Bio to Follow Shortly...Thanks for your patience.
Please leave a flower and/or a note for Eddie.Thanks Again
I had the honor of meeting with Eddies first cousin "Sammy" on July 19-2012. We met at Eddies Grave in Holly Hill SC.I also was able to speak with Eddie's sister Gereldine who currently lives in the Miami FL area with another sister.Gereldine was gracious enough to share stories of a very young Eddie and how at the tender age of eleven "ran off" to be with the horses.
Eddie is buried in a family plot along side many members of both sides of his family.Sadly though some of the name markers are rusting away and falling off of the grave covers.Many of the family graves do not have the traditional ENGRAVED headstones, only simple plates with metel fasteners that are rusting away and falling off.
During my conversation with Sammy he did share a concern that although still living family members know the locations and names of those who have passed on, he is very concerned that as time goes by fewer and fewer people will be able to remember which family member is buried in a specific grave.Of particular concern to Sammy is that Eddie's marker will suffer a similar fate.
I promised Sammy and Geraldine we would talk again soon.
....Eddie's grave is only two short miles off of I-95 in South Carolina,exit 93 for Holly Hill.Take rt 15 east,go 1 mile.You will see a small cemetery on the corner of Rt 15 and Po Chance Rd..THIS IS NOT THE CEMETERY EDDIE IS BURIED IN!!!!TURN LEFT onto Po Chance Rd.TURN LEFT at end of Po Chance,cemetery is immediately on your right.As you face the cemetery Eddie's grave is located in the LEFT(side) rear of the cemetery along the tree line.Many of Eddie's family are buried here, including his parents.....
.... Rest In Peace Eddie, You were the best friend a horse could have had.
John
∼"Born in Holly Hill, South Carolina, Eddie Sweat was one of nine children of an African American sharecropper. Mary Sweat was his morther. Holly Hill was where future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Lucien Laurin maintained a Thoroughbred horse farm and he offered Sweat a job after he saw the wide-eyed teen frequently peeking at the horses through a fence to the property as well as sometimes skipping school just to watch the horses. In 1957, the then eighteen-year-old Sweat accepted the offer of full-time work as groom for the Laurin stable of racehorses with a small fixed salary plus 1% of the horse's earnings."
"There, on April 24, a group primarily of relatives -- no one from Secretariat's inner circle was present -- gathered at Rock Hill A.M.E. Church in Vance, S.C., to bid farewell to Edward "Shorty" Sweat.
A son of tenant farmers who picked cotton as a boy, Sweat dedicated his life to horses. He cared for Secretariat, who 25 years ago delivered one of the greatest performances in the history of sport. Completing a sweep of the Triple Crown, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by a staggering 31 lengths.
Yet Sweat, perhaps the most essential member of the Secretariat team, died a pauper's death.
"I'm surprised Bill didn't do a story for Sports Illustrated called 'The Case of the Forgotten Groom,' " said Jim Gaffney, one of Secretariat's exercise riders.
"Bill" is William Nack, a writer for Sports Illustrated and author of "Secretariat: The Making of a Champion." He didn't write about Sweat's death, but several years ago he wrote a story for Sports Illustrated about grooms. It was titled, "Nobody Knows Their Names."
He highlighted this from Sweat:
"Only way that horses win is if you sit there and spend time with 'em. Show 'em that you're tryin' to help 'em. Love 'em. Talk to 'em. Get to know 'em. That's what you gotta do. You love 'em and they'll love you, too.
"People might call me crazy, but that's the way it is. I been on the racetrack 34 years, and I ain't never gonna give up. I think they'll take me to my grave with a pitchfork in my hand and a rub rag in my back pocket."
Coming up empty
Sweat died April 17 of leukemia in a hospital not far from Belmont Park, where Real Quiet will attempt Saturday to become the 12th Triple Crown winner -- and third since Secretariat.
Sweat had endured numerous ailments, including a heart attack, open-heart surgery, asthma, leukemia and cancer of the stomach. Health insurance through his wife, Linda, a kindergarten teacher, paid his medical bills. But Sweat, on his own, possessed little.
He lost most of his cherished Secretariat memorabilia in a 1991 fire that gutted the Sweats' home in Queens. How he died virtually penniless is not clear. Friends, relatives and the two trainers for whom Sweat worked, Lucien and Roger Laurin, offered varying ideas.
"It really doesn't matter what happened to his money," said Danny Vogt, a longtime friend. "Whatever happened, Eddie came up empty."
