Football at the 1904 Summer Olympics
Men's association football (soccer) was contested at the 1904 Summer Olympics. A total of three club teams competed, two representing the United States, both from host city St. Louis, and one representing Canada, from Galt (now Cambridge), Ontario.[1] Originally two other Canadian teams had also been scheduled for the competition, Berlin Rangers and the University of Toronto, but both withdrew before the competition.[2]
Tournament details | |
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Host country | United States |
Dates | November 16–23, 1904 |
Teams | 3 |
Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
Final positions | |
Champions | |
Runners-up | |
Third place | |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 4 |
Goals scored | 13 (3.25 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | (3 goals each) |
The 1904 Olympic Games were spread over several months, linked to the St. Louis World's Fair, and football, in November, was the last sport to be contested. The tournament was played as a straight round-robin, although the game between Christian Brothers College and St. Rose Parish was replayed due to a draw in their first game.[3]
Gold medals were awarded at these Olympics for the first time. Galt F.C. (Canada) won the gold medal, Christian Brothers College (United States) the silver, and St. Rose Parish (United States) the bronze. These results are the best that either Canada or the United States have achieved in men's Olympic football. The 1904 contest is considered to be an official contest by IOC,[4] although not by FIFA because no national teams were involved in the competition.[2]
Venue
Squads
Matches
Galt F.C. had little difficulty with either of the U.S. squads, defeating them both without conceding a goal. The U.S. teams played a scoreless draw before Christian Brothers College won a rematch against St. Rose Parish, 2–0.
Christian Brothers College | 0–7 | |
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Report | Hall McDonald Steep T. Taylor |
St. Rose Parish | 0–4 | |
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Report (1) Report (2) |
T. Taylor Hendersen Sinclair |
Team details | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Christian Brothers College | 0–0 | |
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Report |
Christian Brothers College | 2–0 | |
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? |
Report |
Final ranking
Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
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1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | +11 | 4 | |
2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 2 | |
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -6 | 0 |
Medal summary
Medal table
According to a report in the Toronto Mail and Empire newspaper of November 18, 1904, medals were awarded to the players in St. Louis. The report states that "Immediately after the game, the Galt aggregation, numbering about 50 persons, retired to the office of James E. Sullivan, chief of the Department of Physical Culture, where they received their prize. After a talk by Mr. James A. Conlon, of the Physical Culture Department, Mayor Mundy, of the City of Galt, presented each player on the winning team with a beautiful gold medal." The medal awarded to Fred Steep of Galt, held by The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum in Vaughan, Ontario, clearly shows that the medals were made in St. Louis, Missouri.
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
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1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Totals (2 nations) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Medalists
References
- 1904-11 Men’s Olympic Football Tournament on Canada Soccer website
- Men's Olympic football tournament on FIFA.com
- Games of the III. Olympiad - Football Tournament on the RSSSF
- St. Louis 1904 football men on IOC website