Happy New Year everyone! Today, we are continuing our look into Olympians for whom we believe to have identified their date of death but, for whatever reason, we are unable to connect the information, such as obituary or public record, conclusively to the athlete. Two weeks ago, we went north of the American border to look into Canadian Olympians; this week we are headed south, to examine some Mexican Olympic mysteries.

 

Rodolfo Flores – Member of Mexico’s shooting delegation to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics

We know little about Rodolfo Flores, born 1921, who represented Mexico in two pistol shooting events 1956 Melbourne Olympics, finishing 19^th and 26^th in the rapid-fire pistol, 25 meters and free pistol, 50 metres respectively. An anonymous edit to Wikipedia claimed that he was born December 16, 1920 and died October 28, 1982 in Houston, Texas. While the Social Security Death Index does reveal that a Rodolfo Flores Sr. died on that date in Harris County, Texas, it does not contain a date of birth, let alone any facts that might connect the deceased individual to the Olympian, and we were unable to uncover an obituary that might turn up more clues.

 

Juan Frias – Member of Mexico’s sailing delegation to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics

Much like Flores, we have limited information on Juan Frias, born September 24, 1918, who represented Mexico in Dragon class sailing at the 1964 Tokyo Games and finished 18^th. Again, the Social Security Death Index gives us a lead, as a man by the name and with that date of birth died in Texas on August 13, 2004. In this case, we were able to locate an obituary, but it contained no information to help clarify whether or not the man who had died was the Olympian.

 

Juan Trejo – Member of Mexico’s water polo squad at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics

Juan Trejo, born May 12, 1927, represented Mexico in water polo at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where his nation was defeated by upcoming gold medalists Hungary in the qualifying round. He was later involved in organizing and promoting the sport in his home country and with his full name – Juan Trejo Cid – being somewhat uncommon, it seemed likely that he would receive a clear obituary upon his death. All we could find, however, was a brief notice for a Juan Trejo Cid who died in Mexico City on November 6, 2012, which offered no details, not even an age at the time of death. We suspect that the individual mentioned in the Olympian, but we have thus far been unable to prove this.

http://bfc1c332b5c17ae20e62-6cbba7cfb59c65abd107ce24040b0bca.r14.cf2.rackcdn.com/flip-nacional/07-11-2012/07-11-2012_flip-nacional.pdf

 

Emma Ruiz – Member of Mexico’s fencing delegation to the 1948 London Olympics

We are including one more individual than usual, Emma Ruiz Velásquez, born January 26, 1922, because it is a somewhat different case than our ordinary ones. Ruiz represented Mexico in foil fencing at the 1948 London Olympics, where she was eliminated in round one after losing all of her bouts. This was the last we heard about her until July 2014, when an anonymous user on Wikipedia claimed that she was alive and living in Caracas, Venezuela. That alone would be enough to merit an Olympic Mysteries post, but then we uncovered an obituary claiming that an Emma Ruiz Velásquez died in Caracas on December 9, 2014. Without an age or any substantial details, we could not verify that this was the Olympian, but it certainly does provide an interesting case.

http://obituariosenlinea.com/?module=obituarios&dia=11&mes=12&anyo=2014

 

A little bit extra today to start the new year off strong, and we will be back with more Olympic missing links next week. We hope that your new year is off to an equally strong start (or better) and hope to see you in a week’s time!

Today, we are continuing our look into Olympians for whom we believe to have identified their date of death but, for whatever reason, we are unable to connect the information, such as obituary or public record, conclusively to the athlete. Last week, when we looked into Canadians who fall into this category, we also hit upon the only mysteries from the 1932 Los Angeles Games. Today, therefore, we felt it fitting to look into the next oldest cohort: those who participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympics:

 

Guillermo Chirichigno – Member of Peru’s track and field athletics delegation to the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Guillermo Chirichigno represented Peru in the pole vault at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he finished joint-29^th and last in the qualifying round and did not advance to the final. He had had more luck at the previous year’s South American Championships, where he won the gold medal, and would later take silver at the 1938 Bolivarian Games. Traces of his activities disappear after World War II, although an entry in the Lima Death Index lists a Guillermo Chirichigno, born 1904, who died June 3, 1970. Despite the rarity of the name, however, without knowing the birth date, or even the age, of the Olympian, we cannot confirm that the individual in the registration and the athlete are one and the same.

 

Karl Lutz – Member of Austria’s boxing delegation to the 1936 Berlin Olympics

After winning the Austrian National Championship in the heavyweight division, boxer Karl Lutz, born February 23, 1914, was chosen to represent his country at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he was defeated in round two by Ernest Toussaint of Luxembourg. We do not know much else about him, although an anonymous user added a date of death of June 20, 1990 and a place of death Braunau am Inn to his Wikipedia page. We have, however, been unable to verify this information in any other source.

 

Roland Annen – Member of Switzerland’s field hockey squad at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

We known less about Roland Annen, born September 22, 1916, than we do about our other Olympians today. All we can be certain about is that, as a member of Stade-Lausanne, he helped represent Switzerland in the field hockey tournament at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where his nation was eliminated after winning one and losing two of its matches in the preliminary round. Once again, we turn to Wikipedia, where an anonymous user added a date of death of August 28, 2005 but, without further confirmation, we cannot consider this information a verified fact.

 

That is our final blog entry for the year, but we will be back in 2019 to continue our look into Olympic missing links and all other manner of Olympic mysteries. We hope you will join us, after a pleasurable New Year’s of course!

Today, we are continuing our look into Olympians for whom we believe to have identified their date of death but, for whatever reason, we are unable to connect the information, such as obituary or public record, conclusively to the athlete. Last week we took a look into the Middle East; today, we are focusing on our other area of expertise: Canada.

Dick Wyndham – Member of Canada’s swimming delegation to the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics

Dick Wyndham’s swimming career peaked in the early 1930s and, although funded privately, he was selected to represented Canada in the 200 metres breaststroke at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. There, he was eliminated in the opening round. Originally from British Columbia, Wyndham headed east after the Games to compete and train in Ottawa, but his career soon floundered and he disappeared from the headlines. By scanning the British Columbia Death Index, we found the registration of a Richard David Hayward Wyndham who died on December 12, 1991 at the age of 80, but the obituary we located for him in the Vancouver Sun was inconclusive. Since we do not know the swimmer Wyndham’s year of birth or full name, we cannot prove conclusively that this is the Olympian, particularly as he is known to have moved away from British Columbia at a young age.

Johnny Keller – Member of Canada’s boxing delegation to the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics

After winning a bronze medal in the bantamweight division of the boxing tournament at the 1930 British Empire Games, Montreal native Johnny Keller’s next major stop was the 1932 Los Angles Olympics, where he served as the team’s captain. There, he fought as a featherweight, but lost his first bout and was eliminated. He embarked upon a brief professional career after the Games, but it was not particularly successful and petered out relatively quickly. It was the Quebec Death Index that gave us a lead in this case, with the only Johnny Keller of appropriate age being born August 9, 1903 and dying December 15, 1985. His obituary in the Montreal Gazette, however, described him as a “[w]ell known interior decorator for the past forty-eight years” and made no mention of a boxing career, and thus we are able only to speculate on an Olympic connection, since we do not know Keller’s year of birth, let alone the exact date.

(Pictured on page 32 of the May 7, 1979 edition of the Montreal Gazette)

Larry McGuinness – Member of Canada’s equestrian delegation to the 1952 Helsinki Olympics

Larry McGuinness, born June 5, 1921, represented Canada in equestrian’s three-day event at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and placed 29^th individually. Although this was his only Olympic appearance, he had a long and distinguished international equestrian career and was also a businessman who ran the family distillery. In 1977, however, he went bankrupt and after that we had a difficult time tracing him with any certainty. We did uncover obituaries and records of a Lawrence Joseph McGuinness (which matches the Olympian’s full name) who died on December 27, 2017 in Florida. This Larry McGuinness, however, was born June 24, 1920, which would align with his age in many of the reports about him, but unfortunately the obituaries do not give any details that would help confirm that he was the equestrian.

Alfred Stefani – Member of Canada’s coxed eights squad at the 1948 London Olympics

Unlike the other three Olympians we have discussed today, we know relatively little about Alfred Stefani, born c. 1922, who represented Canada in the coxed eights tournament at the 1948 London Olympics and was eliminated in the semifinals. We could not uncover anything else about the Olympian, but we did find the relatively sparse obituary of an Alfred Stefani of Valencia, California, who died October 2, 1992. Death records indicate that this Alfred Stefani was born on August 28, 1926 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, but otherwise offer no other evidence. Shipping lists for the journey to the 1948 London Games do indicate that Stefani was born in 1926, rather than 1922, and while we have contacted a relative of the Alfred Stefani listed in the obituary, we have yet to receive definitive confirmation that the two are connected.

That is our entry for the day! We will continue our exploration of this topic next week but, in the meantime, we wish all our readers a Happy Holidays and hope that you will join us once again!

Today, we are continuing our look into Olympians for whom we believe to have identified their date of death but, for whatever reason, we are unable to connect the information, such as obituary or public record, conclusively to the athlete. Today we are going to focus on three athletes from one of our areas of expertise: The Middle East.

 

Jacques Ben Gualid – Member of Morocco’s fencing delegation to the 1960 Rome Olympics

Jacques Ben Gualid, born May 3, 1918, was a member of the Jewish community in Morocco who represented his country in three events at the 1960 Rome Olympics – the team foil, team sabre, and individual sabre – but was eliminated in all three. As one might expect, we know very little else about him, but an anonymous user on Wikipedia claimed that he later moved to Canada and died in Toronto on May 3, 1976. A search of the obituary pages of major Toronto-area newspapers around that time yielded no results, suggesting that, if the edit were true, then perhaps he changed his name or his death was not published. Either way, we have been thus far unable to confirm these details.

 

Joseph Mesmar – Member of Syria’s sport shooting delegating to the 1972 Munich Olympics

Joseph Mesmar, born November 25, 1921, seems to have had a limited sport shooting career that was confined primarily to a single event at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the trap competition, where he placed 50^th. One internet source lists a Joseph Mesmar as having died in September 1992 in London, England; according to the England and Wales Death Index, however, that Joseph Mesmar was born on October 29, 1921. While it seems like this is very likely to be the same individual, without a source to resolve the discrepancy in the birth date, we cannot be certain.

(Picture from Abdo Gedeon)

Tanios Harb – Member of Lebanon’s sport shooting delegation to the 1968 Mexico City Olympics

Tanios Harb, born in 1925, had a similarly limited international sporting career, with his career coming to a head at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, where he was 41^st in the skeet event. Outside of the fact that he was still alive in the early 1980s, we know little else about him, although a now-removed genealogical site claimed that a Tanios Harb died August 3, 2014. A related obituary suggested that it was actually a relative of that Tanios who died on that date, but also listed Tanios as deceased. Given the uncertainties present, we cannot make a definitive determination.

 

As the holidays roll on, it’s another short blog entry for today, but we hope to continue bringing you more Olympic Mysteries in the weeks to come. We hope you’ll join us again!

Today, we are continuing our look into Olympians for whom we believe to have identified their date of death but, for whatever reason, we are unable to connect the information, such as obituary or public record, conclusively to the athlete. As we were deciding on a theme for this week, we noticed that there were three remaining Winter Olympians yet to be discussed who fall under these criteria, and decided that they would be good subjects to focus on for today’s blog entry, particularly as the holidays are approaching.

 

Walter Heinzl – Member of Czechoslovakia’s bobsleigh delegation to the 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Olympics

Like many bobsledders of his era, there is very little that we can say for certain about Walter Heinzl, not even his year of birth, as many of these individuals did not have lengthy and dedicated careers in the sport. The only information that we know is that he represented Czechoslovakia as a member of one of its four-man bobsleigh teams at the 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Olympics and came in 12^th. An anonymous user on Wikipedia suggested that he was shot down over Japan during World War II, but we cannot even confirm that this was not vandalism, let alone whether or not it was accurate and refers to the Olympian.

 

Emil and Herta Ratzenhofer – Representatives of Austria in pairs figure skating at the 1948 St. Moritz Winter Olympics

Emil and Herta Ratzenhofer had successful pair figure skating careers in their native Austria, winning the Austrian Championships every year from 1946 through 1949, as well as 1943, coming in third in 1950, and winning the German Championships in 1944. They also won bronze medals at the European Championships in 1948 and 1949 and came in 11^th and 5^th respectively in those years at the World Championships. In their sole Olympic appearance in 1948, they were ninth. Emil also won bronze in the singles championships in 1938 and 1939. Despite all of this, information on their later lives is scarce, with Emil, born August 2, 1914, listed as having died on December 17, 2005 by the German-language Wikipedia. As for Herta, born June 27, 1921, the Vienna grave index at http://www.friedhoefewien.at/ lists an Anna Ratzenhofer, born June 25, 1921, as dying on April 10, 2007, although it is unclear if Herta and Anna are the same individual. For both, we have been unable to locate additional sources to confirm this information.

 

We are a bit busier this time of year than we usually are, so that is all we have for today, but we hope that you will join us next week, as we continue to look into these Olympic missing links!

Today, we are continuing our look into Olympians for whom we believe to have identified their date of death but, for whatever reason, we are unable to connect the information, such as obituary or public record, conclusively to the athlete. Last week we began examining those who only turned 90 this year and thus today we intend to conclude our look into that group.

 

Robert Gausterer – Austria’s flyweight boxer at the 1948 London Olympics

Earning the title of Austrian flyweight boxing champion in 1948 led Robert Gausterer, born May 11, 1928, to be selected to represent his country in that event at the London Olympics, where he was defeated in the first round by upcoming bronze medalist Han Su-An of South Korea. We do not have any additional information about him, although we did find an Austrian grave memorial that listed a Robert Gausterer as having died in 1983. While the rarity of his name means that it is a distinct possibility that this is the Olympian, the memorial lacks even a year of birth, and thus we can only speculate.

 

Laurent Bernier – Member of Canada’s ski jumping delegation at the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics

Laurent Bernier, born December 22, 1928, represented Canada in the ski jump at the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics, finishing 46^th and last among the jumpers who actually recorded a mark. His career nationally lasted through the 1940s and into 1950, when he competed at that year’s World Championships. As ski jumping, like cross-country skiing, is a lesser-followed sport in Canada, however, he faded from attention when he retired from active competition. Due to his common name, information on his later years is difficult to come by, and while we did locate a genealogical record for a Laurent Bernier born in 1928 who died April 27, 1998 in Quebec, without an exact date of birth, we cannot confirm that this is the Olympian.

