Posted on 07/05/2026 11:53:08 AM PDT by jmaroneps37
The British did every dirty trick they could think of to cheat us out of victories in the 1908 Olympics in London but we still won anyway
America was supposed to lose the important Track and Field events in the 1908 Olympics in London, but we won anyway.
Here is the story that is lost in history.
Our struggles have not always been in wartime or even life or death conditions. Some of our most miraculous victories have been in athletic competitions. As close an ally as the United Kingdom is to us today, this warm friendship wasn’t always the case.
Before World War I the British were not particularly friendly towards us. Their understanding of what the world order should look like had not come around to seeing us as much more than a nation of barbaric cowboys with no social graces and certainly no intellectual giants of the type that roamed the halls of Oxford and Cambridge.
They also harbored a persistent belief in their athletic superiority over us, which they looked forward to displaying on the world stage during the summer Olympic Games of 1908.
As always in earlier days, America was represented at these games by a hurriedly put together team of athletes with more natural ability than formal training. The 1908 Summer Olympic Games, held in London, was no exception. In the majority of Track and Field events, the British were favored; and had an extra advantage because in that era the host country provided all the judges. The United Kingdom took full advantage of that rule. Perhaps because of the conduct of the British that year, every Olympic event since then has been judged by panels of judges representing a cross section of all the participating countries.
Most of our Track and Field athletes, competing in the most important events, were Irish men who had fled the control of the British and relocated to America. A few were New York City cops. That, plus the fact that the British defeat in The War of 1812 was less than a century away, had our British cousins in no mode to be fair and magnanimous to America. The British eagerly stacked the deck against us.
Their hostile feelings toward us were shown in many ways. When their King Edward declared the games open the stadium was adorned with the flags of all the participating countries except one. Our flag was not displayed.
Our British hosts said they could not find our flag! They were able to find a flag of the tiny Kingdom of Bohemia, but not old glory. Our team was further insulted with an assignment to march just ahead of a banner reading “British Colonies” with the United Kingdom contingent following immediately after it. The childish British thought this was great fun.
When we marched past the reviewing stand the reigning world record holder for the hammer throw, a transplanted Irishman and now a New York City cop, named Matt McGrath, refused to dip our flag to King Edward.
The British newspapers were stunned and demanded an apology. Another Irish New York City cop, world record discus thrower Martin Sheridan discussed the incident with McGrath, and they issued this famous response, “This flag dips to no earthly king.” We have never dipped our flag in an Olympic ceremony since. Not even Barack Obama had the nerve to have Old Glory dipped as our athletes marched by a reviewing stand.
These insults proved to be just the beginning of what was to come once the games began. For the 1500-meter race the British held private meetings to arrive at lane assignments. They put our runners in the same preliminary heats which led to them eliminating themselves.
The commissioner representing the United States, James E. Sullivan commented: “It is extraordinary bad luck or the manner in which the drawings have been made that has resulted in such unfavorable conditions for the Americans.” Sullivan continued, saying that when the British did reply to his questions about how the lane assignments were made all he got was, “The drawings are made in the usual way.” Although just two Americans were left to race against five Englishmen and a Canadian, we won that event anyway.
The British had two runners in the 800-meter race final. We qualified two runners; one was the eventual winner who set a new world record. That brought the track-and-field events point standing to: United States 75: United Kingdom fifty-six.
The next big event was the Tug-of-War which required precipitants to wear “everyday footwear” and disallowed the use of “prepared boots or shoes.” Unfortunately, the British team flaunted the rules. Their team was made up of Liverpool Bobbies who wore heavy steel rimmed boots when they worked. Their judges allowed them this advantage and they won that event.
The marathon, which is the Olympics’ ultimate event, turned into an embarrassment for the British when they made fools of themselves violating their own rules.
Our best hope was John J. Hayes who kept up a strong steady pace for the first twenty-five miles. By that point, the British only had a South African and an Italian to cheer for in hopes of beating Hayes. As the stadium loomed closer Hayes passed the South African but seemed destined to finish second. The Italian was still running strong and steady.
Hayes was still 50 seconds behind the Italian. He would not give up, but still a long way off with only a short distance to run. When the event moved to the track in the stadium it was a two-man race, but Hayes still had little chance of winning. The British fans were giddy about the coming victory of their “runner,” the Italian.
