By David Cain
I have a very broad definition of juggling. Not only do I include toss juggling, but also ball spinning, trick roping, plate spinning, object balancing, cigar boxes, devil stick, poi, diabolo, boomerang throwing, and numerous other types of object manipulation. In fact, my most famous video, filmed 18 years ago, is titled 61 Types of Juggling. If I were to remake this today, it would probably be something like 100 Types of Juggling.
Today, however, we will discuss a type of object manipulation and performance that was considered juggling during the days of Vaudeville that virtually no one would think about as a form of juggling today. What I’m talking about is Bag Punching, as in hitting a boxing practice bag. Let’s take a look at what I’m talking about in this video of Gus Keller from 1903.
As you can see, these performers usually surrounded themselves with a frame that held various punching bags that could be hung in various arrangements. These routines and demonstrations were often choreographed to music. Let’s look at some of the performers of this art before we examine its connection with juggling.
Gus Keller
Since you’ve already watched the video of Gus Keller, we’ll start with him. Gus wrote the book How to Punch a Bag and was a popular performer. Here are some photos from his book, which you can read by clicking here.
Harry Seeback
Harry Seeback was another bag punching performer. He published the book Scientific Bag Punching in 1913. You can read the book by clicking here.
Other Bag Punching Performers
Before we get to the most famous bag punching performer, let’s take a look at some photos and promotional material of some other bag punching acts.
George Herz
Joe Marnell
Other performing bag punchers included Jessie Franks, Francis and W. A. Waldoras, and Lenny and Margie Ross.
Belle Gordon
Belle Gordon was the most famous bag puncher of the Vaudeville era. Starting at least as early as 1900, she amazed audiences with her skill and beauty. There is quite a bit of material about her online, but below you can see some of her photos.
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In Part 2 of this series, we’ll examine exactly how this was considered a form of juggling in the first half of the twentieth century.
David Cain
David Cain is a professional juggler, juggling historian, and the owner of the world's only juggling museum, the Museum of Juggling History. He is a Guinness world record holder and 16 time IJA gold medalist. In addition to his juggling pursuits, David is a successful composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and singer as well as the author of twenty-six books. He and his children live in Middletown, OH (USA).