 

As we managed to solve the remainder of the 1928 cases that we planned for today, here is one possibility from late December 1927 that recently came to our attention:

(Pictured on the right at Getty Images)

Maurice Chollet – Member of Switzerland’s basketball squad at the 1948 London and 1952 Helsinki Olympics

Maurice Chollet, born December 23, 1927, represented Switzerland in the basketball tournaments at the 1948 London and 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where the nation finished 21^st and joint-20^th respectively. A user on Wikipedia pointed us to an obituary for a Maurice Chollet who died February 22, 2017 at the age of 89, which would be the correct age for the Olympian. As the obituary made no mention of a basketball career, and since his name is not so unusual as to be unique, we cannot verify that this obituary belongs to the athlete.

 

That is it for today but, as usual, we will continue to delve into this topic next week and hope that you will join us! We also want to thank the anonymous Wikipedia editor who uncovered an obituary for Austrian track and field athlete Ine Schäffer, born March 28, 1923, who won a bronze medal for her country in the shot put at the 1948 London Olympics and was covered as part of our “Bronze Medal Mysteries” series. Schäffer moved to Canada in 1952, married Karl Spreitz in 1953, and died in British Columbia in April 1999. More information can be found here:

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timescolonist/obituary.aspx?n=ina-spreitz&pid=126023280

Today, we are continuing our look into Olympians for whom we believe to have identified their date of death but, for whatever reason, we are unable to connect the information, such as obituary or public record, conclusively to the athlete. Unlike last time, where we looked into athletes over the age of 105, who were unlikely to be alive, today we are examining those who only turned 90 this year. As the latter is, as one might expect, a longer list than the former, we are going to be splitting our post across two days.

(Pictured on page 12 of the March 10, 1958 edition of The Ottawa Citizen)

Jacques Carbonneau– Member of Canada’s cross-country skiing delegation to the 1952 Oslo Olympics

Jacques Carbonneau, born May 11, 1928, represented Canada as one of the nation’s two cross-country skiers at the 1952 Oslo Olympics, where he finished 70^th in the 18 km event. He was a relatively prominent skier on the national scene in the 1950s, but, as cross-country skiing has been a less-followed sport in the country, he faded from attention after that. We did find an obituary in the March 15, 2007 edition of La Presse, stating that a Jacques Carbonneau, born in 1928, had died two days earlier, but the information provided in the article was not sufficient to positively identify the athlete.

(Image from the Alamy Stock Photo Library)

Peter Esiri – Member of Nigeria’s track and field athletics delegation to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics

Peter Esiri, born September 11, 1928, won a silver medal in the triple jump at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, which earned him a spot on Nigeria’s ten-man delegation to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. There he reached the final, but was unable to record a valid attempt. Information on his later years is scant, but we did find a (now removed) personal page of photos that suggested that he died on October 3, 1998, but we were unable to confirm this information.

 

Mohammad Ja’far Kalani – Member of Iran’s shooting delegation to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics

The sport shooting career of Mohammad Ja’far Kalani, born May 1, 1928, did not begin until he was in his 30s, but he nonetheless had a substantial international career that took him to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics (where he was 64^th in the rifle, prone, 50 metres event) and the 1970 Asian Games. He also had an extensive career in sports administration. In 2008, a user created his Wikipedia article and included the information that he died in 1987 at the age of 59. We have been unable to verify this information, however, in any other sources.

 

We will (hopefully) be completing this list in the very near future, so we hope you will come back soon, as we continue looking into 1928’s mysteries. We also want to reiterate our thanks to Ralf Regnitter, who was able to confirm that two-time Olympic medalist Marianne Werner of Germany, born January 4, 1924, whom we profiled in an earlier blog entry, is still alive at the age of 94! We also want to thank the relative of Robert Christmas, born c. 1924, who confirmed that the obituary we located in Hamilton Spectator was indeed for the Olympian, and thus that he died in January 2000 at the age of 76, helping us solve another mystery.

There were Olympic Games scheduled for 1916, although they would never take place because of World War I.  The 1916 Olympic Games – the Games of the VIth Olympiad – were scheduled for Berlin, Germany.

Berlin had made a bid to host the 1908 Olympic Games but withdrew the bid at the 1904 IOC Session so that the vote for London could be unanimous.  It then moved forward its bid to the 1912 Olympics, and at the 1908 IOC Session in London the two candidate cities for 1912 were considered to be Berlin and Stockholm.  But at the 1909 IOC Session (in Berlin), Berlin announced that it could not host the 1912 Olympic Games and they were awarded to Stockholm.  The 1916 host city was discussed at the 1911 IOC Session but the decision was made at the 1912 Session in Stockholm.  Official bids had been returned from Berlin, Alexandria (EGY), and Budapest (HUN), but Alexandria and Budapest withdrew during the Session and Berlin was elected unanimously as the host city for the Games of the VIth Olympiad.

Germany had long since formed a National Olympic Committee, termed the Deutschen Reichsausschuß für Olympische Spiele (DRAfOS) (Germany Imperial Committee for the Olympic Games).  When the 1916 Olympic Games were awarded to Berlin, it began to develop an Organizing Committee as well.  The final form of the Executive Board of DRAfOS in 1913 was as follows:

[table]

Position,Holder

Patron:,Crownprince Wilhelm von Preußen

President:,General Victor von Podbielski

Vice-President:,Ulrich von Örtzen

Treasurer:,Baron Julius von Hünefeld

1st Secretary:,Dr. Paul Martin

2nd Secretary:,P. Johannes Müller

Sec-Gen. for the Olympic Games:,Kurt Roesler

Sec-Gen. for the 1916 Olympics:,Dr. Carl Diem

IOC Members to Germany:,Count Adalbert von Francken-Sierstorpff

,Baron Karl von Venningen-Ullner von Diepburg

[/table]

Germany also proceeded with the building of a great stadium to host the Olympic Games.  The design and construction had actually begun in 1911, prior to the bid for the 1916 Olympics being awarded to Berlin.  The stadium contained a 400-metre running track, surrounded by a 600-metre cycle track, with a 100-metre swimming pool at the north end of the stadium.  The stadium seated around 30,000 spectators.  Kaiser Wilhelm II dedicated the stadium on 8 June 1913, in celebration of his 25th anniversary as head of the German Reich.  A number of IOC Members were present at the dedication.  After various demonstrations and exhibitions of athletic events, General von Podbielski gave the closing speech, and urged the 3 million members of German athletic groups to put all their efforts into victory at the 1916 Olympics.

Plans proceded apace for the 1916 Olympic Games and a tentative program and schedule of events was announced.  This is documented in the only modern book fully devoted to the 1916 Olympic Games, Die VI. Olympischen Spiele Berlin 1916, by Prof. Dr. Karl Lennartz of the Carl-Diem-Institute in Köln, Germany.  The tentatively scheduled sports were as follows, and it is notable that the Germans planned to conduct both Summer and Winter Sports:

Summer Sports

Athletics (Track & Field), Cycling, Diving, Fencing, Football (Soccer), Golf, Gymnastics, Hockey (Field), Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, Water Polo, Weightlifting, and Wrestling – Greco-Roman

Winter Sports

Figure Skating, Ice Hockey, Nordic Skiing, and Speed Skating

It is also possible that the Germans tried to organize a cricket tournament, although it did not make it to the final schedule.  In A History of Australian Cricket it was noted, “Another matter which occupied the minds of the delegates was an invitation from the German authorities to send a cricket team to compete in the 1916 Olympic Games which were scheduled to be held in Berlin.”

