1924 Paris Summer Games
3,092 Athletes, 45 Countries, 126 Events
President of the IOC and father of the modern Olympics, French
baron Pierre de Coubertin, was to retire in 1925.
He was pleased, however, that his native France had another chance
to host the Olympics before he was gone hoping they could make up
for the debacle that was the 1900 Paris Games.
Three more traditions were introduced in 1924. First, the first
Winter Games were held early in the year in Chamonix, France the
country hosting the Summer Olympics had a right to host the Winter
Games as well. At the closing ceremony, three flags were raised
that of the IOC, the host country's flag, and the flag of the
country that hosts the next Games. Finally, 'Citius, Altius,
Fortius' (Swifter, Higher, Stronger) became the official Olympic
motto. An incredible number of Ivy athletes, 54, lived up to this
Olympic motto at the Games, and long after.
For the first time in Olympic history, at least one athlete from
all eight Ivy schools returned home with a medal. Francis
Hussey (Columbia '31) was only a high school student when
he competed in Paris, but he still led the United States
4x100-meter relay team to a gold medal by beating British 100-meter
gold medallist and subject of 'Chariots of Fire' Harold
Abrahams on the first leg.
Francis T. 'Frank' Hunter (Cornell '16) won the
Wimbledon doubles championship with Vincent Hunter
in 1924. The pair kept up their dominance by winning the gold medal
in Paris. Owner of five grand slam doubles or mixed doubles titles,
Hunter was enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in
1961.
Frederick Morgan Taylor (Dartmouth '25) set a
world record of 52.6 in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1924 Games.
But he knocked down one hurdle making his time unofficial. In the
long jump competition, Edward O. Gourdin (Harvard
'23) finished in second place to William DeHart
Hubbard who was the first African-American to win an
individual gold medal. In 1958, Gourdin was the first
AfricanAmerican named to the Massachusetts Supreme Court.
All the other Ivy Olympians paled in comparison to the Yale
heavyweight varsity eight crew that was selected to represent the
United States in Paris. Not only did they beat their competition by
a whopping 15 seconds, many members of the boat would lead
successful lives after the Olympics.
They became lawyers, corporate executives, and educators.
James Stillman Rockefeller '24 was on that boat. A
paternal grandson of William Rockefeller, who
started the family fortune with his brother John, James
Stillman Rockefeller is alive and well today the United
States' oldest living gold medal winner. He was a banking
executive, leading the corporation that today is known as
Citibank.
Rockefeller's teammate Dr. Benjamin Spock '25
is just as well known. Spock went to medical school after Yale, and
wrote The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. His
views were quite radical, but he worked hard to explain his
reasoning. Updated in many editions since its premiere in 1946,
Spock's book is outsold only by the Bible worldwide. An antiwar
activist, Spock ran for president on a thirdparty ticket in
1972.
| Name |
School |
Sport |
| Lloyd Hahn |
Brown University |
Men's Athletics |
| Adam Smith |
Brown University |
Men's Swimming |
| John F. Spellman |
Brown University |
Men's Wrestling |
| Harold F. Bloomer |
Columbia University |
Men's Fencing |
| Francis Hussey |
Columbia University |
Men's Athletics |
| Philip W. Allison |
Cornell University |
Men's Fencing |
| E. J. Gignoux |
Cornell University |
Men's Fencing |
| Francis T. 'Frank' Hunter |
Cornell University |
Men's Tennis |
| Edward Kirby |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Joseph A. Lazarus |
Cornell University |
Men's Boxing |
| C. Milton MacWilliam, Jr. |
Cornell University |
Men's Wrestling |
| Alan Williams |
Cornell University |
Men's Rugby |
| Walter D. Wright |
Cornell University |
Men's Wrestling |
| Leroy T. Brown |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Athletics |
| Edwin E. Myers |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Athletics |
| Frederick Morgan Taylor |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Athletics |
| Burke Boyce |
Harvard University |
Men's Fencing |
| George H. Breed |
Harvard University |
Men's Fencing |
| Edward O. Gourdin |
Harvard University |
Men's Athletics |
| Thomas Hitchcock, Jr. |
Harvard University |
Men's Polo |
| William H. Russell |
Harvard University |
Men's Fencing |
| Willard L. Tibbetts, Jr. |
Harvard University |
Men's Athletics |
| John N. Watters |
Harvard University |
Men's Athletics |
| Lawrance A. Brown |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
| George L. Hill |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
| J. Oliver MacDonald |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
| Chauncey R. McPherson |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| Benjamin M. Owens |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
| J. Brooks B. Parker |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| Albert Rose |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
| Benjamin Rose |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Athletics |
| Harold A.R. Van Buskirk |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| Henry Breckenridge |
Princeton University |
Men's Fencing |
| Ralph Hills |
Princeton University |
Men's Athletics |
| William E. Stevenson |
Princeton University |
Men's Athletics |
| J. Coard Taylor |
Princeton University |
Men's Athletics |
| Leonard Carpenter |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| William Comins |
Yale University |
Men's Athletics |
| Edward Eagan |
Yale University |
Men's Boxing |
| Benjamin Funk |
Yale University |
Men's Boxing |
| Murray Gilitz |
Yale University |
Men's Boxing |
| Walter Goodwin |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| Kenneth Ives |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| Howard Kingsbury |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| A.D. Lindley |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| J. Lester Miller |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| Bayes Norton |
Yale University |
Men's Athletics |
| A. Hawley Peterson |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| Archie Quarrier |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| James Stillman Rockefeller |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| Frederick Sheffield |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| Benjamin Spock |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| Laurence Stoddard |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| Alfred M. Wilson |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |