Levi Parker Webster (aka Chief Tall Feather) (July 6, 1883 - May 2, 1962) was an American athlete, professional runner and ultramarathoner. He is notable for setting two records for running nearly two decades apart. Levi Parker Webster and Mayor

Early life

Webster was a member of the

Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin The Oneida Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Oneida people in Wisconsin. The tribe's reservation spans parts of two counties west of the Green Bay metropolitan area. The reservation was established by treaty in 1838, and was allotted to ...

and grew up on the Oneida reservation. He was a student at

Carlisle Indian Industrial School The United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, generally known as Carlisle Indian Industrial School, was the flagship Indian boarding school in the United States from 1879 through 1918. It took over the historic Carlisle ...

and received his diploma in 1905.

Athletic Achievements

Webster was a foot racer and played professional football for the Frankford Athletic Club (1906-1908), the

Pittsburgh Lyceum The Pittsburgh Lyceum Club, or Pittsburgh Lyceum, was a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was a member of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League from 1907 to 1908 and played all of its games at Duquesne Garden. ...

(1909-1910) and the Massillon Tigers (1911-1914). He competed many times against English runner

Alfred Shrubb Alfred Shrubb (12 December 1879 – 23 April 1964) known as Alfie Shrubb was an English middle and long-distance runner. During an amateur career lasting from 1899 to 1905 (when he was barred from amateur competition for receiving payment for r ...

, including a 1908 race in Boston in which Shrubb challenged 5 opponents to run in 2-mile relays against him in a 10-mile race. In June 1927, Webster broke the record for the Milwaukee-to-Chicago nonstop marathon, 94 miles in 19 hours and 47 minutes. Promoters and the press drew attention to the run as a comeback, citing achievements of nearly twenty years earlier, including a record for the mile run with a time of four minutes, 13 seconds. The sight caused one Time reporter to marvel at the scene: "Arthur Brisbane, Hearst newspaper seer, might have been moved to repeat one of his favorite homilies--'a sight to delight Darwin.' Indian Chief Tall Feather, aged 42, was running along the broad highways from Milwaukee to Chicago. Sleek automobiles swished by him. On his right, electric interurban trains were hissing and steam locomotives were chuffing. On his left, steamers were cutting the waters of Lake Michigan. It was a scene such as every child has seen in the educational "wonder books."" On his 50th birthday he ran 50 miles from Green Bay to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. For many years his family held an honor run of 50 miles, shared between them, each summer.

Personal

Webster married Servilla Dell Skenandore in 1930 and they had 14 children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Levi Parker Native American sportspeople American male long-distance runners Oneida Nation of Wisconsin people Players of American football from Wisconsin Carlisle Indian Industrial School alumni Sportspeople from Brown County, Wisconsin 1883 births 1962 deaths