But the 1916 Olympic Games never came to pass, for fairly obvious reasons.  On 28 June 1914, in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  The incident precipitated the war, and in July 1914, Austro-Hungary declared war on Serbia.  Germany soon joined with the Hapsburg Empire and declared war on Russia and France a few days later.  In August, Germany invaded Belgium and Great Britain then entered the war against Germany.

Incredibly, the Germans continued to make plans to host the 1916 Olympic Games, though they were met with opposition within the IOC as well.  British IOC Member Theodore Andrea Cook demanded the expulsion of the German members from the IOC.  When this was refused, Cook resigned from the IOC in protest.

Coubertin discussed these entreaties in Memoires Olympiques, “… barely two weeks had passed since the invasion of Belgium when I received proposals for ‘transferring’ the Games – at first somewhat vague plans but soon made more precise by a favourable move on the part of [James Edward] Sullivan, who had been one of the pillars of the recent Congress and whose loyalty now proved unshakeable.  He asked for instructions.  We could not hesitate.  An Olympiad may fail to be celebrated; its number remains.  This is the ancient tradition.  The Germans, who at that time believed in a rapid war and a sure victory, did not ask to be relieved of the Olympic mandate.  To make a move in favour of the United States or Scandinavia would have been to take a step whose outcome would have been difficult to foresee and to risk subsequent cracks in Olympic unity, without any advantage for anyone.  I therefore rejected any kind of action of this sort.”

The exact date when it was decided not to hold the 1916 Olympic Games has not been published in any available source.  But as late as mid-1915 the Germans were still making plans for the Olympics.  In March 1915, the DRAfOS reported to the IOC on its preparations, noting that “only nations allied with Germany and neutral countries would be invited.”

It was fortunate, given that ultimatum, that the Olympic Movement would wait until 1920 and Antwerp.

——————-

The above was modified from Appendix 4 from my book on the 1920 Olympic Games (with Tony Bijkerk) – The 1920 Olympic Games:  Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2001.

The following was Appendix 2 from my book on the 1920 Olympics (Jefferson, NC: McFarland Press, 1999). Seems very appropriate to reprint here on this weekend.

Slightly more than 6,000 athletes competed in the Olympic Games from 1896 to 1912.  They represented the “Youth of the World,” our best and brightest, most of them in the primes of their lives.  But when war broke out in 1914, the Olympians often represented those best able to serve their nations as soldiers.  Many of them did fight in World War I, but not all of them returned.  On the morning of the Opening Ceremony, 14 August 1920, Cardinal Mercier, gave a Te Deum mass in honor of the Olympian War dead.  Following are some of those poignant tales.

Canadian physician, soldier, and poet John McCrae published this famous poem in 1915 about the Allied dead buried in Belgium.

In Flanders Fields

John McCrae (1872-1918)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

 

We are the Dead.  Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields

 

Take up our quarrel with the foe;

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

******************

In 1904, Arthur Wear played tennis at the St. Louis Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the men’s doubles.

In the September 2000 issue of the Journal of Olympic History, June Wuest Becht wrote the following letter to the editor:

When I was growing up in St. Louis, my Father took me to Jefferson Memorial once a year to see the names of his fallen friends from WWI chiseled on the wall.  The Memorial was built with money left after St. Louis’ World’s Fair and Games of the Third Olympiad expenses were paid.

Listed with the dead for the 89th Division, 356th Infantry, is the name “Arthur Wear.”

My father had been a sergeant in the 89th Division, 354th Infantry and knew Captain Wear, an Olympian, who won a bronze medal in the tennis doubles competition with Clarence Gamble here in 1904.

Before my Father’s death in 1980, he gave me his history of the 89th Division, 1917, 1918, and 1919 (a part of the AEF and Army of Occupation).  He was with the Division for the entire time it was on duty on the USA, France, Belgium and Germany.

There I discovered an account of Captain Wear’s death which has never been published (p. 205).

“Trying to cross the Meuse near Pouilly on November 5, 1918.  The crossing could not be made at that time.

“Captain Wear had recently been discharged from the hospital and was weak and nervous.  His command had been through severe fighting and had had an exhausting march beginning in the early morning.  Evidently his mind gave way under the strain of the events and of his depleted physical condition.  He ordered his battalion to withdraw from its position along the railroad tracks and bank of the canal to a position in the woods above the town; he sent word to “Take command of the battalion” then going a little aside from his headquarters in the dismal woods, at about 3 o’clock in the morning (November 6) he ended his life by shooting himself in the head.  This was one of those tragedies of the war indicative of the frightful strain of the times.  Captain Wear’s abilities and courage had been tested in previous fighting and had given promise of a glorious career as a soldier.  As a result of his over-zeal in coming back to hard field service before he was physically fit, the Division lost one of its promising officers.”

The Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, just days after Captain Wear’s death.

His name appears in memory as a soldier not far from the tennis venue where he competed in the Olympic Games of 1904.

******************

In 1908, Wyndham Halswelle won the 400 metre race in one of the most controversial finishes in Olympic history.  In the original race, he was obstructed by John Carpenter of the United States and the race was ordered re-run, with Carpenter disqualified.  But the American team protested and did not feel Carpenter was at fault.  In protest, the other two finalists, both Americans, refused to run in the re-start and Halswelle walked over to win the gold medal.  Ian Buchanan wrote of him in British Olympians, “Wyndham Halswelle was a career Army officer, who tragically died from a sniper’s bullet in France while fighting World War I.”

******************

Octave Lapize competed in the 1908 Olympic Games as a cyclist, and won a bronze medal in the 100 kilometre track race.  He likely then became the greatest professional cyclist among former Olympians in the pre-War years.  Lapize won the Tour de France in 1910, Paris-Brussels 1911-1913, and Paris-Tours 1911, and is still the only person to have won Paris-Roubaix in three consecutive years – 1909-11.  A pilot in the French military, he was killed in a dogfight during World War I.

******************

Though Percival Molson failed to place in the 1904 400 metres, he would achieve his fame later, but it would cost him his life.  Molson, the great-grandson of John Molson, founder of Molson Breweries of Canada, attended McGill, from which he graduated in 1900, after serving as president of his senior class and gaining every athletic honor the university could offer.  When World War I broke out, he joined the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, and fought for them at the Battle of Mount Sorrel in 1916.  He was wounded during the battle and returned home, receiving the Military Cross for his efforts.  He insisted he be allowed to rejoin the company and on 5 July 1917, while fighting on the outskirts of Avion, France, he was hit by mortar fire while attempting to rescue a fallen friend.  Both were killed.  In his honor, the main athletic stadium at McGill University is known as the Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.

******************

With Rue My Heart is Laden

from A Shropshire Lad

A[lfred] E[dward] Housman (1859-1936)

 

With rue my heart is laden

For golden friends I had,

For many a rose-lipt maiden

And many a lightfoot lad.

 

By brooks too broad for leaping

The lightfoot boys are laid;

The rose-lipt girls are sleeping

In fields where roses fade.

