The Short Life of a Short Man
Jockey Charlie Boland
It was on the morning of May 5, 1961, that 21 year old horse jockey Charlie Boland of Old Chelsea died in hospital from injuries received the day before while racing at Fort Erie, Ontario.
The promising young rider had just completed his one year apprenticeship in April during which time he collected 122 wins in just 10 months, believed to be the best record ever for a Canadian apprentice at the time.
The 5 foot two inch and 105 pound rider was the son of Charles Boland Sr. and Irene Trudeau. Charlie had been around horses his whole life and always dreamed of being a jockey. He apparently did his Chelsea newspaper route on horseback.
In January of the same year and a few days from turning 21, he was a celebrity guest at the ACT Sports Awards Dinner, where he was featured alongside CFL and NHL stars and coaches including Frank Clair, Lynn Patrick and Sam Pollock as well as skier Anne Heggtveit.
When asked by reporters about the hazards of his sport, he stated that he “…had a few spills” but had been lucky so far. He was also candid about his desire to compete at the highest levels, including the Kentucky Derby.
His rapid rise didn’t go unnoticed. Charlie told the Ottawa Journal that horse owner C.T Chenery wanted to buy his contract in order to have him ride the colt Tillman, which was nominated for the 1961 Kentucky Derby. Chenery’s daughter was Penny Chenery, who later owned the Triple Crown Winner Secretariat, which was the subject of the 2010 motion picture of the same name. It does not appear that his contract was sold, and neither Charlie nor Tillman appeared in the Derby that year, which was held on the same day that he died.
Originally he was believed to only have suffered a concussion when he was thrown from Wyvern, a three year-old filly which had fallen. Headlines even read “Boland in No Danger”. But it was later determined that he had a serious skull fracture obtained from hitting a concrete railing base, despite being helmeted.
Dr. C.W. Streets, the Fort Erie coroner investigated Charlie’s death because of claims that the fatal head blow may have come from falling out of bed in the hospital, as family had originally been told that he was “very sick, but escaped serious injury”. The coroner ruled that the diagnosis by Neurosurgeon Dr. Carl Graff of Buffalo, NY, had underestimated the severity of the injury.
Charlie’s funeral was held at St. Stephen’s Church in Old Chelsea on May 9th and he was laid to rest in the church cemetery.
Sources
Charlie’s Wikipedia Entry
Ottawa Citizen and Ottawa Journal Archives
GVHS Website
