The first Jumping Frog Jubilee is held in Calaveras County - May 19th, 1928

On this day in 1928, more than 15,000 people attended a now-annual frog jumping contest in Calaveras County, California. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio.
Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a
show that proves there's more than one way to make history.

(00:20):
I'm Gabe Lucier, and today we're exploring the literary roots
of a world famous competition, the much celebrated Jumping Frog Jubilee.
The day was May nineteenth, nineteen twenty eight. More than

(00:45):
fifteen thousand people attended a now annual frog jumping contest
in Calaveras County, California. The event was organized by the
Angels Camp Boosters Club as a way to celebrate the
first paving of Maine Street in the town of angels Camp.
The idea for the contest came from an eighteen sixty

(01:06):
five short story by Mark Twain, a tall tale about
a compulsive gambler who wagers that his pet frog can
outjump any other amphibian in the county. Twain's satirical story
was set in Calaveras and allegedly recounted a real life event.
Whether that was true or not, the contest became a

(01:26):
reality in nineteen twenty eight when the Angels Camp Boosters
decided to stage one for real local residents competed to
see whose frog could jump the farthest, a pastime that
proved so enjoyable they repeated the contests the following May
and every year since. Now known as the Jumping Frog
Jubilee or simply as the Frog Jump among locals, the

(01:50):
event continues to draw huge crowds every summer, a testament
to the enduring appeal of regional traditions and to the
athletic prowess of the hume Umbule bullfrog. The specifics of
Mark Twain's story may have been exaggerated, but betting on
frogs was absolutely a thing people did during the height
of the California gold Rush in the mid eighteen hundreds.

(02:13):
Working in remote, isolated regions, the prospectors didn't have many
options when it came to entertainment. After a few stiff drinks,
catching some frogs and laying money on how far they
could jump probably seemed as good an option as any.
Mark Twain aka Samuel Clemens, was introduced to the backwoods
practice in the eighteen sixties, just as the gold rush

(02:37):
was winding down. He was twenty nine years old, deeply
in debt, and unsure of his path in life. Living
in San Francisco. He had drifted from one newspaper job
to another, all the while hearing reports of lucky forty
nine ers who'd struck it rich just east of the bay.
In eighteen sixty four, Twain decided to try his own luck,

(02:58):
hoping to find enough gold to pay off his debts
and by himself some breathing room while he sorted out
what to do for a career. He made arrangements to
stay at the cabin of Jim Gillis, a friend who
had a pocket gold mine into Loom County. Gold Mining
never paid off for Mark Twain, but the excursion did
help him find his calling as a fiction writer. On

(03:20):
January twenty fifth, eighteen sixty five, after another unsuccessful day
of mining, Twain decided to unwind by writing to Angels
Camp in nearby Calaveras County. Once he arrived, a heavy
rainstorm kicked up and wound up stranding him there for
two weeks. During that time, Twain had little to do
but hang around the bar at the Angels Hotel and

(03:43):
listen to the townspeople swap stories. He wrote down the
ones he liked best, including a highly dubious tale about
an informal frog jumping competition. The colorful story, as recounted
by Twain, is about a local eccentric named Jim Smiley,
who likes to bet on anything and everything he can,

(04:03):
including minutia like which bird on a fence will fly
away first. Eventually, Smiley turns his attention to frog jumping
and begins coaching a promising young athlete, whom he names
Daniel Webster. He catched a frog one day, Twain wrote,
and took him home, and said he calculated to educate him.

(04:24):
And so he never done nothing for three months but
set in his back yard and learn that frog to jump.
And you bet you he did learn him too. He'd
give him a little punch behind, and the next minute
you'd see that frog whirling in the air like a doughnut.
See him turn one summerset, or maybe a couple if
he got a good start, and come down flat footed

(04:45):
and all right like a cat. Smiley was monstrous proud
of his frog, and well he might be. For fellers
that had traveled and been everywheres, all said he laid
over any frog that ever they see. Twain's story culminates
with a wily stranger beating Jim Smiley at his own game.
He wagers forty dollars that any random frog from the

