Bobby Leach

Common card · No. 400533

Bobby Leach (1858 – April 28, 1926) was the second person and first man to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, accomplishing the feat on July 25, 1911 — while Annie Taylor did it on October 24, 1901. He spent six months in the hospital recovering from injuries he sustained during the fall, which included two broken knee caps and a fractured jaw. Leach had been a performer with the Barnum and Bailey Circus and was no stranger to stunting. After watching a stuntman die attempting to dive from a platform over 150 feet (45 m) into a pool 5 feet (1.5 m) deep, he made the dive successfully. Prior to his trip over the falls, he owned a restaurant on Bridge Street, and would boast to customers that anything Annie could do, he could do better. Leach utilized a steel barrel to achieve the feat. Leach returned to Niagara Falls, New York, in 1920 and operated a pool hall. While in his sixties he attempted to swim the whirlpool rapids but failed after several attempts. During these aborted attempts,...

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