On Feb. 22, 1936, a crowd of thousands gathered at George Washington's boyhood home near Fredericksburg, Va., to celebrate the 204th anniversary of his birth.

The main attraction of the day's festivities at Ferry Farm, which included the dedication of 200 cherry trees to be planted along the boulevard leading to Fredericksburg, took place at 2:30 that afternoon, when former Washington Senators pitching great Walter Johnson attempted to throw a silver dollar across the Rappahannock River. Legend had it Washington accomplished the feat as a young boy.

Edward T. Folliard, staff correspondent for The Washington Post, reported from the scene.

Thanks to a politician's bold wager and Johnson's participation, the stunt - while doing little to clear up the veracity of the legend - sparked controversy and attracted national interest.

The apocryphal tale of Washington throwing a silver dollar across the Rappahannock can be traced to Washington's original biographer, Parson Weems, who attributed the story to one of Washington's first cousins. In an 1826 essay, George Washington Parke Custis, Washington's step-grandson, recounted the tale of Washington throwing a piece of slate roughly the size and shape of a dollar across the Rappahannock. In the legend's retellings, the river was often changed to the Potomac.

Johnson spent the day practicing on the Potomac River in D.C., and he reportedly tossed a silver dollar 300 feet. Bloom, who wouldn't make the trip to Fredericksburg for Washington's birthday celebration, sent Johnson a silver dollar coined in 1796 to use for the occasion.

Johnson had left Bloom's coin at home. Instead, he tossed a Roosevelt dollar inscribed with

Eric Schena writes:

Tom Kays writes:

To read the complete article, see:
Walter Johnson put George Washington myth to the test with 1936 silver dollar(https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/02/19/walter-johnson-george-washington-rappahannock/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
THROWING YOUR MONEY AWAY(https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v08n11a22.html)
WALTER JOHNSON's SILVER DOLLAR THROW(https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v09n39a31.html)