******************

In 1912, the New Zealander, Tony Wilding, won a bronze medal in the men’s covered courts tennis singles.  It was a minor highlight of the career of the man who may still be considered New Zealand’s greatest ever tennis player.  Anthony Wilding attended Trinity College, Cambridge, and based himself in England.  He was Australian champion in 1907, Victorian champion in 1908-09, and won the singles at Wimbledon for four straight years, 1910-13.  He fought for the English during World War I and was killed by shellfire on the Western Front while serving as a captain in the Royal Marines.

******************

At the 1912 Olympic Games, athletics fans thrilled to the feats of Hannes Kolehmainen, who won the 5,000 metres, the 10,000 metres, and the cross-country.  But Kolehmainen’s greatest race was the 5,000 metres, where Frenchman Jean Bouin pushed him to his limit, with both breaking the world record, Kolehmainen finishing inches ahead of Boyin.  Jean Bouin became a foot soldier during World War I.  On 29 September 1914, Bouin was killed by an artillery shell that hit him squarely in the chest.  It was felt to be friendly fire.

******************

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Pete Seeger (1919- 2014)

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?

Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?

Where have all the flowers gone?

Gone to young girls, every one!

When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

 

Where have all the young girls gone, long time passing?

Where have all the young girls gone, long time ago?

Where have all the young girls gone?

Gone to young men, every one!

When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

 

Where have all the young men gone, long time passing?

Where have all the young men gone, long time ago?

Where have all the young men gone?

Gone to soldiers, every one!

When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

 

And where have all the soldiers gone, long time passing?

Where have all the soldiers gone, a long time ago?

Where have all the soldiers gone?

Gone to graveyards, every one!

When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

 

And where have all the graveyards gone, long time passing?

Where have all the graveyards gone, long time ago?

Where have all the graveyards gone?

Gone to flowers, every one!

When will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?

******************

In his book Who’s Who of UK & GB International Athletes 1896-1939, British Olympic historian Ian Buchanan noted the following British track & field Olympians who made the final sacrifice during World War I.

Anderson, Gerard           (ATH-1912) (*15 Mar 1889 – †09 Nov 1914)  Killed in action 9 Nov 1914 while serving with the Cheshire Regiment.

Anderson, William (ATH-1906)  (†4.1915)  Killed in action April 1915 while serving as a private with the Canadian contingent.

Ashington, Henry           (ATH-1912) (*25 Sep 1891 – †31 Jan 1917)  Killed in action  while serving with the East Yorkshire Regiment.

Astley, Arthur  (ATH-1908)  (†1916)   Killed in action.

Butterfield, George  (ATH-1908)  (*1882 – †17 Oct 1917)  Killed in action while serving as a gunner with the Royal Field Artillery.

Chavasse, Noël  (ATH-1908)  (*9 Nov 1884 – †04 Aug 1917)  one of only three men to have been awarded a bar to the Victoria Cross.  Served as a captain in the RAMC he was first awarded the VC in 1916 and awarded the bar, posthumously, in 1917.  Killed in action Brandhoek, Ypres, France.

Flaxman, Alfred  (ATH-1908)  (*1 Oct 1879 – †01 Jul 1916)  Killed in action in an attack on the enemy positions at Gommercourt, France.

Hawkins, George  (ATH-1908)  (*13 Oct 1883 – †22 Sep 1917)  Served as a gunner in the Royal Artillery.  Killed in action when a shell exploded in the doorway of a dugout while he was on outpost duty.

Hutson, George  (ATH-1912)  (*22 Dec 1889 – †14 Sep 1914)  Killed in action as a regular soldier with the Royal Sussex Regiment.

Kitching, Frederick  (ATH-1908)  (*7 Jul 1886 – †1914)  Killed in action in Dunkirk, France.

Leeke, Henry     GBR ATH-1908 15 Nov 1879 29 May 1915)  Killed in action in France on the eve of his battalion’s departure for Gallipoli.  Served with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

Macintosh, Henry  (ATH-1912)  (*10 Jun 1892 – †26 Jul 1918)  Commissioned into the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders and was killed in action on the Somme.

Patterson, Alan  (ATH-1908/12)  (*12 Mar 1886 – †4 Mar 1916)  Killed in action in France.

Roche, James  (ATH-1908)  (*1886 – †07 Jun 1917)  Served as a lieutenant with the Royal Engineers and won an MC in WWI, before being killed in action in France.

Wilson, Harold  (ATH-1908)  (*22 Jan 1885 – †1916)  Killed in action in France.

Yorke, Richard  (ATH-1908/12)  (*28 Jul 1885 – †22 Dec 1914)  Killed in action in France while serving as a sergeant in the London Scottish.

Buchanan also sent a clipping concerning Charles Rought  (GBR; ROW-1912) who died on 31 January 1918.  It noted, “The unluckiest of all, however, was probably Charles Rought.  A prisoner of war almost from the beginning, he died after eating a bad oyster while waiting to be demobilized after his release, and so technically his death occurred while on active service.  Requiescant in Pace.”

******************

There were certainly many others, but many of their stories have never been told.  In his excellent series of books entitled Olympische Sommerspiele, Volker Kluge lists the Olympic athletes who died in World War I.  In addition to Kluge’s lists, Ian Buchanan has done research on the British athletes who died in World War I.  The following list combines the research of these two prominent Olympic historians.  Listed after the name are the nation, the Olympic sport and year of competing in the Olympics, followed by the dates of birth and death.

Alexander, Gordon  (GBR; FEN-1912)  (*1888 – †24 Apr 1917)

Aho, Paavo  (FIN; ATH-1912)  (*21 Dec 1891 – †04 Mar 1918)

Alibert, Gaston  (FRA; FEN-1908)  (*1883 – †26 Dec 1917)

Almqvist, Anders  (SWE; ROW-1912)  (*1885 – †30 Nov 1915)

Bartholomae, Fritz  (GER; ROW-1912)  (*29 Oct 1886 – †1915)

Békessy, Béla  (HUN; FEN-1912)  (*16 Nov 1875 – †06 Jul 1916)

Bellin du Coteau, Marc  (FRA; ATH-1906)  (*1883 – †1915)

Bentham, Isaac  (GBR; WAP-1912)  (*27 Oct 1886 – †ca1914-18)

Bieberstein, Arno  (GER; SWI-1908)  (*17 Oct 1886 – †04 Oct 1918)

Bouin, Jean (FRA; ATH-1912)  (*21 Dec 1888 – †29 Sep 1914)

Braathe, Julius  (NOR; SHO-1906/12)  (*4 May 1876 – †08 Jul 1914)

Braun, Hanns  (GER; ATH-1912)  (*26 Oct 1886 – †09 Oct 1918)

Brebner, Ronald  (GBR; FTB-1912)  (*23 Sep 1882 – †11 Nov 1914)

Bretting, Kurt  (GER; SWI-1912)  (*8 Jun 1892 – †30 May 1918)

Burkowitz, Hermann  (GER; ATH-1912)  (*31 Jan 1892 – †11.1914)

Burn, Thomas  (GBR; FTB-1912)  (*1888 – †1916)

Bury, Edmund  (GBR; RAQ-1908)  (*4 Nov 1884 – †04 Dec 1915)

Carver, Oswald  (GBR; ROW-1908)  (*2 Feb 1887 – †07 Jun 1915)

Caulle, Joseph  (FRA; ATH-1912)  (*3 May 1885 – †ca1914-18)

Chaffe, Walter  (GBR; TOW-1912)  (*2 Apr 1870 – †22 Apr 1918)