Please leave a flower and/or a note for Eddie.Thanks Again
I had the honor of meeting with Eddies first cousin "Sammy" on July 19-2012. We met at Eddies Grave in Holly Hill SC.I also was able to speak with Eddie's sister Gereldine who currently lives in the Miami FL area with another sister.Gereldine was gracious enough to share stories of a very young Eddie and how at the tender age of eleven "ran off" to be with the horses.
Eddie is buried in a family plot along side many members of both sides of his family.Sadly though some of the name markers are rusting away and falling off of the grave covers.Many of the family graves do not have the traditional ENGRAVED headstones, only simple plates with metel fasteners that are rusting away and falling off.
During my conversation with Sammy he did share a concern that although still living family members know the locations and names of those who have passed on, he is very concerned that as time goes by fewer and fewer people will be able to remember which family member is buried in a specific grave.Of particular concern to Sammy is that Eddie's marker will suffer a similar fate.
I promised Sammy and Geraldine we would talk again soon.
....Eddie's grave is only two short miles off of I-95 in South Carolina,exit 93 for Holly Hill.Take rt 15 east,go 1 mile.You will see a small cemetery on the corner of Rt 15 and Po Chance Rd..THIS IS NOT THE CEMETERY EDDIE IS BURIED IN!!!!TURN LEFT onto Po Chance Rd.TURN LEFT at end of Po Chance,cemetery is immediately on your right.As you face the cemetery Eddie's grave is located in the LEFT(side) rear of the cemetery along the tree line.Many of Eddie's family are buried here, including his parents.....
.... Rest In Peace Eddie, You were the best friend a horse could have had.
John
∼"Born in Holly Hill, South Carolina, Eddie Sweat was one of nine children of an African American sharecropper. Mary Sweat was his morther. Holly Hill was where future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Lucien Laurin maintained a Thoroughbred horse farm and he offered Sweat a job after he saw the wide-eyed teen frequently peeking at the horses through a fence to the property as well as sometimes skipping school just to watch the horses. In 1957, the then eighteen-year-old Sweat accepted the offer of full-time work as groom for the Laurin stable of racehorses with a small fixed salary plus 1% of the horse's earnings."
"There, on April 24, a group primarily of relatives -- no one from Secretariat's inner circle was present -- gathered at Rock Hill A.M.E. Church in Vance, S.C., to bid farewell to Edward "Shorty" Sweat.
A son of tenant farmers who picked cotton as a boy, Sweat dedicated his life to horses. He cared for Secretariat, who 25 years ago delivered one of the greatest performances in the history of sport. Completing a sweep of the Triple Crown, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by a staggering 31 lengths.
Yet Sweat, perhaps the most essential member of the Secretariat team, died a pauper's death.
"I'm surprised Bill didn't do a story for Sports Illustrated called 'The Case of the Forgotten Groom,' " said Jim Gaffney, one of Secretariat's exercise riders.
"Bill" is William Nack, a writer for Sports Illustrated and author of "Secretariat: The Making of a Champion." He didn't write about Sweat's death, but several years ago he wrote a story for Sports Illustrated about grooms. It was titled, "Nobody Knows Their Names."
He highlighted this from Sweat:
"Only way that horses win is if you sit there and spend time with 'em. Show 'em that you're tryin' to help 'em. Love 'em. Talk to 'em. Get to know 'em. That's what you gotta do. You love 'em and they'll love you, too.
"People might call me crazy, but that's the way it is. I been on the racetrack 34 years, and I ain't never gonna give up. I think they'll take me to my grave with a pitchfork in my hand and a rub rag in my back pocket."
Coming up empty
Sweat died April 17 of leukemia in a hospital not far from Belmont Park, where Real Quiet will attempt Saturday to become the 12th Triple Crown winner -- and third since Secretariat.
Sweat had endured numerous ailments, including a heart attack, open-heart surgery, asthma, leukemia and cancer of the stomach. Health insurance through his wife, Linda, a kindergarten teacher, paid his medical bills. But Sweat, on his own, possessed little.
He lost most of his cherished Secretariat memorabilia in a 1991 fire that gutted the Sweats' home in Queens. How he died virtually penniless is not clear. Friends, relatives and the two trainers for whom Sweat worked, Lucien and Roger Laurin, offered varying ideas.
"It really doesn't matter what happened to his money," said Danny Vogt, a longtime friend. "Whatever happened, Eddie came up empty."
Bio to Follow Shortly...Thanks for your patience.
