members in the art of wing and trap shooting; also for the enforcement of the game laws of this state." The rules required that the butt of the gun should be clear below the elbow when the shooter called "pull." The club rooms for many years were at the northwest corner of Oakland and Newark avenues, and their grounds were at Marion, where there were held many interesting shooting matches among themselves, and with other clubs. Under their auspices were held exhibitions by such celebrated shooters as Dr. Carver and Capt. A. H. Bogardus; and numerous tournaments open only to amateurs, besides the regular club days, when the members contested for their club prizes, the fifteen and twenty ball badges or the cup.
One of their most celebrated contests was with the Fountain Club, May 31, 1883, at their grounds, at Prospect Park Fair Grounds, L. I. The Fountains were one of the most celebrated clubs in the United States, having won the Richmond Diamond Badge in 1882, at the New York State shoot; also the Dean Richmond cup valued at $1,000. The score was twenty men, ten birds to each man, twenty-five yards rise, both barrels, a friendly match for the birds only; the judge for the Fountains, the referee and trap puller were all Fountain club men, while a member of the New Jersey club was judge for the Jersey City Heights Gun Club. Mr. Alfred Heritage was captain of the Jersey City Heights team. The score was:
| THE FOUNTAINS | THE JERSEY CITY HEIGHTS | ||||||
| 1st | squad | 43 | 1st | squad | 43 | ||
| 2d | " | 37 | 2d | " | 43 | ||
| 3d | " | 36 | 3d | " | 43 | ||
| 4th | " | 45 | 4th | " | 46 | ||
| —— | —— | ||||||
| Total | 161 | Total | 175 | ||||
The story is still told among the old members of the club who claim that under the circumstances and rules of carrying the gun the record has never been beaten.
The New Jersey Gun Club was organized July 18th, 1877. Its object to protect and enforce the Game Laws of New Jersey; to foster and encourage the improvement of the dog and gun; to promote friendly intercourse and generous emulation among sportsmen, and also to engage in such sports, games, and matches as desired by the members. The shooter was required to hold the butt of the gun at the hip until the bird was on the wing. The rifle rules were the same as those adopted by the State National Rifle Association, with the exception of the arms, which were decided by a two-third vote of the club. Mr. Thomas W. Harrison was a prominent member, also Mr. William Hughes, who was also a member of the Jersey City Heights Gun Club, and known as "Old Reliable," for his uniformly good scores. The medal of the New Jersey club was a retriever's head holding in its mouth a woodcock with diamond eyes, costing $80. The club prize was a beautiful silver cup costing $200. When the club disbanded, about 1885, the members competed for final ownership of these and Mr. John Pearson won the medal, and Mr. Hughes the cup.