Chalmers, Ralph  (GBR; FEN-1908)  (*13 Jan 1891 – †10 May 1915)

Coles, Geoffrey  (GBR; SHO-1908)  (*13 Mar 1871 – †27 Jan 1916)

Cooper, Robert  (GBR; GYM-1906)  (†Mar 1918)

Crank, Harry  (GBR; DIV-1908)  (*1885 – †23 Oct 1917)

Crowther, Herbert  (GBR; CYC-1906/08)  (*1882 – †1916)

Cumming, Arthur  (GBR; FSK-1908)  (*8 May 1889 – †08 May 1914)

Davies, Robert  (GBR; SHO-1912)  (*10 Dec 1876 – †09 Sep 1916)

Dines, Joseph  (GBR; FTB-1912)  (*12 Apr 1886 – †27 Sep 1918)

Donners, Herman  (BEL; WAP-1908/12)  (*5 Aug 1888 – †1915)

Drescher, Ludwig  (DEN; FTB-1908)  (*21 Jul 1881 – †14 Jul 1917)

Duffy, Edward  (RSA; ATH-1908)  (*6 Jun 1883 – †19 Oct 1918)

Duffy, James  (CAM; ATH-1912)  (*1 May 1890 – †23 Apr 1915)

Erickson, Charles  (USA; WRE-1904)  (*1875 – †23 Feb 1916)

Escombe, Lionel  (GBR; TEN-1908)  (*1875 – †15 Oct 1914)

Fairbairn, George  (GBR; ROW-1908)  (*18 Aug 1888 – †20 Jun 1915)

Flameng, Leon  (FRA; CYC-1896)  (*1877 – †1917)

Fogelmark, Ragnar  (SWE; WRE-1912)  (*15 Mar 1888 – †20 Sep 1914)

Fóti, Samu  (HUN; ATH-1912)  (*6 Nov 1884 – †17 Jun 1916)

Gillespie, Thomas  (GBR; ROW-1912)  (*14 Dec 1892 – †18 Oct 1914)

Goldsmith, Henry  (GBR; ROW-1908)  (*22 Jul 1885 – †09 May 1915)

Gönczy, Lajos  (HUN; ATH-1900)  (*24 Feb 1881 – †1914)

Goßler, Carl  (GER; ROW-1900)  (*17 Apr 1885 – †09 Sep 1914)

Grantz, Gunnar  (NOR; ROW-1912)  (*27 Jan 1885 – †1916)

Haagensen, Karl Johan  (NOR; GYM-1906)  (*26 Mar 1871 – †25 Aug 1918)

Halme, Juho  (FIN; ATH-1908/12)  (*24 May 1888 – †01 Feb 1918)

Healy, Cecil  (AUS; SWI-1912)  (*28 Nov 1881 – †29 Aug 1918)

Herrmann, Max  (GER; ATH-1912)  (*17 Mar 1885 – †29 Jan 1915)

Hestdahl, Mikael  (NOR; WRE-1912)  (*13 Nov 1890 – †11 Nov 1918)

Hoben, John  (USA; ROW-1904)  (*1884 – †06 Jul 1915)

Irgens, Emil  (NOR; ROW-1908)  (*2 Aug 1883 – †13 Jul 1918)

January, John  (USA; FTB-1904)  (*6 Mar 1882 – †01 Dec 1917)

Jesinghaus, Walter  (GER; GYM-1912)  (*10 Oct 1887 – †1918)

Johnstone, Albert  (RSA; SHO-1912)  (*7 Sep 1878 – †23 Jul 1918)

Kenna, Paul  (GBR; EQU-1912)  (*16 Aug 1862 – †30 Aug 1915)

Kolehmainen, David “Tatu”  (FIN; WRE-1912)  (*10 Sep 1885 – †1918)

Laing, Ivan  (GBR; HOK-1908)  (*18 Aug 1885 – †30 Nov 1917)

Larsen, Edvard  (NOR; ATH-1908/12)  (*27 Oct 1881 – †11 Sep 1914)

Laws, Gilbert  (GBR; SAI-1908)  (*6 Jan 1870 – †03 Dec 1918)

Legat, Manlio  (ITA; ATH-1912)  (*30 Aug 1889 – †18 Sep 1915)

Lehmann, Erich  (GER; ATH-1912)  (*12 Sep 1890 – †ca1914-18)

Leiblee, Clark  (USA; ATH-1900)  (*2 Nov 1877 – †20 Aug 1917)

Lindh, Erik  (FIN; SAI-1912)  (*1 May 1865 – †01 Dec 1914)

Lönnberg, Ivan  (SWE; ATH-1912)  (*12 Nov 1891 – †26 Apr 1918)

Lützow, Wilhelm  (GER; SWI-1912)  (*19 May 1892 – †1917)

Mackinnon, Duncan  (GBR; ROW-1908)  (*29 Sep 1887 – †09 Oct 1917)

Maclagan, Gilchrist  (GBR; ROW-1908)  (*5 Oct 1879 – †25 Apr 1915)

Mannström, Bror  (SWE; MOP-1912)  (*26 Oct 1884 – †19 Jul 1916)

Martens, Hermann  (GER; CYC-1908)  (*16 Apr 1877 – †1916)

Mickler, Alfred Georg  (GER; ATH-1912)  (*7 Sep 1892 – †14 Jun 1915)

Molinié, Henri  (FRA; ATH-1906)  (*1874 – †1918)

Mudin, Imre  (HUN; ATH-1908/12)  (*8 Nov 1887 – †23 Oct 1918)

Mudin, István  (HUN; ATH-1906/08)  (*16 Oct 1881 – †22 Jul 1918)

Nejedlÿ, ArnoWt  (BOH; ATH-1906)  (*1883 – †1917)

Nerali¢, Milan  (AUT; FEN-1900)  (*26 Feb 1875 – †17 Feb 1918)

Nilsson, Calle  (SWE; ATH-1912)  (*18 May 1888 – †23 Jun 1915)

Odberg, Frank  (BEL; ROW-1900)  (†1917)

Ommundsen, Harcourt  (GBR; SHO-1908/12)  (*23 Nov 1878 – †1915)

Pedersen, Oluf  (DEN; GYM-1906/12)  (*14 Mar 1878 – †08 Mar 1917)

Pédery, Ärpád  (HUN; GYM-1912)  (*1 Feb 1891 – †21 Oct 1914)

Person, Julius  (GER; ATH-1912)  (*1 May 1889 – †ca1914-18)

Persson, Martin  (SWE; ATH-1912)  (*13 Oct 1886 – †13 Feb 1918)

Petersdorff, Herbert von  (GER; WAP-1900)  (*2 Jan 1882 – †1917)

Pohl-Polenskÿ, Bohuslav  (BOH; ATH-1906)  (*1881 – †1916)

Powell, Kenneth  (GBR; TEN-1912)  (*8 Apr 1885 – †18 Feb 1915)

Pridmore, Reginald  (GBR; HOK-1908)  (*29 Apr 1886 – †13 Mar 1918)

Robinson, John  (GBR; HOK-1908)  (*6 Aug 1885 – †23 Aug 1916)

Romano, Guido  (ITA; GYM-1908/12)  (*31 Jan 1887 – †18 Jun 1916)

Rowland, Arthur  (NZL; ATH-1908)  (*26 Oct 1885 – †23 Jul 1918)

