They don’t make them like Rowland “Flip” Wolfe any more. He was born 1914.
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…Wolfe was way ahead of his time particularly when one considers the surfaces tumblers had to contend with in the 20s and 30s. …
Had the International Gymnastics Federation recognized elements by naming them for one performer or another, a double twisting stretched back somersault might today be recalled as a “Wolfe”.
He was the first to perform this element in the Olympic Games.
… Wolfe could also perform a double back. He related that he did not perform a double back in the Olympics since his coach was not a reliable spotter. He describes a pile of corrugated cardboard arranged loosely in one corner of the gym along with rags and other soft material. He would then attempt double backs into the corner!
… He had a famous teammate, Charlie Pond, who later coached at the University of Illinois. Another DAC tumbler, Barbara Galleher Tonry, won nine NAAU tumbling titles. Every acrobat owes Pond a debt of gratitude since it was he who developed the twisting belt that bears his name. …
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