The Shields Brothers were plenty tall: Shade Shields was 6 feet 8 inches tall, Guss Shields was 6 feet 9, Frank Shields was 6 feet 10.5, and Jack Shields was 6 feet 11. However, Barnum billed them all as being over seven feet tall. Family members later said they wore lifts in their shoes during showtime. The brothers toured with the circus for over ten years.
It looks as if Barnum had control over the media in those days.
ReplyDeleteOne more brother and they could go up against the Chicago Bulls. The game would be interesting since we can see where the Shields stand on racism.
ReplyDeleteWould be quite a brawl!
DeleteI'm over 8' tall, when using drywall stilts.
ReplyDeleteGus, Frank, and Jack all called their little brother Shade by his nickname, "Short Stuff".
ReplyDelete