The British fans were content to root for the Italian as long as he was keeping the American from winning. Everything was looking fine for the Italian until only about 365 yards stood between him and the gold medal.
Suddenly the Italian began to stagger a bit and slow down. He actually stopped and began running in the opposite direction. All the while John Hayes was pounding the ground at a steady pace. When that happened the first of the breathtaking British violations of basic sportsmanship happened. When the Italian fell to his knees a British judge ran onto the track, picked him up and turned him in the right direction. All the while Hayes was pounding the ground and getting closer, but he was still behind.
Another judge joined the first one and they held the Italian up as they ran along with him. When they thought he was steady enough, the
y let him go but he fell again.
With that, any pretense of fairness or sportsmanship disappeared and they started to drag their man toward the finish line. In the meanwhile, Hayes kept pounding the ground at a steady pace. Unable to hold him up any longer, the “leader” fell again! In sheer panic Britain’s Chief Judge Jack Andrews, jumped into action. He ran onto the track, picked the Italian up and carried him to the finish line and a waiting ambulance. Hayes was just 30 seconds behind. The British fans went wild with cheers.
The cheers of the British fans had hardly subsided when the stink of the whole sad affair caused the results to be reversed. After about ninety minutes, with all of their excuses knocked down and no way to “make” the Italian the winner, the British gave in and declared our runner John J. Hayes the winner.
Hayes was awarded the gold medal. They tried mightily to deny us; but in the end, in the most important events of that long-ago summer’s games we won anyway.
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“were Irish men who had fled the control of the British and relocated to America”
Irish born athletes dominated the hammer at the Olympics until the 30s
Nice writing, I enjoyed the read.
“Flaunt” =/= “Flout”. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Is the book on Amazon? I checked but might be using the wrong key words.
And, of course, many of our British cousins nicely changed their opinion of us. I spent a year and a half in England in the late 60s. (Stationed, actually). Loved the country and the peeps.
Interesting read. It might be observed that track and field has had a lot less controversial calls made in them as the rules have changed with the growth of the games. Track and field is a time and distance set of sports that almost always create their own winners. An Olympic judge or employee would never be allowed on to the track to assist a runner now. So that has improved.
But over the years, other related sports within groups and expansions have been in question. Sports like figure skating, gymnastics, diving, equestrian and many other sports that have “judging” attached to them has generated the opportunity, and possibility, of drawing a conclusion that may not have been there. But there were still other ways of displaying obvious questions. Some blatant and ignored.
One such instance was when the summer Olympics were held in Canada. A female competitor not to have to submit to a sex test at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal was British Princess Anne. As a royal, she was the only female competitor not required to undergo the genetic gender checks that were standard for all other female athletes at the time.
But the rules committees keep busy with rules. Here are rules they dreamed up, some legit, others a bit stupid:
There’s a strict “no groin grabbing” rule in water polo. So, like, grab someone’s ~thingy~ and you’re outta there.
Also in water polo, players actually have toenail checks before they play.
In dressage, competitors can’t use their voice to control the horse. If they so much as click their tongue, they lose points big-time.
Rhythmic gymnasts, who compete with props like ribbons and hoops, better hope they don’t get it stuck in the ceiling — if they do, they can’t start their routine over.
Handkerchiefs are a MUST in wrestling — it’s required to have one on you at all times while competing.
Also until recently, gymnasts couldn’t wear colorful nail polish or nail art of any kind — if they did wear polish, it had to be neutral.
In gymnasts, there’s also super strict rules about the leotards they’re allowed to wear. Scoop necks or V-necks are a strict no-no.
In boxing, men have to shave their face.
There’s been LOTS of arguments about women’s beach volleyball uniforms. It was a rule that women had to compete in “bra-style tops and bikini bottoms.”
In archery, competitors only have 40 seconds of time between shots, and the arrow has to have the player’s name or initials on it.
If a swimmer breaks a world record, they have to use a fax machine or telegram to record it. Or else it doesn’t count.
Divers have to be “bold, high and confident” on the platform before diving. Any sense of doubt, and you lose points.
And finally, perhaps the most controversial rule: no form of protest is allowed during competition.
There are many more but I had fun finding them. See if you wish to look for the idiocy yourself. Makes you wonder what their second job was.
wy69
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