Salmon, Gaston  (FRA; FEN-1912)  (*1878 – †1917)

Salomez, Maurice  (FRA; ATH-1900)  (†1916)

Sanderson, Ronald  (GBR; ROW-1908)  (*11 Dec 1876 – †17 Apr 1918)

Schneidereit, Heinrich  (GER; WLT-1906)  (*23 Dec 1884 – †30 Sep 1915)

Soalhat, Michel  (FRA; ATH-1906)  (*1874 – †25 Sep 1915)

Somers-Smith, John  (GBR; ROW-1908)  (*15 Dec 1887 – †01 Jul 1916)

Spiedl, Zoltán  (HUN; ATH-1900)  (*17 Mar 1880 – †03 Jul 1917)

Spitzer, Roger  (USA; ATH-1908)  (*21 Sep 1885 – †20 Mar 1916)

Steuernagel, Curt  (GER; GYM-1908)  (*1886 – †30 Jul 1918)

Sztantics, György  (HUN; ATH-1906)  (*19 Aug 1878 – †09 Jul 1918)

Tietgens, Waldemar  (GER; ROW-1900)  (*26 Mar 1879 – †28 Jul 1917)

Tsiklitaras, Konstantin  (GRE; ATH-1912)  (*1888 – †1913)

Vigurs, Charles  (GBR; GYM-1908/12)  (*11 Jul 1888 – †22 Feb 1917)

Viljamaa, Kalle  (FIN; WRE-1912)  (*15 Feb 1885 – †28 Mar 1918)

von Blixen-Finecke, Hans Gustaf, Sr.  (SWE; EQU-1912)  (*25 Jul 1886 – †26 Sep 1917)

von Gaza, Bernhard  (GER; ROW-1908)  (*6 May 1881 – †25 Sep 1917)

von Las-Torres, Béla  (HUN; SWI-1908)  (*20 Apr 1890 – †13 Oct 1915)

von Lütcken, Eduard  (GER; EQU-1912)  (*26 Oct 1882 – †15 Sep 1914)

von Preußen, Friedrich Karl, Prince  (GER; EQU-1912)  (*6 Apr 1893 – †1917)

Vosbergen, Ary  (NED; ATH-1908)  (*10 Jun 1882 – †14 Nov 1918)

Watzl, Rudolf  (AUT; WRE-1906)  (*14 Apr 1882 – †15 Aug 1915)

Whittindale, Raymond  (GBR; RUG-1900)  (*1883 – †09 Apr 1915)

Wilde, Arthur  (GBR; SHO-1908)  (†1916)

Wilhelm, Richard  (GER; ATH-1908)  (*1888 – †1917)

Willems, Victor  (BEL; FEN-1912)  (*1877 – †1918)

Wilson, Arthur  (GBR; RUG-1908)  (*29 Dec 1886 – †01 Jul 1917)

Wilson, Herbert  (GBR; POL-1908)  (*14 Feb 1875 – †11 Apr 1917)

Zulavszky, Béla  (HUN; FEN-1908/12)  (*23 Oct 1869 – †24 Oct 1914)

*****************

To An Athlete Dying Young

A[lfred] E[dward] Housman (1859-1936)

from A Shropshire Lad

 

The time you won town your race,

We chaired your through the marketplace.

Man and boy stood cheering by,

And home we brought you shoulder high.

 

Today the road all runners come,

Shoulder high we bring you home

And set you at your threshold down,

Townsman of a stiller town.

 

Smart lad to slip betimes away

From fields where glory does not stay.

For quickly though the laurel grows,

It withers quicker than a rose.

 

Eyes the shady night has shut

Cannot see the record cut.

And silence sounds no worse than cheers,

After earth has stopped the ears.

 

Now you will not swell the rout,

Of lads who wore their honors out.

Runners whom renown outran,

And the name died before the man.

 

So set before the echoes fade,

That fleet foot on the sill of shade,

And hold to that low lintel up,

The still defended challenge cup.

 

And round that early laureled head

Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,

And find untarnished the its curls,

A garland briefer than a girls.

In 1919, a prelude to the 1920 Olympic Games took place on the outskirts of Paris.  These were the 1919 Inter-Allied Games and they had their origins in 1910 in the Philippine Islands.  In that year, Elwood S. Brown was sent to the Philippines as the Physical Director of the American YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association).  His charge was to build up sporting activities among the American civilian population and eventually the Filipino natives.  Brown was successful and was also instrumental in helping convince the Filipinos to compete in the first Far Eastern Games in 1919.  Through Brown’s efforts, sports became much more popular in the Far East.

In April 1918, Elwood Brown requested war service and was shipped to France as one of the YMCA athletic directors.  As the war neared an end, Brown sought a way to bring the soldiers of the many nations “together in order that they might know each other face to face and thus lay the foundations for those enduring friendships which can come only from personal contact and which, in this case, were of such fundamental importance to the future welfare of the world.”

In October 1918, Elwood Brown sent a letter to Colonel Bruce Palmer, the First Section of the General Staff, G.H.Q., A.E.F., whose subject was “Proposed Athletic Program for Demobilization Period.”  Brown made four suggestions in his letter, as follows:

1. Great mass games and play for every possible man – “Athletics for everybody.”
2. Official A.E.F. championships in a wide variety of competitive sports including military events, beginning with elimination regimental contests, ranging upwards through the divisions, possibly the army corps, and culminating in great finals in Paris.
3. Physical pageants and demonstrations to be held in many centers demonstrating to our allied friends America’s best in sport, her great play spirit and incidentally her finest in physical manhood.
4. Interallied athletic contests – open only to soldiers of the Allied Armies – a great set of military Olympic Games.

And thus was born the Inter-Allied Games.  They were truly considered a military Olympic Games.  The only requirement for entry was that all competitors had to have been an officer or an enlisted man in one of the Allied military forces.  The entry asked, “Were you a soldier in the Great War?”  The eligibility rules noted that “Each nation participating may enter any officer, non-commissioned officer or private soldier, who has at any time between 4 August 1914 and 11 November 1918 been a member of the military forces of that nation.”

The invitation to nations was sent on 9 January 1919 by General John J. Pershing, the Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF).  The letter read as follows:

AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES

Office of the Commander In Chief

January 10, 1919

Sir:

The officers and men of the American Expeditionary Forces, being keenly appreciative of the splendid relations which exist among those who have borne arms in a great, common cause, and which, in the present instance, have so happily developed into such deep feelings of mutual respect and admiration, are most anxious to preserve and strengthen this relationship in every way possible.

Now that active military operations have ceased, they believe that nothing could be more conducive to this end than to gather in friendly competition on the field of sport, representatives of the Armies of each of the nations which have so long been associated together in the stern struggle for right.

Accordingly, they have decided to organize an Inter-Allied Athletic Meeting, to be held in the Colombes Stadium, Paris, during the month of May or June, 1919, in which the officers and men of all of these Armies shall be eligible to take part.

As Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, I have the honor, therefore, to invite, through you as their Commander-in-Chief, the officers and men of the armies of France to participate in these contests and to express the earnest hope that many of them may do so, so that the ties of the much cherished spirit of comradeship which have spring from the gallant joint effort of our forces on the battlefield may thus be even more closely cemented.

Respectfully,

JOHN J. PERSHING

Twenty-nine Allied nations were invited to compete in Paris.  The invited nations were:

Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hedjaz, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Siam, and South Africa.

