One of the top marksmen of the country from the late
1930s to the 1950s was the sharp-shooting ALBERT VON EINSIEDEL who had the distinction of
competing for the Philippines in shooting
sports at both the world Olympics and the continental Asian Games.
Born on 14 May 1917 to German Albert H. von Einsiedel
and Filipina Lucia Salamanca, the young Albert developed an early
interest in shooting, which he mastered as a student of the University of
the Philippines. In 1936, U.P. shooting standout, Martin Gison,
became the first and lone representative of the country in shooting at the 1936
Berlin Olympics, where he nearly medalled, placing 4th in the
small-bore rifle event.
This spurred more Physical Education students to
sign up for the school’s shooting program. So, while Einsiedel was learning folk dancing
steps, he was also becoming adept in both rifle and pistol shooting
where he trained religiously at the U.P. range, until he became a deadeye in both
disciplines.
After 1936, Einsiedel
showed that he, too, was capable of becoming a world-class shooter. The U.P. Shooting Team then held
regular competitions against members of the National Rifle and Pistol
Association of the Philippines, which counts ace shooters from the
military, as well as sports hunters and shooting hobbysts. In one such meet on
31 Oct. 1937, Einsidiel placed 4th among the state
shooters in the Rifle .22 caliber, helping U.P. win over the N.R,P.A,
shooters. In the Pistol .22 caliber, he placed 3rd ,
resulting in a tie with the more seasoned N.R.P.A. team.
The next year, on the 27th of February, the
versatile all-around U.P. athlete earned a pistol championship title, by
winning the Philippine Exposition .22 caliber pistol championship,
sponsored by the N.R.P.A. held at the Pureza shooting grounds,
with a score of 493 x 600. Highly-regarded Felix Cortes shot a score of
484 x 600 to garner second place, nosing out Ramon Villamor, who took
third with 483 x 600. The course fired was 60 shots at 80 meters on the 50
meter target.
But as every country, including the Philippine Commonwealth,
was gearing up for the 1940 Olympics, the war intervened, cancelling not
only the games scheduled in Japan, but also the 1944 edition in London.
When the war ended, there was a slow return to normalcy, as rebuilding began.
The government resumed its operations, the economy was restarted, and schools reopened. Sports training went
back into full swing and our nation’s athletes began to look forward to
competing at the 1948 London Olympics.
The 1948 National Shooting Championships, held in February
and March, were the first to be held since the outbreak of the war, and
served as try-outs for the Olympics. Ten individual matches were held to
determine the members of the shooting team. Einsiedel had already
installed himself as one of the favorites of the meet, and he lived up to
expectations.
In the first event, Einsiedel had no trouble in
beating a large field of free pistol experts by scoring a creditable 521 out of
a possible 600 points. In Event no. 2, Einsiedel snuck into the winners’
circle, placing third in the 3-Position small-bore rifle with a score of
508, behind winner Higinio Pacaña, and ahead of 4th
placer Gison. Next, he landed 5th in the small bore rifle
60 Shots Prone at 50 m., and 7th in the 45 cal.
National Match Course. In the Center Fire National Match Course, he
placed 5th, but came back in the next 2 events placing 1st in
both the Olympic Free Rifle (3 positions) and the Navy Cup Match -20
Shots Military offhand.
Only 3 shooters would end up being part of the Philippine
Olympic shooting team: Martin Gison ( 25 m. pistol, 50 m. pistol); Cesar
Jayme (50 m. rifle), and Albert von Einsiedel (50 m. pistol, 50 m. rifle). Einsiedel
was chosen to captain the lean, but mean shooting team in London.
In the Free Pistol, 50 metres event, Einsiedel
ended up in 26th place among 50 shooters, trailing Martin
Gison who was ranked 25th. The two were the highest
placed Asians, with the Lebanese entry, Khalil Hilmi, in last
place. The winners were Edwin Vasquez
(Gold, Peru), Rudolf Snyder
(Silver, Switzerland) and Torsten Ullman (Bronze, Sweden).
Einsiedel fared better in the Small-Bore Rifle,
Prone, 50 m., placing 22nd ,with a score of 591, among 71
athletes. His teammate Cesar Jayme also did very well, landing among the
top 20 finishers, in 17th place with 593 points. Gison
could only pace 43rd, with 585 points. Americans went 1-2
with Arthur Edwin Cook and Walter Tomsen winning Gold and Silver
with identical 599 points, new world records. Jonas Jonsson of Sweden won the
Bronze with 597 score.
After the Olympics Einsiedel finished his university
schooling and became a Physical Education instructor at the American
School (the future International School) in Manila. He was
still active in shooting until that time, and when Manila was chosen as
the site of the 2nd Asian Games in May 1954, an issue arose as to the
amateur status of active athletes employed as teachers. As it turned out, it
was clarified that teachers were not considered pros at all. The ruling was
announced rather late, leaving Einsiedel
only 4 months to train for the Asian Games.
His first event was the Free Pistol, where he lost
by a whisker to Japanese Choji Hosaka,
settling for the Silver Medal. But it was a different story in the 50
m. Rifle Prone, which he topped—followed by team mates Cesar Jayme
and Martin Gison for an all-Filipino sweep of the shooting event. The Philippines
amassed 4 Golds, 4 Silvers and 4 Bronzes from the Manila Asiad,
the best-performing country in shooting sports.
Albert von Einsiedel was married to the former Luz
Alabastro with whom he had 2 sons, Nathaniel and Albert Jr.,
He passed away in August 1999 at age 82.
SOURCES:
Maj. Carlos Quirino,
1948 National Shooting Championships, The Filipino Athlete, Vol. IX, No. 3, may
1948, p. 8-12.
“Einsiedel Captures
Pistol Championship”, The Tribune, 1 Mar. 1938, p. 10
“U. P. Rifle Shots Win
Over N.R.P.A”, The Tribune, 3 Nov. 1937. P. 9
London 1948 Shooting
50m rifle prone 60 shots men Results, https://www.olympics.com/en/olympic-games/london-1948/results/shooting/50m-rifle-prone-60-shots-men
London 1948 Shooting
50m rifle prone 60 shots men Results, https://www.olympics.com/en/olympic-games/london-1948/results/shooting/50m-rifle-prone-60-shots-men
Shooting at the 1954
Asian Games, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_at_the_1954_Asian_Games
The Marksman, August
1939 issue, https://repository.mainlib.upd.edu.ph/omekas/files/original/28d401e3ff35f8f38f8315c0ae88c4a722ca0e4a.pdf
Albert von Einsiedel,
geni.com
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