1959 Pan American Games

The third Pan American Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959.

III Pan American Games

Poster of the 1959 Pan American Games.
Host city	Chicago, United States
Nations	25
Athletes	2,263
Events	166 in 18 sports
Opening	August 27
Closing	September 7
Opened by	Milton S. Eisenhower[1]
Stadium	Soldier Field
← 1955 Mexico City 1963 São Paulo →

Alternative Spanish Logo

Host city selection

Main article: Bids for the 1959 Pan American Games

One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), along with three cities that withdrew their bids. On March 11, 1955, at the IV Pan American Congress in Mexico City, PASO selected Cleveland unanimously to host the III Pan American Games.[2][3][4]

On April 15, 1957, Cleveland asked PASO to be relieved of their assignment as the host city. Subsequently, both Guatemala City and Rio de Janeiro informed PASO that they would not be able to host the games either. Two cities came forward as candidates host the games, Chicago and São Paulo, and on August 3, 1957, Chicago was selected over São Paulo by a vote of 13 to 6.[2][5]

Organization

Once Chicago took over the game following Cleveland's withdrawal, there were 18 months left to organize the games. The games were held on-schedule nonetheless. The games were the first Pan American Games to be held in the Northern Hemisphere's summer. The previous two editions were held in March.[5]

The Games

The games opened on August 27, 1959, in sunny 90 °F (32 °C) heat before 40,000 people in Chicago, Illinois, United States at Soldier Field.

Medal table

  *   Host nation (United States)

Rank	USA	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)*	121	75	56	252
2	Argentina (ARG)	9	22	12	43
3	Canada (CAN)	6	20	27	53
4	Mexico (MEX)	6	10	15	31
5	Brazil (BRA)	6	6	2	14
6	Chile (CHI)	5	2	6	13
7	British West Indies (BWI)	2	4	7	13
8	Cuba (CUB)	2	4	5	11
9	Bahamas (BAH)	2	0	0	2
10	Venezuela (VEN)	1	7	7	15
11	Uruguay (URU)	1	3	4	8
12	Panama (PAN)	0	4	4	8
13	Peru (PER)	0	2	5	7
14	Puerto Rico (PUR)	0	2	4	6
15	Ecuador (ECU)	0	1	1	2
16	Haiti (HAI)	0	1	0	1
17	British Guiana (BGU)	0	0	3	3
18	Guatemala (GUA)	0	0	1	1
	Netherlands Antilles (AHO)	0	0	1	1
Totals (19 USAs)		161	163	160	484

Sports and Venues

Opening ceremonies at Soldier Field. Wrestler Mario Tovar González can be seen serving as Mexico's flag bearer.

Gymnasium at Navy Pier, site of the Gymnastics competition

• Athletics () at Soldier Field[6]
• Baseball () at Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park[7]
• Basketball () at Alumni Gymnasium (Men's) and Oak Park High School (Women's)[8][9]
• Boxing () at Northwest Armoury
• Cycling () at Gately Stadium temporary venue (Track Cycling)[10]
• Diving () at Portage Park
• Football () (soccer) at Hanson Stadium[11] and Soldier Field[12]
• Gymnastics () at Navy Pier[8]
• Modern pentathlon () at Waukegan Shooting Range (shooting), Great Lakes Naval Training Center (fencing), Independence Grove (equestrian show-jumping and cross-country running), and Portage Park (swimming)[7]
• Rowing () in the Cal-Sag Channel[7][8]
• Sailing () in Lake Michigan
• Swimming () at Portage Park[13]
• Tennis () at Lincoln Park Tennis Club[7]
• Volleyball () at Proviso High School[8]
• Water polo ()
• Weightlifting () at Chicago Vocational High School[14]
• Wrestling () at Reavis High School[8]

References

1. The Spokesman-Review - Google News Archive Search
2. Emery, Curtis Ray (1964). The History of the Pan American Games (Dissertation). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
3. "Cleveland Will Host 1959 Pan Am Games". Cedar Rapids Gazette. Mexico City, Mexico. AP. March 12, 1955. p. 5. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
4. "Cleveland Designada Sede para los Juegos Panamericanos del 59" [Cleveland Designated Headquarters for the Pan American Games of 59]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. UP. March 12, 1955. p. 17. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
5. Hersh, Phil (July 19, 1987). "Chicago-Style Pan Am Games". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
6. Ford, Liam T.A. Ford (October 1, 2009). Soldier Field: A Stadium and Its City. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
7. Dretske, Diana (December 8, 2008). "'59 Pan Am games brought Olympic-level competition to Lake Co". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
8. Gustkey, Earl (August 5, 1987). "PAN AM GAMES LEGACY: 1959 : It's Not Exactly Peace and Harmony". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
9. Lyke, Bill (August 29, 1959). "Drive Out to the Pan-Am Games!". Chicago Tribune. pp. B1. ProQuest 182386533.
10. "Chicago Historic Velodromes & 6-day venues". Retrieved July 5, 2014.
11. "05/09/1959 – Brasil 1 x 1 Argentina". jogosdaselecaobrasileira.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
12. "29/08/1959 – Brasil 4 x 2 Costa Rica". jogosdaselecaobrasileira.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
13. Pogorzelksi, Daniel; Maloof, John (2008). Portage Park. Charleston SC, Chicago IL, Portsmouth NH, San Francisco CA: Arcadia Publishing. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-7385-5229-3.
14. Lyke, Bill (August 29, 1959). "Drive Out to the Pan-Am Gamnes!". Chicago Tribune. pp. B1. ProQuest 182386533.

Preceded by Mexico City

III Pan American Games Chicago (1959)

Succeeded by São Paulo