Hedjaz was a Kingdom on the Arabian Peninsula that later became a part of Saudi Arabia.

Of these, eventually eighteen nations competed at the Inter-Allied Games.

Australia, Belgium, British Army of the Rhine, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hedjaz, Italy, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, and United States.

A Games Committee was formed, which consisted of five members:

Col. Wait S. Johnson, G.S., Lt. Col. D. M. Goodrich, G.S., Lt. Col. T. C. Lonergan, G.S., Mr. Elwood S. Brown, YMCA, Mr. W. A. Reynolds, YMCA

The Games Committee planned the following program:

Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Equestrian Competition, Fencing, Football (Association/Soccer), Football, Rugby, Football, American, Golf – individual and team, Rowing, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, Track & Field Athletics, Tug-of-War, Water Polo, Wrestling – Catch-as-Catch Can, and Wrestling – Greco-Roman,

Eventually, not all of the scheduled events were held.  Notably, there was no American football competition.  A few events were also added to the above program.

The Inter-Allied Games took place at the Pershing Stadium, which was situated near Paris.  It was on the eastern edge of the Bois de Vincennes on the ancient highway between Vincennes and Joinville-le-Pont.  Originally the Games were to have been held in the Colombes Stadium in Paris, where the 1924 Olympic Games would take place.  But the Colombes Stadium was felt to favor the American athletes unfairly and it was not used as the main venue.  Instead, it was decided to build a new stadium, which became the Pershing Stadium.  Incredibly the construction began only on 11 April 1919 and was completed within 60 days.  The stadium seated 25,000 spectators.

The Inter-Allied Games began on 22 June 1919, with an Opening Ceremony in the Stadium.  They were formally opened by Monsieur Leygues, the French Minister of the Navy.  The Games lasted for exactly two weeks, ending on 6 July 1919.  While most of the events took place in the Pershing Stadium, there were other venues used as well.

Swimming took place in the St. James Lake in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.  The equestrian competition was held at Chennevières.  The fencing was conducted at the École d’Éscrime in Joinville.  Rugby football took place at Colombes Field in Paris.  The golf matches were held on the La Boulie Course on the outskirts of Paris.  Tennis competition occurred at the Racing Club de Paris and Stade Français de Paris.  Shooting was conducted far removed from Paris, at the d’Auvours range near Le Mans.

The 1919 Inter-Allied Games ended on Sunday, 6 July.  Two events were held that day – a baseball game between the United States and Canada, and the light-heavyweight boxing final.  The baseball game was ended prematurely, with the United States leading 12-1.  Canada agreed to stop the game to allow the Closing Ceremony to take place in the Pershing Stadium.  General Pershing presided and received all the champions in the Tribune d’Honneur, awarding them their prizes.  The Ceremony ended with the formal lowering the flags of the Allied Nations.

The champions of the 1919 Inter-Allied Games were as follows:[table]

Baseball,,USA

Basketball,,USA

Boxing

Bantamweight,Pvt. Albert Evans,AUS

Featherweight,Louis De Ponthieu,FRA

Lightweight,Bennie McNeil,USA

Welterweight,Sgt. Joe Attwood,CAN

Middleweight,Edward Eagan,USA

Light-Heavyweight,Sgt. Ermino Spalla,ITA

Heavyweight,Bob Martin,USA

Equestrian Events

Military Riding – Individual,Maj. Joseph De Soras,FRA

Military Riding – Team,France

Show Jumping – Individual,Maj. Ruggero Ubertalli,ITA

Show Jumping – Pairs,Maj. Giacomo Antonelli/Capt. Alessandro Alvisi,ITA

Fencing

Foil Individual,Lt. Nedo Nadi,ITA

Foil Team,,FRA

Épée Individual,Sgt. E. Henri Laurent,FRA

Épée Team,,FRA

Sabre Individual,NCO Vincent Gillens,BEL

Sabre Team,,ITA

Football/Soccer,,TCH

Football Rugby,,FRA

Golf Individual,Arnaud Massy,FRA

Golf Team,,FRA

Rowing

Single Sculls,Sgt. Clarence d’Arcy Hadfield,NZL

Coxed Fours,,FRA

Coxed Eight,,GBR

Shooting

Military Rifle Individual,1st Sgt. Stanley Smith,USA

Military Rifle Team,,USA

Pistol Shooting Individual,Master Sgt. Michael Kelley,USA

Pistol Shooting Team,,USA

Swimming

100 metre freestyle,2nd Lt. Norman Ross,USA

400 metre freestyle,2nd Lt. Norman Ross,USA

800 metre freestyle,2nd Lt. Norman Ross,USA

1500 metre freestyle,2nd Lt. Norman Ross,USA

100 metre backstroke,2nd Lt. Norman Ross,USA

200 metre breaststroke,H. Sommer,FRA

4 x 200 metre freestyle relay,,AUS

Tennis Singles,Lt. André Gobert,FRA

Tennis Doubles,Capt. Pat O’Hara-Wood/Bombdr. Randolph Lycett,AUS

Tennis Team,,AUS

Track & Field Athletics

100 metres,2nd Lt. Charles Paddock,USA

200 metres,2nd Lt. Charles Paddock,USA

400 metres,1st Lt. Earl Eby,USA

800 metres,Sgt. Daniel Mason,NZL

1500 metres,2nd Lt. Clyde Stout,USA

Modified Marathon,Pvt. Jean Vermeulen,FRA

110 metre hurdles,1st Lt. Robert Simpson,USA

200 metre hurdles,1st Lt. Robert Simpson,USA

4 x 200 metre relay,,USA

4 x 400 metre relay,,USA

Medley relay,,USA

High Jump,Lt. Clint Larson,USA

Pole Vault,2nd Lt. Florin Floyd,USA

Long Jump,Pvt. Sol Butler,USA

Standing Long Jump,2nd Lt. William Taylor,USA

Triple Jump,1st Lt. Herbert Prem,USA

Shot Put,2nd Lt. Edward Caughey,USA

Discus Throw,Sgt. Charles Higgins,USA

Javelin Throw,2nd Lt. George Bronder,USA

Pentathlon,Cpl. Robert LeGendre,USA

Cross-Country Individual,Pvt. Jean Vermeulen,FRA

Hand-Grenade Throwing,Chaplain Fred Thompson,USA

800 metre relay Armies of Occupation,,FRA

Long Jump Armies of Occupation,Capt. John Madden,USA

Tug-of-War,,USA

Water Polo,,BEL

Wrestling – Catch-as-Catch Can

Bantamweight,Frank Slinger,USA

Featherweight,Carl Lilejahault,USA

Lightweight,George Metropolis,USA

Welterweight,Cal Farley,USA

Middleweight,William Prehm,USA

Light-Heavyweight,Ralph Parcault,USA

Heavyweight,Chevalier ….. Salvator,FRA

Wrestling – Greco-Roman

Bantamweight,….. Wiseman,USA

Featherweight,Henri Diereckx,BEL

Lightweight,Cpl. Joseph Beranek,TCH

Welterweight,Pvt. Karel Halik,TCH

Middleweight,Pvt. Louis Van Antwerpen,BEL

Light-Heavyweight,Sgt. Maj. Frant Kopriva,SRB

Heavyweight,Mstr. Gunner François Bechard,FRA

[/table]

This post was modified from an Appendix to my book on the 1920 Olympic Games: The 1920 Olympic Games:  Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2001.