Edward Franklin “Pop” Geers

Edward Franklin “Pop” Geers. B. January 25, 1851 - D. September 3, 1924. Known as the “Silent Man from Tennessee” and the “Grand Old Man of the Turf,” Ed Geers was born just west of Lebanon, Tennessee in Wilson County. There in Wilson County, he made a name for himself training and racing horses, and that is what eventually brought him to Maury County – Spring Hill's horse farms and Columbia's racetracks., Geers had an eye for horses and could always pick a winner. Most folks looked at the horse named Napoleon Direct and saw an animal destined to pull a plow the rest of its life. Geers looked at the horse and saw a winner. Despite the snickering of critics, Napoleon Direct became the first horse to break the two-minute mile in the world of harness racing and he did so with Geers in the sulky., Napoleon Direct was not Geers' only winner. Geers traveled the United States, following the harness racing circuit. In fact, he was on the track preparing for a race when his first child was born. The person that relayed the news of the birth congratulated the new “pop” and gave birth to Ed Geers' nickname. “Pop” Geers became one of the most famous harness racers of all-time – and one of the wealthiest. He won over $2 million in purses during his career., “Pop” Geers died in a racing accident in Wheeling, West Virginia on September 3, 1924. The horse he was driving, Miladi Guy, stumbled during its run. The sulky behind the horse was flipped and Geers was thrown from the vehicle, seriously injured. He died of his wounds just three hours after the wreck., He had been living in Memphis just prior to his death, but his wife and two of his children were buried here at Rose Hill Cemetery. After a funeral service in Memphis, his body was brought to Columbia by train where it was met by thousands of people who made the procession from Columbia's Union Station depot to the gravesite., Two years after his death, a monument was erected in memory of “Pop” Geers on West Seventh Street in Columbia. In the Fall, when the trees are without leaves, the forty-five foot monument and Geers Memorial Park are visible from his grave.