1908 London Summer Games
2,035 Athletes, 22 Countries, 110 Events
Originally scheduled to take place in Rome, the Italian government
gave up the right to host the 1908 Games when Mt. Vesuvius erupted
in 1906. The IOC proceeded to let London hold the Games a very good
decision. With no World's Fair to distract from the competitions,
the London Games were starkly different from the poorly organized
1900 Paris and 1904 St. Louis Games.
Marching with the United States was John Baxter
Taylor (Penn '08). Little did he know at the time, Taylor
would become the first African-American to win a gold medal. His
Olympic experience started with what has been one of the most
controversial events in Olympic history the 1908 400-meter
race.
The 400-meter final included four men: Wyndham
Halswelle of Great Britain, and Americans William
Robbins, John C. Carpenter (Cornell '07),
and Taylor. In the homestretch, the race came down to Halswelle and
Carpenter. Officials contended that Carpenter obstructed
Halswelle's pursuit to take the lead, and ripped the finish line
tape before the race finished. The race was to be re-run without
Carpenter two days later. In a show of solidarity, Taylor and
Robbins refused to participate, leaving Halswelle to walk around
the track to earn the gold medal.
Taylor would later win his gold medal in the sprint medley
relay, the first relay race in Olympic history. The team, which
also included Taylor's Penn teammate and two-time Olympian
Nathaniel J. Cartmell, won the race by three
seconds, making Taylor the first African-American to win a gold
medal.
Taylor tragically passed away in December 1908, at the age of
26, from typhoid.
The London Games also featured the Olympic debut of Mike
'Big Greek' Dorizas (Penn '15) somewhat of a mythical
figure in University City as a three-sport (football, wrestling,
track and field) athlete who was once dubbed the strongest athlete
in the world. Dorizas competed in the javelin throw for his native
Greece. At Penn, he was known for his 29-inch thighs, the size of
an average freshman's waist, and for pinning wrestling opponents in
remarkable time.
Penn athletes were not the only successful Leaguers in London.
Dartmouth had its first-ever Olympians at the 1908 Games:
Arthur B. Shaw '08 and D.R.
Sherman. Shaw won the bronze medal in the 110-meter
hurdles. Six Cornell track and field athletes were at the Games
Edward Cook '10 won the pole vault gold medal and
Harry Porter '05 won the high jump gold medal.
George Dole (Yale '06) won the Ancient Eight's
first wrestling medal in the featherweight (63 kg) division. Dole
was merely a few inches over 5feet tall.
| Name |
School |
Sport |
| John C. Carpenter |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Edward Cook |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Charles M. French |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| John P. Halstead |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Harry Porter |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Lee Talbot |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Herbert L. Trube |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Arthur B. Shaw |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Athletics |
| Nathaniel A. Sherman |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Athletics |
| William Rand |
Harvard University |
Men's Athletics |
| Nathaniel J. Cartmell |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
| Michael Dorizas |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
| Lloyd P. Jones |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
| Thomas R. Moffit |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
| John Baxter Taylor |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
| J.L. Eisele |
Princeton University |
Men's Athletics |
| George Dole |
Yale University |
Men's Wrestling |
| A.C. Gilbert |
Yale University |
Men's Athletics |
| L.V. Howe |
Yale University |
Men's Athletics |