1904 - St. Louis

The 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, United States July 1 - November 23, 1904 Mascot - none 13 countries (incl. South Africa), 687 athletes (6 women) 15 sports, 94 events Opening - President Theodore Roosevelt (USA) Torch lit by - none Chicago, IL was chosen 1st but resigned in favor of St. Louis, MO THE GAMES FALTER ONCE AGAIN The confusion of the Paris Games seriously damaged the Olympic movement, and the 1904 games almost killed it. Chicago was originally selected as the host, but St. Louis officials feared that the Olympics would cut into attendance at the World Fair. They threatened to hold athletic competitions in conjunction with the fair if the Olympic Games weren't moved to St. Louis. Coubertin and the IOC finally decided to let President Theodore Roosevelt arbitrate the question, and he chose St. Louis. The IOC went along. The decision was taken personally by Theodore Roosevelt to mark the centenary of Louisiana's links with the United States. European tension caused by the Russo-Japanese War and the difficulty of getting to St. Louis kept many of the world's top athletes away. There were only 687 competitors, most of them from the United States, though Canada sent a good-sized contingent. Only 12 countries were represented. In a number of sports, the U. S. national championship was combined with the Olympic championship, because there were no competitors from other nations. Boxing was added to the program and wrestling was restored, but all the competitors in both sports were from the United States. Swimming returned, along with weightlifting, and a full gymnastics program was held. Rowing events were held for the first time. Ray Ewry again won all three standing jumps. Three other U. S. track and field athletes, Archibald Hahn (60m, 100m and 200m), Jim Lightbody, and Harry Hillman, won three gold medals apiece. The top foreign athlete was Emil Rausch of Germany, who won three swimming events. Zoltan Halmay of Hungary and Charles Daniels of the United States each won two swimming gold medals. But scandal erupted: the winner of the marathon, the American Fred Lorz, was disqualified for accepting a lift in a car during the race. Initially, he was hailed a true hero at the finish. But Alice Roosevelt, the President's daughter, had taken a photograph of his audacious move and he was eventually disqualified. Victory was handed to his compatriot, Thomas Hicks, who was also helped on his way by two shots of strychnine and several glasses of cognac. At that time anti-doping controls were non-existent. For the very first time winners received gold medals, with the Americans receiving the majority, winning 80 gold and 245 medals in total. But, as in Paris, the Olympic Games did not really come to life. Too many categories, too spread out, too many attractions besides sport. Barely two thousand spectators followed the athletics events. Unfortunately, St. Louis was hosting the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition (a large fair celebrating the 100th anniversary celebration of the Louisiana Purchase) at the same time as the Olympic Games. Again, having a city hosting a large fair plus the Games hurt the Olympic Games. There was an uproar about the marathon. After Fred Lorz (United States) was seized with cramps during the marathon, he was picked up by a car, which after chugging along for a little while, broke down about five miles from the stadium. Feeling much better, Lorz walked into the stadium and, to his surprise, was hailed as the winner of the marathon. Lorz was almost crowned with the olive wreath before the truth was discovered. A major problem for the 1904 Olympics was that it was held far from Europe. The fact that European participants would have to make a trans-Atlantic voyage plus a long train ride to Missouri