1904 World's Fair: Looking Back at Looking Forward

THE OLYMPICS

Silver medal for Tug of War event won by Charles Edward Rose, 1904 Olympics

1904 Olympics, Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Acc. # 1994.82.1. Missouri Historical Society Museum Collections. Photograph by Cary Horton, 2003. NS 27787. Photograph and scan © 2003, Missouri Historical Society.

DESCRIPTION

The 1904 Olympic Games were the first Olympics to be held in the United States. The official games took place August 29 through September 3, 1904, predominantly at Francis Field, the stadium on the campus of what is now Washington University.  Throughout the course of the World’s Fair, numerous other athletic events and contests occurred under the guise of the Olympics in order to boost the public’s interest and participation.

Tug of War, also known as rope pulling, directly pitted two teams against each other in a test of strength, and was an official event only at the 1904 Olympics.  Competitors for the St. Louis Southwest Turnverein Club questioned the fairness of the Milwaukee Athletic Club winning the gold because Milwaukee beat the St. Louis team using strong men who were not official members of their club.  The St. Louis team believed the Milwaukee team should have been disqualified, but the ruling stood and St. Louis was awarded the silver medal.

This silver medal belonged to Charles Edward Rose of the St. Louis Southwest Turnverein Club.