Remember the Alamo?

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Eric J
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Remember the Alamo?

Post by Eric J »

My recent research on the maker of the Shakespeare Alamo reel has turned up some history that I found interesting. A Google search revealed an article from 1905 about Mr. Lloyd J. Tooley and his Shakespeare Standard reel and Alamo Rod Company (of Kalamazoo) rod winning the distance casting tournament of 1905 in Chicago.


Colby suggested looking for info at the Alamo Michigan Historical Museum. The woman that runs the museum had never heard of the Alamo Rod Company and couldn’t find anything about it. A search of the Kalamazoo City Directories from 1900 to 1906 didn't show anything about the Alamo Rod Company but shows Lloyd Tooley working in Kalamazoo making boxes and playing cards, so it is doubtful that he operated the Alamo Rod Company. The article from 1905 says his Alamo rod was 4’10” and had highly polished agate guides all up the rod. Cliff Netherton writes that this rod with agate guides (not named as an Alamo rod) made quite a sensation at the 1905 tournament. The article also says that Lloyd was the originator of the short Kalamazoo rod, which has also been claimed to have been originated by Locher & Robb of Kalamazoo.
A 1905 Shakespeare advertisement from Recreation magazine says Lloyd used a Shakespeare reel and a Shakespeare Tournament rod at that same competition with the same winning results. So maybe it was a Shakespeare rod that was custom fitted with all agate guides. His photo shows him with a Shakespeare Style B reel and the Alamo rod which he also used to set an earlier record.


A 1904 ad shows that Lloyd Tooley was selling a wooden minnow from his Kalamazoo home.
I think it is interesting that even after a score of nearly 200 feet in 1905, no one at the 1906 Kalamazoo tournament was using an Alamo rod.


The Kalamazoo City Directories also show another fishing tackle manufacturer that I hadn’t known about. George Rice Mathews is listed as a fishing tackle manufacturer, and the 1900 census says his occupation was “inventor”. He held two patents, one for a weedless hook rig, and the other for a novel level-winding anti-backlashing reel.
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RonG
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Re: Remember the Alamo?

Post by RonG »

That's an interesting story Eric. I hadn't heard about Tooley's accomplishment with his rod.
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Eric J
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Re: Remember the Alamo?

Post by Eric J »

The Mathews reel looks amazingly similar to the Shakespeare Alamo reel. Handle, counterbalance, crank screw, click and drag button positions.
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Steve
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Re: Remember the Alamo?

Post by Steve »

Here's the Mathews brake on a Shakespeare Standard No. 3M. It's described on page 22 of my book. Mathews held a variety of jobs in Kalamazoo, including one as superintendent of a foundry.

Steve Vernon
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Book: ANTIQUE FISHING REELS, 2nd Ed.
Websites:
Antique Fishing Reels
Kopf reels
Hendrick reels

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."
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Eric J
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Re: Remember the Alamo?

Post by Eric J »

That’s awesome Steve! Thanks
His patent described it as a level-wind mechanism too, and I can see how the spring tension roller would force the line to spool down evenly and prevent the line from crossing back over the previous wrap.
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Steve
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Re: Remember the Alamo?

Post by Steve »

Right, Eric. In this case, the spring needed some "help" to work properly.

Steve Vernon
ORCA Honorary member

Book: ANTIQUE FISHING REELS, 2nd Ed.
Websites:
Antique Fishing Reels
Kopf reels
Hendrick reels

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."
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