Please leave a flower and/or a note for Eddie.Thanks Again
I had the honor of meeting with Eddies first cousin "Sammy" on July 19-2012. We met at Eddies Grave in Holly Hill SC.I also was able to speak with Eddie's sister Gereldine who currently lives in the Miami FL area with another sister.Gereldine was gracious enough to share stories of a very young Eddie and how at the tender age of eleven "ran off" to be with the horses.
Eddie is buried in a family plot along side many members of both sides of his family.Sadly though some of the name markers are rusting away and falling off of the grave covers.Many of the family graves do not have the traditional ENGRAVED headstones, only simple plates with metel fasteners that are rusting away and falling off.
During my conversation with Sammy he did share a concern that although still living family members know the locations and names of those who have passed on, he is very concerned that as time goes by fewer and fewer people will be able to remember which family member is buried in a specific grave.Of particular concern to Sammy is that Eddie's marker will suffer a similar fate.
I promised Sammy and Geraldine we would talk again soon.
....Eddie's grave is only two short miles off of I-95 in South Carolina,exit 93 for Holly Hill.Take rt 15 east,go 1 mile.You will see a small cemetery on the corner of Rt 15 and Po Chance Rd..THIS IS NOT THE CEMETERY EDDIE IS BURIED IN!!!!TURN LEFT onto Po Chance Rd.TURN LEFT at end of Po Chance,cemetery is immediately on your right.As you face the cemetery Eddie's grave is located in the LEFT(side) rear of the cemetery along the tree line.Many of Eddie's family are buried here, including his parents.....
.... Rest In Peace Eddie, You were the best friend a horse could have had.
John
∼"Born in Holly Hill, South Carolina, Eddie Sweat was one of nine children of an African American sharecropper. Mary Sweat was his morther. Holly Hill was where future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Lucien Laurin maintained a Thoroughbred horse farm and he offered Sweat a job after he saw the wide-eyed teen frequently peeking at the horses through a fence to the property as well as sometimes skipping school just to watch the horses. In 1957, the then eighteen-year-old Sweat accepted the offer of full-time work as groom for the Laurin stable of racehorses with a small fixed salary plus 1% of the horse's earnings."
"There, on April 24, a group primarily of relatives -- no one from Secretariat's inner circle was present -- gathered at Rock Hill A.M.E. Church in Vance, S.C., to bid farewell to Edward "Shorty" Sweat.
A son of tenant farmers who picked cotton as a boy, Sweat dedicated his life to horses. He cared for Secretariat, who 25 years ago delivered one of the greatest performances in the history of sport. Completing a sweep of the Triple Crown, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by a staggering 31 lengths.
Yet Sweat, perhaps the most essential member of the Secretariat team, died a pauper's death.
"I'm surprised Bill didn't do a story for Sports Illustrated called 'The Case of the Forgotten Groom,' " said Jim Gaffney, one of Secretariat's exercise riders.
"Bill" is William Nack, a writer for Sports Illustrated and author of "Secretariat: The Making of a Champion." He didn't write about Sweat's death, but several years ago he wrote a story for Sports Illustrated about grooms. It was titled, "Nobody Knows Their Names."
He highlighted this from Sweat:
"Only way that horses win is if you sit there and spend time with 'em. Show 'em that you're tryin' to help 'em. Love 'em. Talk to 'em. Get to know 'em. That's what you gotta do. You love 'em and they'll love you, too.
"People might call me crazy, but that's the way it is. I been on the racetrack 34 years, and I ain't never gonna give up. I think they'll take me to my grave with a pitchfork in my hand and a rub rag in my back pocket."
Coming up empty
Sweat died April 17 of leukemia in a hospital not far from Belmont Park, where Real Quiet will attempt Saturday to become the 12th Triple Crown winner -- and third since Secretariat.
Sweat had endured numerous ailments, including a heart attack, open-heart surgery, asthma, leukemia and cancer of the stomach. Health insurance through his wife, Linda, a kindergarten teacher, paid his medical bills. But Sweat, on his own, possessed little.
He lost most of his cherished Secretariat memorabilia in a 1991 fire that gutted the Sweats' home in Queens. How he died virtually penniless is not clear. Friends, relatives and the two trainers for whom Sweat worked, Lucien and Roger Laurin, offered varying ideas.
"It really doesn't matter what happened to his money," said Danny Vogt, a longtime friend. "Whatever happened, Eddie came up empty."