(05:08):
forest can jump farther than Daniel Webster, and then make
sure that's the case by stuffing quail shot in the
frog's mouth. When Smiley isn't looking. The heavy metal pellets
weigh down Daniel Webster to the point that he can
barely hop. Smiley is baffled by how his prize frog
could lose so badly, but he forks over the cash

(05:29):
and only finds the truth out later after the stranger
has already skipped down. While short on morals or deeper meaning,
Twain's story offered a rare and hilarious glimpse into the
stranger's side of life during the gold Rush. Believing that
others might appreciate the insight as well, he submitted his
version of the story, titled Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog,

(05:52):
to the New York Saturday Press, which promptly accepted it.
The story was first published that November and was quickly
reach printed in newspapers across the country. It was the
first short story Mark Twain had ever published, and almost
overnight it made him a household name. Two years later,
the story was featured in Twain's first short story collection,

(06:15):
where it was given a new title, The Celebrated Jumping
Frog of Calaveras County. Mark Twain would return to Angels
Camp several times over the years and formed lasting friendships
with many longtime residents. It's no surprise then, that even
after the author's passing in nineteen ten, he remained a
beloved figure in Calaveras County, the namesake of his first

(06:38):
great literary triumph. It was with that legacy in mind
that the Angels Camp Boosters Club decided to use Twain's
story as the basis for their event on May nineteenth,
nineteen twenty eight. The festivities kicked off with a parade
down the newly finished main Street. However, focus quickly shifted
to the main event, the Jumping Frog. Jew Believe the

(07:01):
contest was a huge hit, with visitors coming from all
over the countryside to see it or to take part themselves.
Angels Camp would continue to host the event in town
for the next decade. After that, it was merged with
the County Fair and held at the nearby Fairgrounds aka
Frog Town. From then on today, upwards of fifty thousand

(07:23):
people turn out for the frog Jump each year, with
some contestants flying in from all over the world. It's
now a weekend long affair too, complete with other summertime
staples like rodeos, live concerts, craft fairs, and carnival rides.
Of course, the frogs and their frog jockeys are still
the stars of the show, which reminds me if you

(07:45):
ever plan to compete yourself, there are a few time
tested strategies to keep in mind. For starters, you should
try to keep your frog warm before jump time so
that its muscles will be nice and limber. The most
important tip, though, is to avoid getting too chummy with
your frog. In fact, you should handle it as little
as possible before the contest. The more time the frog

(08:08):
spends on its own, the more its natural instincts will
be preserved, and that's key for ensuring the longest jumps possible.
Seasoned frog jockeys always drop their frogs a short distance
to the ground, and then just before the frog lands,
they startle it, either by making noise or by blowing
on it from behind. That last second jolt triggers the

(08:29):
frog's flight instincts, causing it to jump as if its
life depended on it. If you pull off that move
just right, and your frog happens to be a good hopper,
you might just have a shot at breaking the world
record and winning yourself a five thousand dollars prize. It
won't be easy, though, because at the Jumping Frog Jubilee,

(08:49):
the length of a frog's jump is actually the combined
distance of three consecutive jumps measured in a straight line.
That means your frog has to jump forward as far
as possible three times in a row, and as you
might imagine, you have to be a pretty skilled jockey
to coax that kind of consistency from a frog. Most

(09:10):
frogs that the Jubilee average just under five feet per jump,
while frogs with less experienced jockeys may top out at
two or three. The current record, however, is seven point
one six feet per jump for a combined total of
twenty one feet five and three quarter inches. That incredible
leap was performed way back in nineteen eighty six by

(09:34):
Rosie the Ribeter and her jockey Lee Giudici. The fact
that record is still standing nearly forty years later suggests
that frogs might not be able to jump any farther
than twenty one feet. Of course, if that sounds like
a bet you'd be willing to take, then you might
want to get over to Calaveras County right away. This

(09:55):
year's jubilee takes place this very weekend. Happy hopping. I'm
Gabeluesier and hopefully you now know a little more about
history today than you did yesterday. You can learn even
more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and
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(10:17):
commons or suggestions, you can always send them my way
by writing to this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks
to Chandler Mays and Ben Hackett for producing the show,
and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back
here again soon for another day in History class.