During the 1920s, crowds across the United States gathered to watch men and women spend days, weeks, and even months perched high above the ground on a tiny platform. This strange activity, known as flagpole sitting, became one of the most lucrative fads of the era. Spectators paid money to witness this grueling physical challenge, which eventually pushed competitors to extreme heights and unusual variations. The trend produced overnight celebrities and sparked fierce competitions before abruptly disappearing with the onset of the Great Depression.
Alvin Shipwreck Kelly Sparks the Flagpole Sitting Craze
Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly, a World War I veteran and professional stuntman, started the craze in 1924. Hired to perform a local publicity stunt for a movie, Kelly climbed a flagpole and stayed there for more than 13 hours. The stunt attracted massive crowds, prompting Kelly to repeat the act across the country. He eventually set a personal record of 49 days perched on a pole in Atlantic City. Kelly even attached a flagpole to a flying airplane in 1927 and sat on it. He earned hundreds of dollars a day, hauling up coffee and cigarettes using a simple bucket and rope system.
Dancers, Teens, and Expanding Extremes
Following Kelly’s initial success, other competitors rushed to break records. Newspapers heavily covered Betty Fox and her partner Benny, who performed actual dance routines on a two-foot-wide platform atop a towering pole. Teenagers also joined the competition, with 15-year-old Avon Foreman securing a juvenile record by sitting on a post for 10 days. Competitors utilized canvas tents for weather protection and rigged buckets to receive food and water. Pole heights varied drastically, ranging from mere 10-foot posts to dizzying 200-foot structures.
The Great Depression and the End of an Era
The craze collapsed entirely in 1929 with the start of the Great Depression. As economic hardships spread, the public lost interest in paying to watch pole sitters. Kelly’s career faded alongside the fad. He took on other publicity jobs, such as eating donuts upside down on the Chanin Building in New York. He died of a heart attack in 1952, found clutching a scrapbook of his past press clippings.
Post-War Revivals and Staggering New Records
While the 1920s boom ended, isolated flagpole stunts continued for decades. In 1946, a couple climbed a 176-foot pole to get married, selling tickets to 1,700 guests. In 1958, John Roller sat inside a car mounted on a 40-foot pole in Phoenix for 212 days to win the vehicle. The following year, 17-year-old Mauri Rose Kirby broke Roller’s record. Extreme instances continued into the late 1980s, when Mellissa Sanders spent over 500 days in a small cubicle atop a pole.