Please leave a flower and/or a note for Eddie.Thanks Again
I had the honor of meeting with Eddies first cousin "Sammy" on July 19-2012. We met at Eddies Grave in Holly Hill SC.I also was able to speak with Eddie's sister Gereldine who currently lives in the Miami FL area with another sister.Gereldine was gracious enough to share stories of a very young Eddie and how at the tender age of eleven "ran off" to be with the horses.
Eddie is buried in a family plot along side many members of both sides of his family.Sadly though some of the name markers are rusting away and falling off of the grave covers.Many of the family graves do not have the traditional ENGRAVED headstones, only simple plates with metel fasteners that are rusting away and falling off.
During my conversation with Sammy he did share a concern that although still living family members know the locations and names of those who have passed on, he is very concerned that as time goes by fewer and fewer people will be able to remember which family member is buried in a specific grave.Of particular concern to Sammy is that Eddie's marker will suffer a similar fate.
I promised Sammy and Geraldine we would talk again soon.
....Eddie's grave is only two short miles off of I-95 in South Carolina,exit 93 for Holly Hill.Take rt 15 east,go 1 mile.You will see a small cemetery on the corner of Rt 15 and Po Chance Rd..THIS IS NOT THE CEMETERY EDDIE IS BURIED IN!!!!TURN LEFT onto Po Chance Rd.TURN LEFT at end of Po Chance,cemetery is immediately on your right.As you face the cemetery Eddie's grave is located in the LEFT(side) rear of the cemetery along the tree line.Many of Eddie's family are buried here, including his parents.....
.... Rest In Peace Eddie, You were the best friend a horse could have had.
John
∼"Born in Holly Hill, South Carolina, Eddie Sweat was one of nine children of an African American sharecropper. Mary Sweat was his morther. Holly Hill was where future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Lucien Laurin maintained a Thoroughbred horse farm and he offered Sweat a job after he saw the wide-eyed teen frequently peeking at the horses through a fence to the property as well as sometimes skipping school just to watch the horses. In 1957, the then eighteen-year-old Sweat accepted the offer of full-time work as groom for the Laurin stable of racehorses with a small fixed salary plus 1% of the horse's earnings."
"There, on April 24, a group primarily of relatives -- no one from Secretariat's inner circle was present -- gathered at Rock Hill A.M.E. Church in Vance, S.C., to bid farewell to Edward "Shorty" Sweat.
A son of tenant farmers who picked cotton as a boy, Sweat dedicated his life to horses. He cared for Secretariat, who 25 years ago delivered one of the greatest performances in the history of sport. Completing a sweep of the Triple Crown, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by a staggering 31 lengths.
Yet Sweat, perhaps the most essential member of the Secretariat team, died a pauper's death.
"I'm surprised Bill didn't do a story for Sports Illustrated called 'The Case of the Forgotten Groom,' " said Jim Gaffney, one of Secretariat's exercise riders.
"Bill" is William Nack, a writer for Sports Illustrated and author of "Secretariat: The Making of a Champion." He didn't write about Sweat's death, but several years ago he wrote a story for Sports Illustrated about grooms. It was titled, "Nobody Knows Their Names."
He highlighted this from Sweat:
"Only way that horses win is if you sit there and spend time with 'em. Show 'em that you're tryin' to help 'em. Love 'em. Talk to 'em. Get to know 'em. That's what you gotta do. You love 'em and they'll love you, too.
"People might call me crazy, but that's the way it is. I been on the racetrack 34 years, and I ain't never gonna give up. I think they'll take me to my grave with a pitchfork in my hand and a rub rag in my back pocket."
Coming up empty
Sweat died April 17 of leukemia in a hospital not far from Belmont Park, where Real Quiet will attempt Saturday to become the 12th Triple Crown winner -- and third since Secretariat.
Sweat had endured numerous ailments, including a heart attack, open-heart surgery, asthma, leukemia and cancer of the stomach. Health insurance through his wife, Linda, a kindergarten teacher, paid his medical bills. But Sweat, on his own, possessed little.
He lost most of his cherished Secretariat memorabilia in a 1991 fire that gutted the Sweats' home in Queens. How he died virtually penniless is not clear. Friends, relatives and the two trainers for whom Sweat worked, Lucien and Roger Laurin, offered varying ideas.
"It really doesn't matter what happened to his money," said Danny Vogt, a longtime friend. "Whatever happened, Eddie came up empty."
Inscription
Eddie Sweat Beloved Groom Of Secretariat
Gravesite Details
located along tree-line at rear of cemetery,left side