to get there, not to mention that many Europeans envisioned St. Louis as small town on the wilderness frontier, made international participation very weak. Though twelve countries were represented, only a little over 100 of the 681 athletes participating were from outside of the U.S. and most of those were from Canada. No athletes represented England, France, or Sweden. During the 1904 Olympics, boxing was added as an Olympic sport. ST LOUIS 1904 GOLD MEDAL WINNERS 92 Men, 2 Women (Archery) Events Archery M/Ind. Double American: George Phillip Bryant, USA M/Ind. Double York: George Phillip Bryant, USA M/Team Double American: United States W/Ind. Double Columbia: Lida Howell, USA W/Ind. Double National: Lida Howell, USA Athletics, Men 60m: Archie Hahn, USA 100m: Archie Hahn, USA 200m: Archie Hahn, USA 400m: Harry Hillman, USA 800m: James Lightbody, USA 1500m: James Lightbody, USA 110m Hurdles: Frederick Schule, USA 200m Hurdles: Harry Hillman, USA 400m Hurdles: Harry Hillman, USA 2500m Steeplechase: James Lightbody, USA Decathlon: Tom Kiely, GBR/IRL Marathon: Thomas Hicks, USA 4mi Team Race: United States Discus: Martin Sheridan, USA Hammer: John Flanagan, USA High Jump: Samuel Jones, USA Long Jump: Meyer Prinstein, USA Pole Vault: Charles Dvorak, USA Shot Put: Ralph Rose, USA Standing High Jump: Ray Ewry, USA Standing Long Jump: Ray Ewry, USA Standing Triple Jump: Ray Ewry, USA Triathlon: Max Emmerich, USA Triple Jump: Meyer Prinstein, USA Weight Throw: Etienne Desmarteau, Canada Tug-of-War: United States Boxing, Men Flyweight: George Finnegan, USA Bantamweight: Oliver Kirk, USA Featherweight: Oliver Kirk, USA Lightweight: Harry Spanger, USA Welterweight: Albert Young, USA Middleweight: Charles Mayer, USA Heavyweight: Samuel Berger, USA Cycling, Men 1/4mi Track Race: Marcus Hurley, USA 1/3mi Track Race: Marcus Hurley, USA 1/2mi Track Race: Marcus Hurley, USA 1mi Track Race: Marcus Hurley, USA 2mi Track Race: Burton Downing, USA 5mi Track Race: Charles Schlee, USA 25mi Track Race: Burton Downing, USA Fencing, Men Ind. Epee: Ramon Fonst, Cuba Ind. Foil: Ramon Fonst, Cuba Ind. Sabre: Manuel Diaz, Cuba Single Sticks: Albertson van Zo Post, USA Team Foil: Cuba & United States Football Team, men: Canada Golf, Men Individual: George Lyon, Canada Team: United States Gymnastics, Men Club Swinging: Edward Hennig, USA Horiz. Bar: Anton Heida & Edward Hennig, USA Parallel Bars: George Eyser, USA Pommel Horse: Anton Heida, USA Rings: Hermann Glass, USA Rope Climbing: George Eyser, USA Vault: George Eyser & Anton Heida, USA Combined (3 events): Adolf Spinnler, SUI Combined (4 events): Anton Heida, USA Ind. All-Around: Julius Lenhart, AUT Team: United States Lacrosse Team, men: Canada Roque Singles Team, men: Charles Jacobus, USA Rowing, Men Single Sculls: Frank Greer, USA Double Sculls: John Mulcahy & William Varley, USA Coxless Pairs: Robert Farnam & Joseph Ryan, USA Coxless Fours: United States Eights: United States Swimming, Men 50yds Freestyle: Zoltan Halmay, Hungary 100yds Freestyle: Zoltan Halmay, Hungary 220yds Freestyle: Charles Daniels, USA 440yds Freestyle: Charles Daniels, USA 880yds Freestyle: Emil Rausch, Germany 1mi Freestyle: Emil Rausch, Germany 100yds Backstroke: Walter Brack, Germany 440yds Breaststroke: Georg Zacharias, Germany 4x50yds FS Relay: United States Plunge for Distance: William Dickey, USA 10m Platform: George Sheldon, USA Water Polo: United States Tennis, Men Singles: Beals Wright, USA Doubles: Edgar Leonard & Beals Wright, USA Weightlifting, Men One-arm Lifts: Oscar Paul Osthoff, USA Two-arm Lifts: Perikles Kakousis, Greece Wrestling, Freestyle 47.6kg: Robert Curry, USA 52.1kg: George Nicholas Mehnert, USA 56.7kg: Isidor Niflot, USA 61.2kg: Benjamin Joseph Bradshaw, USA 65.2kg: Otto F. Roehm, USA 71.6kg: Charles F. Ericksen, USA +71.6kg: Bernhuff Hansen, USA