Football at the 1904 Summer Olympics

Football at the 1904 Summer Olympics

Tournament details
Host country	United States
City	St. Louis
Dates	16–23 November 1904
Teams	3
Venue(s)	Francis Olympic Field
Final positions
Champions	Galt (1st title)
Runners-up	Christian Brothers College
Third place	St. Rose Parish
Tournament statistics
Matches played	4
Goals scored	13 (3.25 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Alexander Hall Thomas Taylor (3 goals each)
← 1900 (1906) 1908 → 4 matches played includes 1 replay

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 entered in the competition, Berlin Rangers and the University of Toronto, but both withdrew before the draw.^[2]

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]

Teams entered

•  Canada (14)
  • Galt F.C.
•  United States (23)
  • Christian Brothers College (11)
  • St. Rose Parish (12)

Competition schedule

The match schedule of the tournament.^[5]

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.

16 November 1904

Christian Brothers College	0–7	Galt F.C.
	Report	Hall McDonald Steep Taylor

Francis Olympic Field, St. Louis

Referee: Paul McSweeney (United States)

17 November 1904

St. Rose Parish	0–4	Galt F.C.
	Report	Taylor Henderson Sinclair

Francis Olympic Field, St. Louis

Referee: Paul McSweeney (United States)

20 November 1904

Christian Brothers College	0–0	St. Rose Parish
	Report

Francis Olympic Field, St. Louis

23 November 1904

Replay

Christian Brothers College	2–0	St. Rose Parish
?	Report

Francis Olympic Field, St. Louis

Final ranking

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Galt F.C.	2	2	0	0	11	0	+11	4
2	Christian Brothers College	3	1	1	1	2	7	–5	3
3	St. Rose Parish	3	0	1	2	0	6	–6	1

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
1	Canada (CAN)	1	0	0	1
2	United States (USA)	0	1	1	2
Totals (2 entries)		1	1	1	3

Medalists

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Men's football	Canada (CAN) Galt F.C. Otto Christman George Ducker John Fraser John Gourlay Alexander Hall Albert Henderson Albert Johnston Robert Lane Ernest Linton Gordon McDonald Frederick Steep Tom Taylor William Twaits	United States (USA) Christian Brothers College Charles Bartliff Warren Brittingham Oscar Brockmeyer Alexander Cudmore Charles January John January Thomas January Raymond Lawler Joseph Lydon Louis Menges Peter Ratican	United States (USA) St. Rose Parish Joseph Brady George Cooke Thomas Cooke Cormic Cosgrove Edward Dierkes Martin Dooling Frank Frost Claude Jameson Henry Jameson Johnson Leo O'Connell Harry Tate

Statistics

Goalscorers

There were 13 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 3.25 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Association football at the 1904 Summer Olympics.